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Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has called for elections in Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir to be held at the same time as Pakistan’s general elections, arguing that such a move would strengthen democratic representation and public sovereignty. Addressing an election rally in Shigar ahead of the June 7 regional polls, Bilawal said true public sovereignty could only be achieved if the people of Gilgit-Baltistan voted alongside the rest of the country. He also criticized political forces that, according to him, sought to govern regions such as Gilgit-Baltistan, Gwadar and Karachi from the federal capital rather than through local democratic mandates.