PTI alleges pre-poll rigging in Gilgit-Baltistan ahead of elections

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf on Saturday accused the federal government and the Gilgit-Baltistan administration of pre-poll rigging ahead of elections in the region, which are scheduled for Sunday, June 7, after a four-month delay attributed to harsh winter weather.

The party said 5,600 local police personnel were already present in Gilgit-Baltistan, but claimed that more than 13,000 additional security personnel had been brought in from outside the region. It also urged the international community, human rights organisations and democratic forces to take notice of what it described as violations of fundamental rights and a blow to democracy in Gilgit-Baltistan.

PPP and other political parties have held a series of rallies across the region and intensified their campaigns ahead of the vote. PTI’s Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram criticised what he called an unprecedented deployment of outside forces and a systematic campaign against his party.

Security deployment allegations

Akram said the additional deployment included 11,000 personnel from Punjab Police, 1,000 from Sindh Police, 700 from the Frontier Constabulary and 140 from Islamabad Capital Territory Police. He said the number of outside personnel was disproportionate for a region with a population of around 900,000.

He alleged that the move was aimed at taking control of polling stations, disrupting the voting process with the help of local actors and shaping the result in advance. Akram further claimed that the deployment was not intended for peace and order but to facilitate large-scale rigging and create an atmosphere of fear that would prevent PTI supporters from voting.

“This massive influx of police is not for maintaining peace but for orchestrating large-scale rigging. The Form-47 government is deliberately pushing the peaceful region of Gilgit-Baltistan into an atmosphere of fear and hostility by attempting to prevent genuine voters from exercising their right to vote for the PTI.”

Claims of restrictions on PTI

Akram also alleged that internet services and landline communication had been disrupted across Gilgit, calling it an attempt to cut communication between PTI workers and supporters. He said key PTI workers had been arrested in Gilgit over the past two days despite what he described as improving prospects for PTI candidates.

He further claimed that PTI lawmakers had been pressured and bribed to leave the party, while leaders and workers loyal to Imran Khan had been forced to leave Gilgit-Baltistan. He also alleged that PTI’s election symbol had been banned.

According to Akram, a late alliance with the Gilgit-Baltistan Democratic Party was undermined when that party’s symbol was withdrawn at midnight through a text message sent to returning officers without written orders or legal justification from the Election Commission. He also alleged that polling schemes had been altered in a way that targeted PTI and local nationalist candidates, and claimed postal ballots for PTI had been blocked on fabricated grounds while PPP and PML-N candidates were given unrestricted access.

The PTI leader said party leaders and workers were also stopped from campaigning on what he called flimsy and unlawful grounds, and alleged that no legal notification was produced by the Election Commission despite repeated demands by PTI lawyers. He said rallies had been blocked and public movement restricted.

Akram further alleged that in the final phase of nominations, government ministers acted to ensure that no viable PTI candidate remained in the field. He also claimed that the administration was openly pressuring voters to support PML-N and PPP candidates and that pre-poll rigging was continuing across all constituencies.

“It is an open secret that both the PPP and PML-N are banking on yet another Form 47-style manipulation because they know the people of Gilgit-Baltistan overwhelmingly support Imran Khan and the PTI,” he claimed.

He also alleged that PTI leaders had been told the party would not be allowed to win any seats and that any protest or resistance would lead to candidates being disqualified before polling day. Akram said such tactics would not silence the people of Gilgit-Baltistan, whom he said remained committed to Imran Khan’s vision.

PTI reaction to JAAC ban in AJK

Separately, PTI expressed concern over the Azad Jammu and Kashmir government’s decision to declare the Joint Awami Action Committee a proscribed organisation. In an official statement, the party said political, social and constitutional grievances should be addressed through dialogue, democratic engagement and constitutional means rather than bans, coercive measures or force.

The party questioned why the government had previously negotiated with JAAC, signed agreements with it, implemented its demands, held meetings with its leadership and treated it as a legitimate stakeholder if it now considered the group a terrorist organisation.

PTI said the move reflected what it described as the same failed model used against the party itself, involving suppression of peaceful protest, road blockades, suspension of communication, intimidation of citizens and the branding of democratic demands as threats to the state.