Asad Qaiser, a member of Pakistan’s Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party in the National Assembly, has claimed that Punjab Police prevented him from traveling to Gilgit-Baltistan for an election campaign and did not allow him to proceed to the airport.
Speaking at a press conference on Saturday, he said that while he was on his way to Islamabad Airport, the road was blocked and police later informed him that he would not be allowed to travel. He questioned the legal basis of the action and stated that he had been treated unfairly despite being a member of the National Assembly.
Qaiser also alleged that discriminatory treatment is being directed at the PTI and claimed that the party’s leader in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had also been expelled from Gilgit-Baltistan.
Meanwhile, Muhammad Ali Shah, president of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, responded to these remarks by saying that insecurity and terrorism in the province are the result of PTI’s failed policies and that the party should be held accountable for the current security situation.
At the same time, Sohail Afridi, the Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, announced that he had sent a letter to the Chief Justice of the Gilgit-Baltistan Supreme Court, requesting that the upcoming elections be conducted in a transparent and fair manner. He added that political activists in Gilgit-Baltistan are facing pressure, arrests, and restrictions.
Elections are scheduled to be held in Pakistan-administered Gilgit-Baltistan on June 7.
Writer:Saeed Sameer
