PTI leaders expelled from GB during electioneering; authorities allege code of conduct violation
Several PTI leaders, including party president in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa MNA Junaid Akbar, were expelled from Gilgit-Baltistan on Friday while they were campaigning for upcoming elections.
Accounts from the PTI and its leaders also suggested Akbar and his companions were also briefly detained by the authorities before being expelled. However, an official statement by the GB government said that no arrests were made and the leaders had only been expelled over violating the election code of conduct.
Initially, the PTI said in a post on X that “PTI KP President Junaid Akbar, along with MNAs Saleemur Rehman, Amjab Ali Khan, Syed Mehboob Shah, MPA Naeem and […] Dr Nawaz were arrested by the GB government and administration at a check post when they were returning from the Ghizer district”
“Isn’t Gilgit-Baltistan a part of Pakistan? Why does a Pakistani need a no-objection certificate (NOC) to travel within their own country?” he questioned.
“Fascist tactics and panic are a clear declaration of their defeat. If they lack the courage to compete in the field, then why stage this election drama? This open violation of constitutional rights and fascism will not be accepted under any circumstances,” he said.
The PTI also shared a video of the alleged arrest on X, in which Junaid Akbar and others were seen sitting inside what appeared to be a van. In the background, a man in a police uniform could also be seen.
Junaid Akbar, meanwhile, posted on X that PTI workers and supporters had reached Ghizer to hold a rally ahead of June 7 general elections in GB.
In another post, he alleged that he and his companions were first stopped while they were travelling to Ghizer. He said the district administration told them that they lacked a “permit”.
In a subsequent post, he added, “I was told to leave Gilgit as I don’t have an NOC, and now I have been stopped at the checkpost again. Is Gilgit-Baltistan not a part of Pakistan?”