diff --git a/.github/workflows/cherry-pick.yml b/.github/workflows/cherry-pick.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..886a977
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/cherry-pick.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,257 @@
+name: Shared Cherry-Pick Engine
+
+on:
+  workflow_call:
+    inputs:
+      raw_labels:
+        description: 'JSON array of labels from the triggering PR event'
+        required: true
+        type: string
+      trigger_label:
+        description: 'The specific label that triggered this event (from github.event.label.name). Empty for closed events.'
+        required: false
+        type: string
+        default: ''
+      pr_number_override:
+        description: 'PR number when triggered via issues:labeled on an already-merged PR (github.event.pull_request context is unavailable in that case).'
+        required: false
+        type: string
+        default: ''
+    secrets:
+      CROSS_REPO_TOKEN:
+        description: 'PAT with org-wide repo write access for cross-repo label propagation'
+        required: false
+
+jobs:
+  backport:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - name: Extract Metadata & Propagate to Sister PRs
+        id: parse_meta
+        env:
+          GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.CROSS_REPO_TOKEN || secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+          # For issues:labeled events on merged PRs, pull_request context is empty — construct URL from override
+          CURRENT_PR_URL: ${{ inputs.pr_number_override != '' && format('https://github.com/{0}/pull/{1}', github.repository, inputs.pr_number_override) || github.event.pull_request.html_url }}
+          EVENT_LABEL: ${{ github.event.label.name }}
+        run: |
+          # 1. Parse the target destination branch(es) and custom topic label
+          # Prefer the event label (the label that was just added) over grepping the full list
+          TRIGGER_LABEL="${{ inputs.trigger_label }}"
+          # If caller didn't pass trigger_label, try from event context directly
+          if [ -z "$TRIGGER_LABEL" ]; then
+            TRIGGER_LABEL="$EVENT_LABEL"
+          fi
+
+          if [[ "$TRIGGER_LABEL" == cherry-pick\ to\ * ]]; then
+            # Single target from labeled event
+            TARGET_BRANCHES="${TRIGGER_LABEL#cherry-pick to }"
+          else
+            # Fallback for 'closed' events: process ALL cherry-pick labels (handles pre-merge labeling)
+            TARGET_BRANCHES=$(echo '${{ inputs.raw_labels }}' | jq -r '.[] | .name' | grep "cherry-pick to " | sed 's/cherry-pick to //' || true)
+          fi
+
+          CUSTOM_TOPIC=$(echo '${{ inputs.raw_labels }}' | jq -r '.[] | .name' | grep "^topic:" | head -n 1)
+
+          if [ -z "$TARGET_BRANCHES" ]; then
+            echo "No valid cherry-pick destination branch found. Exiting."
+            exit 0
+          fi
+
+          # Output as newline-separated list for multi-target support
+          echo "target_branches<<EOF" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+          echo "$TARGET_BRANCHES" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+          echo "EOF" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+          echo "custom_topic=$CUSTOM_TOPIC" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+
+          echo "Target branches: $(echo $TARGET_BRANCHES | tr '\n' ', ')"
+
+          # 2. THE CHAIN REACTION: If a topic label exists, find and tag sister PRs
+          if [ -n "$CUSTOM_TOPIC" ]; then
+            echo "Found topic label '$CUSTOM_TOPIC'. Searching for sister PRs to auto-trigger..."
