PTI's Asad alleges airport blockade amid G-B poll row

Party alleges police blocked ex-NA speaker from reaching Islamabad airport

ISLAMABAD:

Political temperatures ahead of the Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) elections rose further on Saturday after PTI senior leader Asad Qaiser claimed he was stopped from reaching Islamabad airport and subsequently missed his flight to Skardu for the party's campaign activity.

Qaiser accused the Punjab police of blocking his route to the airport and effectively keeping him from travelling.

"The Punjab police kept me under detention till the flight took off," he wrote on X, adding that the disruption not only caused him to miss his flight but also created inconvenience for ordinary passengers.

Denouncing the incident as deliberate obstruction, Qaiser alleged that political pressure was being used to restrict PTI's election campaign in G-B. He said such actions were part of a wider effort to influence the electoral environment and limit opposition mobility.

However, despite the setback, he said he remained determined to continue campaigning and expressed confidence that voters in Gilgit-Baltistan would respond against such tactics at the ballot box.

He also shared footage showing heavy traffic buildup near the airport entrance, along with a video in which he is seen engaging with police officials, urging them to allow passengers to move without disruption.

PTI Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram also condemned the situation, arguing that while federal ministers were actively campaigning in G-B, opposition leaders were being restricted from doing the same.

"Running an election campaign by sitting ministers is a clear violation of the Election Commission of Pakistan's (ECP) code of conduct, but unfortunately, the electoral watchdog is silent," he said.

Senate Opposition Leader Allama Raja Nasir Abbas condemned the alleged stoppage as a serious breach of democratic norms and political freedoms.

He pointed out that ruling party figures were freely conducting campaign activities in G-B, while PTI and TTAP leaders were facing repeated restrictions.

"If leaders of a specific party are deprived of their fundamental democratic right to run election campaigns, then claims of transparent elections and political equality lose their credibility," Abbas wrote, adding that such actions only deepen political polarisation.

Similarly, former National Assembly opposition leader Omar Ayub alleged the incident was part of a pattern of "pre-poll rigging".

He alleged that the electoral process was being engineered in advance, claiming that returning officers would ultimately be pressured into producing a "bogus Form 47" declaring preferred candidates as winners.

Former federal minister Noorul Haq Qadri deplored the incident as an act of "pre-poll rigging", alleging that efforts were underway to pressure individuals into breaking political loyalties in the region.

Qadri expressed optimism that the electorate in G-B would vote in line with the vision of the PTI founding chairman Imran Khan, asserting that the region's voters are "brave and conscientious".

He added that the youth in G-B possess the capacity to independently decide their political future.

Meanwhile, Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar, while condemning the incident, said that thousands of people were forced to suffer in extreme heat due to administrative actions. He added that many citizens missed their flights as a result of the disruption and thanked former minister Saad Rafique for publicly commenting on the situation via social media.

In a Facebook post, PML-N leader Khawaja Saad Rafique also said he missed his flight to Skardu, blaming Rawalpindi police for a blockage of traffic leading to the airport.

He said he was travelling for election campaigning but, along with 12 others, was unable to board.

Rafique further alleged that no clear explanation was given for the disruption, and said Air Blue closed boarding "before the scheduled time despite the forced traffic closure".

He added that "numerous women, children and elderly passengers around us were languishing in the hot weather", calling the situation an example of "indifference and incompetence".

 

Afridi urges judicial intervention

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi has sought immediate judicial intervention to ensure transparency in the upcoming Gilgit-Baltistan elections, warning that reports emerging from the region point to a troubling electoral environment marked by alleged restrictions on political activities.

In a letter addressed to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Appellate Court of Gilgit-Baltistan, with a copy also sent to Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi, the chief minister urged the judiciary to take prompt action to safeguard the integrity, credibility and impartiality of the electoral process ahead of the polls.

Expressing concern over the situation in G-B, Afridi said information received regarding the election environment was "extremely alarming", alleging that one political party was facing unnecessary obstacles in conducting election-related activities, public gatherings, campaigning and the movement of its leadership and workers.

He noted that reports had surfaced regarding the harassment of political workers, unlawful arrests and interference in political activities, warning that if such actions were not stopped, they could seriously undermine the credibility and transparency of the electoral process.

The chief minister stressed in his letter that the Constitution guarantees every political party and citizen the fundamental right to participate in free, fair, transparent and impartial elections.

Any deviation from these constitutional and democratic principles, he said, would not only amount to a violation of the Constitution but would also run contrary to democratic norms.

Afridi requested the court to issue clear directives to the relevant institutions to ensure the conduct of free, fair, transparent and impartial elections in Gilgit-Baltistan. He further called for an immediate end to any unlawful harassment, arrests and restrictions targeting political workers and party leaders.