Tensions mount in G-B ahead of vote

PTI alleges administrative hurdles, selective restrictions during campaign

ISLAMABAD:

With polling for the Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly only days away, allegations of pre-poll rigging, selective administrative restrictions, and institutional friction have intensified, raising fresh questions about the fairness of the electoral environment in the strategically significant region.

The controversy gathered pace after former National Assembly speaker Asad Qaiser warned that 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 elections as a "mistake," signalling a more confrontational stance should the outcome of the GB polls become disputed.

Tensions escalated on May 29 when PTI's Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa President and MNA Junaid Akbar Khan, along with party lawmakers Saleemur Rehman, Syed Mehboob Shah and Dr Amjad Ali Khan, were stopped at a police checkpost in Ghizer district while returning from electioneering activities.

Authorities cited the absence of a required no-objection certificate (NOC) for public gatherings. PTI denounced the move as a targeted obstruction, while police maintained that no arrests had been made.

On Saturday, former National Assembly speaker Asad Qaiser alleged that Punjab Police prevented him from reaching Islamabad airport, causing him to miss his scheduled flight to Skardu.

He condemned the restrictions on PTI leaders participating in the election campaign.

In contrast, PML-N leader Khawaja Saad Rafique addressed a series of public rallies across G-B on Sunday as part of his party's campaign drive.

Other senior leaders of the ruling coalition, including federal ministers Atta Tarar and Amir Muqam, have also remained active in electioneering across multiple districts.

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, PTI has gone beyond individual incidents and alleged a broader pattern of pressure on candidates.

The party claims that the election commission officials have approached some candidates and urged them to abandon PTI and contest on government-backed tickets.

It also cited a notice issued to the mother of former chief minister Khalid Khurshid for displaying election posters as an example of selective enforcement.

PTI candidates are largely contesting the elections as independents after reportedly failing to secure the party symbol, a development that has further complicated the party's electoral prospects in Gilgit-Baltistan.

Meanwhile, 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 scale and whether similar deployments were made during previous elections in the region.

Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry rejected PTI's allegations, saying the government had no interest in undermining the electoral process.

He attributed the restrictions faced by Asad Qaiser to security considerations rather than political motives.

For its part, the G-B election 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 show-cause notices had also been issued to candidates from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) for violations.

Institutional tensions deepened further when Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi wrote to the Chief Justice of the Gilgit-Baltistan Supreme Appellate Court, deploring the reported restrictions as "deeply disturbing" and seeking judicial intervention to ensure a level playing field.

The chief election commissioner responded sharply on Sunday, stating that the letter carried no legal standing and amounted to interference in the electoral process.

The public exchange between a provincial chief executive and the G-B election authority, just days before polling, underscores the widening institutional strain surrounding the election.

The current tensions are rooted in a shifting political landscape. PTI won the 2020 Gilgit-Baltistan elections and formed the government under Chief Minister Khalid Khurshid.

However, his disqualification by the G-B chief court in July 2023 paved the way for a coalition government comprising PTI dissidents, PPP and PML-N lawmakers, which subsequently elected Haji Gulbar Khan as chief minister.

PTI is now seeking a political comeback in the region without its party symbol, under what it denounces as tightened campaign conditions and amid allegations of administrative pressure.

The assembly completed its five-year tenure in November 2025. Elections, originally scheduled for January 24, were postponed due to severey winter conditions. June 7 was later finalised as the only feasible window before the onset of Muharram in mid-June, which would otherwise have pushed polling into late summer or early autumn.

As voting day draws near, PTI has already signalled that it will not accept a disputed result in G-B in the same manner it claims to have done following the February 2024 general elections.