+            ORG_NAME=$(echo "${{ github.repository }}" | cut -d'/' -f1)
+
+            # Find all merged PRs across the org sharing this exact topic label
+            SISTER_PRS=$(gh search prs --label "$CUSTOM_TOPIC" --owner "$ORG_NAME" --state closed --merged --limit 100 --json url,labels 2>/dev/null || echo "[]")
+
+            for row in $(echo "$SISTER_PRS" | jq -r '.[] | @base64'); do
+              _jq() { echo ${row} | base64 --decode | jq -r ${1}; }
+              SISTER_URL=$(_jq '.url')
+
+              # Skip the current PR (already running)
+              if [ "$SISTER_URL" == "$CURRENT_PR_URL" ]; then
+                echo "⏭️ Skipping self: $SISTER_URL"
+                continue
+              fi
+
+              # Propagate ALL target labels to sister PRs
+              while IFS= read -r BRANCH; do
+                [ -z "$BRANCH" ] && continue
+                LABEL_TO_ADD="cherry-pick to $BRANCH"
+
+                # Guard: skip if sister PR already has this label (prevents infinite loop)
+                EXISTING_LABELS=$(echo ${row} | base64 --decode | jq -r '.labels[].name' 2>/dev/null)
+                if echo "$EXISTING_LABELS" | grep -qF "$LABEL_TO_ADD"; then
+                  echo "⏭️ Already labeled ($LABEL_TO_ADD): $SISTER_URL"
+                  continue
+                fi
+
+                echo "🔗 Propagating '$LABEL_TO_ADD' to sister PR: $SISTER_URL"
+                SISTER_REPO=$(echo "$SISTER_URL" | sed -E 's|https://github.com/([^/]+/[^/]+)/pull/.*|\1|')
+                gh label create "$LABEL_TO_ADD" --repo "$SISTER_REPO" --color "d93f0b" --force >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
+                gh pr edit "$SISTER_URL" --add-label "$LABEL_TO_ADD" 2>/dev/null || echo "⚠️ Could not label $SISTER_URL (check token permissions)"
+              done <<< "$TARGET_BRANCHES"
+            done
+          fi
+
+      - name: Checkout Code
+        if: steps.parse_meta.outputs.target_branches != ''
+        uses: actions/checkout@v4
+        with:
+          fetch-depth: 0
+          token: ${{ secrets.CROSS_REPO_TOKEN || secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+
+      - name: Execute Cherry-Pick
+        if: steps.parse_meta.outputs.target_branches != ''
+        env:
+          GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.CROSS_REPO_TOKEN || secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+          TARGET_BRANCHES: ${{ steps.parse_meta.outputs.target_branches }}
+          CUSTOM_TOPIC: ${{ steps.parse_meta.outputs.custom_topic }}
+          PR_NUMBER: ${{ github.event.pull_request.number }}
+          PR_TITLE: ${{ github.event.pull_request.title }}
+          PR_URL: ${{ github.event.pull_request.html_url }}
+          PR_NUMBER_OVERRIDE: ${{ inputs.pr_number_override }}
+          REPO: ${{ github.repository }}
+        run: |
+          # Configure git
+          git config user.name "github-actions[bot]"
+          git config user.email "github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com"
+
+          # When triggered via issues:labeled on an already-merged PR, pull_request context is empty
+          if [ -n "$PR_NUMBER_OVERRIDE" ] && [ -z "$PR_NUMBER" ]; then
+            PR_DATA=$(gh pr view "$PR_NUMBER_OVERRIDE" --repo "$REPO" --json title,url,mergeCommit,state)
+            if [ "$(echo "$PR_DATA" | jq -r '.state')" != "MERGED" ]; then
+              echo "PR #$PR_NUMBER_OVERRIDE is not yet merged. Skipping."
