PTI’s Asad Qaiser claims Punjab Police barred him from Islamabad Airport, causing him to miss the Skardu flight

ISLAMABAD:

Senior leader of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Asad Qaiser on Saturday claimed that he was prevented from reaching Islamabad Airport and missed his flight to Skardu for the election campaign in Gilgit Baltistan (GB).

In a statement on X, Qaiser said: “Punjab Police did not allow entry to Islamabad Airport, blocked the airport’s access routes and we, along with the general public, had to face serious difficulties.”

The former Speaker of the National Assembly added that the police kept him in custody until his flight to Skardu departed.

Qaiser claimed that due to the incident, “it can be measured that the GB election is being manipulated at any cost and the people are being deprived of their right to vote.”

Later, PTI leaders and those of the opposition Tehreek-e-Tahuf-e-Ayien Pakistan (TTAP) including Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar and Noor-ul-Haq Qadri held a press conference condemning the incident.

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Qaiser told the conference that all political parties were going to Skardu to campaign, but that the Punjab police had prevented him from going.

“We should be told under what authority Punjab Police stopped us,” he said, adding, “Does Punjab Police have authority to stop a member of NA like this?”

The PTI leader stated, “Stopping us while allowing others to go is discrimination in politics,” recalling the treatment meted out on Friday to PTI Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa President Junaid Akbar Khan, who was arrested by GB Police in Hunza while campaigning for the upcoming elections.

“I appeal to the people of Gilgit that you should cast your vote and also protect your vote,” he said, demanding that the Chief Election Commissioner ensure that all political parties get a level playing field. “If you cannot give a level playing field to all political parties, then step down from your office,” he added.

Meanwhile, Khokhar stated, “Due to this action by the government, thousands of people remained stranded in the heat” and “many people missed their flights.”

Qadri, on the other hand, stated, “Stopping Asad Qaiser from going to GB is pre-poll rigging,” and claimed that attempts were being made to “break loyalty in GB.”

Read more: Mountain vote: why GB elections matter for Pakistan

Senate Leader of Opposition Allama Raja Nasir took to X to express his displeasure over the incident. “Stopping Asad Qaiser is not only deplorable but a blatant violation of democratic values ​​and political freedoms,” he said.

Nasir added that in GB, “federal ministers and leaders of other political parties are running full-fledged election campaigns, yet leaders of PTI and TTAP are constantly being targeted.”

“Yesterday Junaid Akbar Khan was stopped in Gilgit and today Asad Qaiser has been barred from traveling. If leaders of a specific party are deprived of their basic democratic right to campaign, then claims of transparent elections and political equality lose all credibility,” the opposition leader said.

Former Leader of Opposition Omar Ayub Khan also took to X and said, “All these actions are being taken against PTI while other party members are being given an open field to run their campaigns.”

In April, the UK Electoral Commission announced that general elections in the region would be held on 7 June 2026 after a four-month delay. Originally scheduled for 24 January 2026, the election was postponed indefinitely due to severe weather conditions in the region.