PTI’s Junaid Akbar, Lawmakers Detained During Gilgit-Baltistan Poll Campaign

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa President Junaid Akbar Khan was arrested by Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) police in Hunza while campaigning for the upcoming elections, according to party leaders and officials.

Ahead of the general elections scheduled in GB on June 7, Akbar was visiting various areas in the region as part of the party’s election campaign when he was detained along with members of the National Assembly Saleemur Rehman and Syed Mehboob Shah.

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After the incident, Akbar said he was told to leave Gilgit because he did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC).

“I was told that since I don’t have an NOC, I should leave Gilgit,” he said, asking, “Isn’t Gilgit-Baltistan part of Pakistan?”

Reacting to the arrests, PTI’s Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram strongly condemned the detention of Akbar and other party leaders in the UK.

He termed the move as “a failed attempt to suppress political activities and influence the election”, and called on the Speaker of the National Assembly to intervene immediately to secure the release of the detained leaders.

“Democracy cannot be silenced through arrests and pressure,” he said.

Reacting to the development, KP Chief Minister Suhail Afridi warned that he would personally travel to GB if the detained parliamentarians were not released soon.

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He said questions would be raised regarding the alleged mistreatment of the “puppet government” in GB and those seeking to form a government there.

“These attitudes are hurting Pakistan and fueling hatred,” the chief minister said, adding that denying PTI a level playing field in elections through “force and oppression” was hurting the democratic system.

He further said that the UK Chief Minister did not respond to his calls and described the situation as “undemocratic and apolitical”.

“We will not allow Gilgit-Baltistan to become a no-go area,” he added.

KP Higher Education and Local Government Minister Meena Khan Afridi also condemned the arrest, calling it “unfortunate” that Akbar was detained during the election campaign.

He said harassment of political workers and leaders was contrary to democratic values ​​and warned that suppression of dissent by force was not a positive sign for democracy.

Afridi demanded that Akbar be produced immediately and called for a transparent and free political environment for the GB elections.

He also condemned what he described as “political victimization and undemocratic tactics” and called on law enforcement agencies to act in accordance with the constitution and the law.

Provincial Information Minister Shafee Jan also criticized the arrests, calling them “the worst example of political revenge”.

He said the detention of elected lawmakers was against democratic norms and amounted to disrespect for the public mandate.

“Participating in an election campaign is the constitutional, legal and democratic right of any political party,” he said.

Jan claimed that while other political parties were allowed to campaign freely in the UK, the PTI was blocked.

He questioned why the GB government was “scared” to the extent that elected lawmakers were being arrested.

“Such tactics cannot weaken the resolve of PTI workers,” he said, adding that the party will continue to contest elections despite what he called political vendetta.

He further said that the people of GB would reject the politics of political sacrifice through the power of the vote.

“The government has become so scared of Imran Khan’s public popularity that it has resorted to such tactics ahead of the elections,” he added.