+              exit 0
+            fi
+            PR_NUMBER="$PR_NUMBER_OVERRIDE"
+            PR_TITLE=$(echo "$PR_DATA" | jq -r '.title')
+            PR_URL=$(echo "$PR_DATA" | jq -r '.url')
+            MERGE_SHA=$(echo "$PR_DATA" | jq -r '.mergeCommit.oid // empty')
+          fi
+
+          # Resolve commits that landed on base branch, handling all merge strategies
+          MERGE_SHA="${MERGE_SHA:-${{ github.event.pull_request.merge_commit_sha }}}"
+          if git cat-file -e "${MERGE_SHA}^2" 2>/dev/null; then
+            # Standard merge commit (2 parents): replay individual feature branch commits in order
+            COMMITS=$(git log --pretty=format:"%H" --reverse ${MERGE_SHA}^1..${MERGE_SHA}^2 2>/dev/null)
+          else
+            # Squash or rebase: derive commit count from PR API to walk back from merge SHA
+            PR_COMMIT_COUNT=$(gh pr view "$PR_NUMBER" --repo "$REPO" --json commits --jq '.commits | length' 2>/dev/null || echo "1")
+            COMMITS=$(git log --pretty=format:"%H" --reverse -"${PR_COMMIT_COUNT}" "${MERGE_SHA}" 2>/dev/null)
+          fi
+          if [ -z "$COMMITS" ]; then
+            COMMITS="$MERGE_SHA"
+          fi
+
+          # Process each target branch
+          while IFS= read -r TARGET_BRANCH; do
+            [ -z "$TARGET_BRANCH" ] && continue
+            echo ""
+            echo "=========================================="
+            echo "🎯 Cherry-picking to: $TARGET_BRANCH"
+            echo "=========================================="
+
+            CHERRY_PICK_BRANCH="cherry-pick-${PR_NUMBER}-to-$(echo $TARGET_BRANCH | sed 's|/|-|g')"
+
+            # Build backport label
+            BACKPORT_LABEL=""
+            if [ -n "$CUSTOM_TOPIC" ]; then
+              BRANCH_SUFFIX=$(echo "$TARGET_BRANCH" | sed 's|^support/||; s|^release/||; s|^feature/||')
+              BACKPORT_LABEL="${CUSTOM_TOPIC}_${BRANCH_SUFFIX}"
+            fi
+
+            # Verify target branch exists
+            if ! git fetch origin "$TARGET_BRANCH" 2>/dev/null; then
+              gh pr comment "$PR_URL" --body "$(printf '❌ **Cherry-pick failed:** Target branch \x60%s\x60 does not exist.\n\nPlease check the label for typos and ensure the branch has been created.' "$TARGET_BRANCH")"
+              echo "Error: Target branch '$TARGET_BRANCH' does not exist. Skipping."
+              continue
+            fi
+
+            # Create cherry-pick branch
+            git checkout -b "$CHERRY_PICK_BRANCH" "origin/$TARGET_BRANCH"
+
+            # Attempt cherry-pick; capture stderr to reliably distinguish empty vs conflict
+            CONFLICT=false
+            EMPTY=false
+            for COMMIT in $COMMITS; do
+              CHERRY_OUTPUT=$(git cherry-pick -x "$COMMIT" 2>&1) && CHERRY_EXIT=0 || CHERRY_EXIT=$?
+              if [ $CHERRY_EXIT -ne 0 ]; then
+                if echo "$CHERRY_OUTPUT" | grep -qiE "empty|nothing to commit|already applied"; then
+                  EMPTY=true
+                  git cherry-pick --abort 2>/dev/null || git reset --hard HEAD 2>/dev/null || true
+                else
+                  CONFLICT=true
+                  git cherry-pick --abort 2>/dev/null || true
+                fi
+                break
+              fi
+            done
+
+            if [ "$EMPTY" = "true" ]; then
+              gh pr comment "$PR_URL" --body "$(printf 'ℹ️ **Cherry-pick to \x60%s\x60 skipped:** The changes already exist on the target branch.\n\nNo action needed — this commit was likely already applied manually.' "$TARGET_BRANCH")"
+              echo "Cherry-pick skipped: changes already on $TARGET_BRANCH."
