ISLAMABAD:
With polls for the Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly just days away, allegations of pre-poll fraud, selective administrative restrictions and institutional friction have intensified, raising new questions about the fairness of the electoral environment in the strategically important region.
The controversy gained momentum after former National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser warned that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) would take to the streets if the June 7 elections were not conducted transparently. He also described the party’s decision not to protest after the February 2024 general election as a “mistake” that signaled a more confrontational stance should the GB polls result be disputed.
Tensions escalated on May 29 when PTI’s Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa President and MNA Junaid Akbar Khan, along with party legislators Saleemur Rehman, Syed Mehboob Shah and Dr. Amjad Ali Khan, were stopped at a police check post in Ghizer district while returning from election campaign activities.
Authorities cited the absence of a required no-objection certificate (NOC) for public gatherings. The PTI condemned the move as a targeted obstruction, while the police maintained that no arrests had been made.
On Saturday, former Speaker of the National Assembly Asad Qaiser claimed that the Punjab Police prevented him from reaching Islamabad airport, causing him to miss his scheduled flight to Skardu.
He condemned the restrictions on the participation of PTI leaders in the election campaign.
In contrast, PML-N leader Khawaja Saad Rafique on Sunday addressed a series of public rallies across the UK as part of his party’s campaign push.
Other senior leaders of the ruling coalition, including federal ministers Atta Tarar and Amir Muqam, have also remained active in the election campaign across several districts.
The PTI has cited the unrestricted movement and campaigning of rival political leaders as evidence of what it describes as unequal treatment during the election process.
In its formal response, the PTI has gone beyond individual incidents and alleged a wider pattern of pressure on candidates.
The party claims that Election Commission officials have approached some candidates and urged them to abandon PTI and contest on government-sponsored tickets.
It also cited a notice issued to former chief minister Khalid Khurshid’s mother for displaying election posters as an example of selective enforcement.
PTI candidates are largely contesting the election as independents after allegedly failing to secure the party symbol, a development that has further complicated the party’s electoral prospects in Gilgit-Baltistan.
Meanwhile, the Punjab Police confirmed on May 31 that more than 5,000 personnel would be deployed for election duty in Gilgit-Baltistan.
While authorities insist the deployment is part of routine security arrangements, questions have been raised regarding its scope and whether similar deployments were made during previous elections in the region.
Interior Minister Talal Chaudhry rejected the PTI’s claims and said the government had no interest in undermining the election process.
He attributed the restrictions facing Asad Qaiser to security concerns rather than political motives.
For its part, the British electoral administration has rejected allegations of bias. Chief Election Commissioner Raja Shahbaz Khan maintained that the code of conduct was being enforced uniformly across all political parties and said notices had also been issued to candidates of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) for violations.
Institutional tensions were further deepened when Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi wrote to the Chief Justice of the Gilgit-Baltistan Supreme Court of Appeal, lamenting the reported restrictions as “deeply disturbing” and seeking judicial intervention to ensure a level playing field.
The Chief Electoral Commissioner reacted sharply on Sunday, stating that the letter had no legal standing and constituted interference in the electoral process.
The public exchange between a provincial chief and the UK electoral authority, just days before the vote, underscores the growing institutional strain surrounding the election.
The current tensions are rooted in a changing political landscape. PTI won the 2020 Gilgit-Baltistan elections and formed the government under Chief Minister Khalid Khurshid.
However, his disqualification by the GB High Court in July 2023 paved the way for a coalition government comprising PTI dissidents, PPP and PML-N legislators, which subsequently elected Haji Gulbar Khan as Chief Minister.
The PTI is now seeking a political comeback in the region without its party symbol, under what it denounces as tougher campaign conditions and amid allegations of administrative pressure.
The assembly completed its five-year term in November 2025. The elections, originally scheduled for 24 January, were postponed due to harsh winter conditions. June 7 was later finalized as the only possible window before the start of Muharram in mid-June, which would otherwise have pushed the vote into late summer or early fall.
As polling day approaches, the PTI has already signaled that it will not accept a disputed result in GB in the same way it claims to have done after the February 2024 general election.
