Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday extended his heartiest congratulations to Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Amjad Hussain on his election as the Chief Minister of Gilgit-Baltistan.

The prime minister, in a statement, also felicitated Imran Nadeem Shigri on his election as speaker and Malik Kifayat-ur-Rehman as deputy speaker of the Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly.

Earlier, PPP’s Amjad Hussain was elected unopposed as the chief minister of Gilgit-Baltistan on Monday evening after securing the support of all major political groups in the assembly.

Amjad Hussain emerged as the consensus candidate for the top executive office with the backing of the PPP, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Istehkam-i-Pakistan Party (IPP), PTI-backed independent lawmakers and Majlis Wahdat-ul-Muslimeen (MWM).

No rival candidate filed nomination papers for the post, resulting in his unopposed election.

His election reflects an unusual political consensus among parties in the region and clears the way for the formation of a broad-based coalition government.

Amjad Hussain becomes the fifth elected chief minister of Gilgit-Baltistan.

Political leaders congratulated him on his election and expressed hope that the new government would focus on governance, development and addressing the region’s key challenges.

The newly elected chief minister is expected to announce his cabinet and outline the government’s policy priorities in the coming days.