+              git checkout --detach 2>/dev/null; git branch -D "$CHERRY_PICK_BRANCH" 2>/dev/null || true
+              continue
+            fi
+
+            if [ "$CONFLICT" = "true" ]; then
+              LABEL_HINT=""
+              if [ -n "$BACKPORT_LABEL" ]; then
+                LABEL_HINT=$(printf '\n\n> ⚠️ **Important:** Add the \x60%s\x60 label to your manual PR. This is required for cross-repo cascade — without it, sister repositories will not be triggered for further cherry-picks from this branch.' "$BACKPORT_LABEL")
+              fi
+              gh pr comment "$PR_URL" --body "$(printf '⚠️ **Cherry-pick to \x60%s\x60 failed due to merge conflicts.**\n\nPlease resolve the conflicts manually and create a PR targeting \x60%s\x60.%s' "$TARGET_BRANCH" "$TARGET_BRANCH" "$LABEL_HINT")"
+              echo "Cherry-pick to $TARGET_BRANCH failed due to conflicts."
+              git checkout --detach 2>/dev/null; git branch -D "$CHERRY_PICK_BRANCH" 2>/dev/null || true
+              continue
+            fi
+
+            # Push with error handling so remaining branches are still processed on failure
+            if ! git push --force origin "$CHERRY_PICK_BRANCH" 2>/dev/null; then
+              echo "⚠️ Failed to push $CHERRY_PICK_BRANCH. Skipping PR creation for $TARGET_BRANCH."
+              git checkout --detach 2>/dev/null; git branch -D "$CHERRY_PICK_BRANCH" 2>/dev/null || true
+              continue
+            fi
+
+            # Ensure backport label exists in the repo before attaching it
+            if [ -n "$BACKPORT_LABEL" ]; then
+              gh label create "$BACKPORT_LABEL" --repo "$REPO" --color "0e8a16" --force >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
+            fi
+
+            # Create PR only if one doesn't already exist
+            EXISTING_PR=$(gh pr list --repo "$REPO" --head "$CHERRY_PICK_BRANCH" --state open --json number --jq '.[0].number // empty')
+            if [ -n "$EXISTING_PR" ]; then
+              echo "ℹ️ Cherry-pick PR #$EXISTING_PR already exists for $CHERRY_PICK_BRANCH. Updated branch."
+              git checkout --detach 2>/dev/null; git branch -D "$CHERRY_PICK_BRANCH" 2>/dev/null || true
+              continue
+            fi
+
+            if [ -n "$BACKPORT_LABEL" ]; then
+              gh pr create \
+                --repo "$REPO" \
+                --head "$CHERRY_PICK_BRANCH" \
+                --base "$TARGET_BRANCH" \
+                --title "$PR_TITLE" \
+                --body "Cherry-pick of #${PR_NUMBER} to \`$TARGET_BRANCH\`." \
+                --label "$BACKPORT_LABEL" || echo "⚠️ Failed to create PR for $TARGET_BRANCH."
+            else
+              gh pr create \
+                --repo "$REPO" \
+                --head "$CHERRY_PICK_BRANCH" \
+                --base "$TARGET_BRANCH" \
+                --title "$PR_TITLE" \
+                --body "Cherry-pick of #${PR_NUMBER} to \`$TARGET_BRANCH\`." || echo "⚠️ Failed to create PR for $TARGET_BRANCH."
+            fi
+
+            echo "✅ Cherry-pick PR created for $TARGET_BRANCH."
