PTI alleges Junaid Akbar 'arrested', expelled from Gilgit-Baltistan during election drive

GILGIT: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Friday alleged that its Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa president and Member of National Assembly Junaid Akbar was “arrested” and later expelled from Gilgit-Baltistan while campaigning for the upcoming June 7 general elections in the region.

In a statement shared on X, the PTI claimed that Junaid Akbar, along with MNAs Saleemur Rehman, Amjad Ali Khan, Syed Mehboob Shah, MPA Naeem and Dr Nawaz, was detained by the Gilgit-Baltistan administration at a checkpoint while returning from Ghizer district.

The party alleged that the leaders were subsequently taken to Gilgit.

PTI also shared a video on social media purportedly showing the incident, in which Akbar and other party leaders appeared seated inside a vehicle while a police official could be seen nearby.

Earlier, Junaid Akbar had posted on X that PTI workers and supporters had gathered in Ghizer to participate in a public rally ahead of the elections.

In another post, he claimed that he and his associates were initially stopped while travelling to Ghizer, where local authorities allegedly informed them that they lacked the required no-objection certificate (NOC).

“Isn’t Gilgit-Baltistan a part of Pakistan? Why does a Pakistani need a no-objection certificate to travel within their own country?” Akbar questioned.

He alleged that the restrictions reflected “panic” and “fascist tactics,” adding that such actions amounted to a violation of constitutional rights.

Later, in another social media post, Akbar said he had been instructed to leave Gilgit-Baltistan because he did not possess an NOC and claimed he was stopped again at a checkpoint while departing the region.

Subsequently, both Akbar and PTI announced on X that he had been “expelled” from Gilgit-Baltistan.

The PTI leader accused the federal government of attempting to manipulate the electoral process.

“Our party’s symbol has been snatched from us, we are not allowed to run election campaigns and are instead arrested,” he stated, alleging that PTI leaders were being targeted while leaders of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) were receiving “VIP protocol and full security.”

The PTI described the alleged arrest and expulsion of Junaid Akbar as “political revenge, pre-poll rigging and an attack on democracy,” demanding a level-playing field and transparent elections in Gilgit-Baltistan.

Former Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Omar Ayub also condemned the alleged arrest, saying it demonstrated that the current political system preferred a “selection” over free and fair elections.

Meanwhile, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur criticised the Gilgit-Baltistan administration and warned that if the detained parliamentarians were not released, he would personally travel to the region to protest what he termed the mistreatment of elected representatives.

He claimed that denying PTI a level-playing field and excluding Imran Khan’s party through “oppression and coercion” was damaging the democratic system.

The chief minister also alleged that the Gilgit-Baltistan administration was not responding to his calls and warned against turning the region into a “no-go area.”

“This behaviour is undemocratic,” he said, adding that the people of Gilgit-Baltistan would respond through the power of their vote.

The situation remained fluid, with no official statement immediately issued by the Gilgit-Baltistan government regarding the allegations at the time of filing this report.