+            git checkout --detach 2>/dev/null; git branch -D "$CHERRY_PICK_BRANCH" 2>/dev/null || true
+          done <<< "$TARGET_BRANCHES"
diff --git a/.github/workflows/gatekeeper.yml b/.github/workflows/gatekeeper.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..70cc27e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/gatekeeper.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,215 @@
+name: Shared Cross-Repo Gatekeeper
+
+on:
+  workflow_call:
+    secrets:
+      CROSS_REPO_TOKEN:
+        description: 'PAT with org-wide search permissions for cross-repo PR lookup'
+        required: false
+
+jobs:
+  check-reviews:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - name: Verify All Sister PRs Are Approved
+        env:
+          GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.CROSS_REPO_TOKEN || secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+          PR_NUMBER: ${{ github.event.pull_request.number }}
+          REPO: ${{ github.repository }}
+        run: |
+          # 1. Fetch current PR metadata including labels and target base branch
+          PR_DATA=$(gh pr view "$PR_NUMBER" -R "$REPO" --json title,body,baseRefName,labels)
+          PR_TITLE=$(echo "$PR_DATA" | jq -r '.title')
+          PR_BODY=$(echo "$PR_DATA" | jq -r '.body')
+          TARGET_BRANCH=$(echo "$PR_DATA" | jq -r '.baseRefName')
+
+          echo "Analyzing PR metadata for tracking elements on target branch: $TARGET_BRANCH"
+
+          # ==========================================
+          # 2. EXTRACT TRACKING KEYS & CUSTOM TOPIC LABELS
+          # ==========================================
+          # Extract unique uppercase tracking keys from Title/Body (e.g., RDKB-64491)
+          ALL_IDS=$(echo -e "${PR_TITLE}\n${PR_BODY}" | grep -oE '[A-Z][A-Z0-9]+-[0-9]+' | sort -u)
+
+          # Extract any user-defined custom topic label (e.g., topic:billing-engine-v2)
+          CUSTOM_TOPIC=$(echo "$PR_DATA" | jq -r '.labels[].name' 2>/dev/null | grep "^topic:" | head -n 1)
+
+          # If there are no ticket IDs AND no custom topic labels, skip validation safely
+          if [ -z "$ALL_IDS" ] && [ -z "$CUSTOM_TOPIC" ]; then
+            echo "No uppercase tracking keys or custom 'topic:*' labels found. Skipping cross-repo validation."
+            exit 0
+          fi
+
+          # Build a clean, dynamic GitHub OR search query string
+          SEARCH_QUERY=""
+          if [ -n "$ALL_IDS" ]; then
+            SEARCH_QUERY=$(echo "$ALL_IDS" | tr '\n' ' ' | sed 's/ $//' | sed 's/ /" OR "/g' | sed 's/^/"/' | sed 's/$/"/')
+          fi
+
+          if [ -n "$CUSTOM_TOPIC" ]; then
+            if [ -n "$SEARCH_QUERY" ]; then
+              SEARCH_QUERY="${SEARCH_QUERY} OR label:\"${CUSTOM_TOPIC}\""
+            else
+              SEARCH_QUERY="label:\"${CUSTOM_TOPIC}\""
+            fi
+          fi
+
+          echo "Active Dynamic Topic Identifiers: $SEARCH_QUERY"
+          ORG_NAME=$(echo "$REPO" | cut -d'/' -f1)
+
+          # ==========================================
+          # 3. RUN HISTORICAL AUDIT FOR STABLE TRACKS
+          # ==========================================
+          MISSING_CHERRY_PICK_LIST=""
+
+          # Helper: Run ticket key search + topic label search separately, then merge & deduplicate
+          run_search() {
+            local state_flag="$1"
+            local base_flag="$2"
+            local results="[]"
+            local merged_flag=""
+
+            # gh search prs --state only accepts open|closed. For merged, use --state closed --merged
+            if [ "$state_flag" == "merged" ]; then
+              state_flag="closed"
+              merged_flag="--merged"
+            fi
+
+            # Search by ticket keys
+            if [ -n "$ALL_IDS" ]; then
+              KEY_QUERY=$(echo "$ALL_IDS" | tr '\n' ' ' | sed 's/ $//' | sed 's/ /" OR "/g' | sed 's/^/"/' | sed 's/$/"/')
+              if [ -n "$base_flag" ]; then
+                KEY_RESULTS=$(gh search prs "${KEY_QUERY}" --owner "$ORG_NAME" --state "$state_flag" $merged_flag --base "$base_flag" --limit 100 --json url,repository 2>/dev/null || echo "[]")
+              else
+                KEY_RESULTS=$(gh search prs "${KEY_QUERY}" --owner "$ORG_NAME" --state "$state_flag" $merged_flag --limit 100 --json url,repository 2>/dev/null || echo "[]")
+              fi
+              results=$(echo "$results $KEY_RESULTS" | jq -s 'add // []')
+            fi
+
+            # Search by topic label (separate query using --label flag)
+            if [ -n "$CUSTOM_TOPIC" ]; then
+              if [ -n "$base_flag" ]; then
+                LABEL_RESULTS=$(gh search prs --label "$CUSTOM_TOPIC" --owner "$ORG_NAME" --state "$state_flag" $merged_flag --base "$base_flag" --limit 100 --json url,repository 2>/dev/null || echo "[]")
+              else
+                LABEL_RESULTS=$(gh search prs --label "$CUSTOM_TOPIC" --owner "$ORG_NAME" --state "$state_flag" $merged_flag --limit 100 --json url,repository 2>/dev/null || echo "[]")
+              fi
+              results=$(echo "$results $LABEL_RESULTS" | jq -s 'add // []')
+            fi
+
+            # Deduplicate by URL
+            echo "$results" | jq 'unique_by(.url)'
+          }
+
+          # Isolate search to the target branch if running on a strict production track
+          if [[ "$TARGET_BRANCH" =~ ^(release|support)/ ]]; then
+            echo "🕵️ Stable/Release track detected. Auditing original development footprint..."
+
+            # Narrow open PR search strictly to this specific target release/support branch
+            SISTER_PRS=$(run_search "open" "$TARGET_BRANCH")
+            REPOS_WITH_RELEASE_PRS=$(echo "$SISTER_PRS" | jq -r '.[].repository.name' | sort -u)
+
+            # Find where this cluster originally landed historically on the develop branch
+            HISTORICAL_PRS=$(run_search "merged" "develop")
+            ORIGINAL_REPOS=$(echo "$HISTORICAL_PRS" | jq -r '.[].repository.name' | sort -u)
+
+            while read -r repo; do
+              if [ -n "$repo" ] && ! echo "$REPOS_WITH_RELEASE_PRS" | grep -q "^$repo$"; then
+                echo "⚠️ CRITICAL MISS: Source code changed in '$repo' on develop, but no release PR exists!"
+                MISSING_CHERRY_PICK_LIST="${MISSING_CHERRY_PICK_LIST}\n| 🛑 | rdkcentral/${repo} | MISSING CHERRY-PICK |"
+              fi
+            done <<< "$ORIGINAL_REPOS"
+          else
+            # Standard develop branch workflow: Scan all open matches across the organization globally
+            SISTER_PRS=$(run_search "open" "")
+          fi
+
+          COUNT=$(echo "$SISTER_PRS" | jq '. | length')
+          echo "Found $COUNT open PR(s) linked to this active cluster."
+
+          # ==========================================
+          # 4. EVALUATE PEER APPROVAL STATUS
+          # ==========================================
+          CURRENT_PR_URL="https://github.com/${REPO}/pull/${PR_NUMBER}"
+          UNAPPROVED_PRS=0
+          BLOCKED_LIST=""
+          APPROVED_LIST=""
+
+          for row in $(echo "$SISTER_PRS" | jq -r '.[] | @base64'); do
+            _jq() {
+              echo ${row} | base64 --decode | jq -r ${1}
+            }
+            PR_URL=$(_jq '.url')
+
+            # Skip evaluating the current PR itself
+            if [ "$PR_URL" == "$CURRENT_PR_URL" ]; then
+              echo "⏭️ Skipping self: $PR_URL"
+              continue
+            fi
+
+            echo "Evaluating: $PR_URL"
+
+            # Fetch the official review state (APPROVED, CHANGES_REQUESTED, or REVIEW_REQUIRED)
+            REVIEW_STATUS=$(gh pr view "$PR_URL" --json reviewDecision --jq '.reviewDecision' 2>/dev/null || echo "REVIEW_REQUIRED")
+
+            if [ "$REVIEW_STATUS" != "APPROVED" ]; then
+              echo "❌ Gate Lock: $PR_URL is missing peer approval (Current status: $REVIEW_STATUS)"
+              UNAPPROVED_PRS=$((UNAPPROVED_PRS + 1))
+              BLOCKED_LIST="${BLOCKED_LIST}\n| ❌ | ${PR_URL} | ${REVIEW_STATUS} |"
+            else
+              echo "✅ Gate Clear: $PR_URL is approved."
+              APPROVED_LIST="${APPROVED_LIST}\n| ✅ | ${PR_URL} | APPROVED |"
+            fi
+          done
+
+          # ==========================================
+          # 5. BUILD SUMMARY REPORT
+          # ==========================================
+          SUMMARY="## 🔒 Cross-Repo Gatekeeper Report\n\n"
+          SUMMARY+="**Target Base Branch:** \`${TARGET_BRANCH}\`\n"
+          SUMMARY+="**Active Identifiers Evaluated:** ${SEARCH_QUERY}\n"
+          SUMMARY+="**Total Sister PRs Found:** $((COUNT - 1)) (excluding self)\n\n"
+          SUMMARY+="| Status | Resource / Pull Request | Review State |\n"
+          SUMMARY+="|--------|-------------|-------------|\n"
+
+          if [ -n "$MISSING_CHERRY_PICK_LIST" ]; then
+            SUMMARY+=$(echo -e "$MISSING_CHERRY_PICK_LIST")
+            SUMMARY+="\n"
+          fi
+          if [ -n "$BLOCKED_LIST" ]; then
+            SUMMARY+=$(echo -e "$BLOCKED_LIST")
+            SUMMARY+="\n"
+          fi
+          if [ -n "$APPROVED_LIST" ]; then
+            SUMMARY+=$(echo -e "$APPROVED_LIST")
+            SUMMARY+="\n"
+          fi
+
+          echo -e "$SUMMARY" >> "$GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY"
+
+          # ==========================================
+          # 6. ENFORCE MERGE STATUS CONDITIONS
+          # ==========================================
+          # RULE A: Missing cherry-picks ALWAYS break production release/support trains
+          if [ -n "$MISSING_CHERRY_PICK_LIST" ]; then
+            echo -e "\n> ⛔ **Merge Blocked:** Component repositories were modified on \`develop\` but are completely missing cherry-pick PRs on this stable track." >> "$GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY"
+            echo "Error: Cannot merge. Missing component cherry-pick PRs detected."
+            exit 1
+          fi
+
+          # RULE B: Enforce review approvals based on the branch policy
+          if [ "$UNAPPROVED_PRS" -gt 0 ]; then
+            if [[ "$TARGET_BRANCH" =~ ^(release|support)/ ]]; then
+              # STRICT LOCK FOR STABLE TRACKS: Block partial deployments
+              echo -e "\n> ⛔ **Merge Blocked:** All companion topic component PRs must be approved before ANY can merge into the \`$TARGET_BRANCH\` track." >> "$GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY"
+              echo "Error: Cannot merge. One or more cross-repository components in this sequence are still in review."
+              exit 1
+            else
+              # LOOSE FOR DEVELOP: Informative logging, but zero blocks to maintain developer velocity
+              echo -e "\n> ⚠️ **Informational Notice:** Some companion tasks under this topic are still in review across the org. Merging is allowed independently on develop." >> "$GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY"
+              echo "Success: Independent branch development allowed on develop track."
+              exit 0
+            fi
+          fi
+
+          echo -e "\n> **✅ All Clear:** All cross-repo requirements are approved and complete. Safe to merge." >> "$GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY"
+          echo "Success: All cross-repository conditions for this cluster are clean! Safe to merge."