GILGIT (Kashmir English): Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has said that the President of its Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chapter, Junaid Akbar, and his associates were arrested and forcibly removed from Gilgit-Baltistan ahead of the election in the region on Friday.
In a post on X, the opposition party said PTI KP President Junaid Akbar, MNAs Saleem ur Rehman, Syed Mahboob Shah, Dr. Amjad Ali Khan, and MPA Naeem Khan were “expelled from Gilgit Baltistan.”
Earlier, PTI Gilgit Baltistan claimed that they were arrested by the GB government and administration at a check post when they were returning from the Ghizer district.
گلگت بلتستان میں عاصم لأ کے تحت جاری پری پول دھاندلی کی ایک اور مثال
صوبائی صدر پی ٹی آئی خیبرپختونخوا جنید اکبر خان ، اراکینِ قومی اسمبلی سلیم الرحمٰن، سید محبوب شاہ ڈاکٹر امجد علی خان اور ایم پی اے نعیم خان کو “صوبہ بدر” کر دیا گیا۔
جبکہ باقی تمام جماعتوں کے رہنما کھلم کھلا… pic.twitter.com/5hu6VsxTHI
— PTI (@PTIofficial) May 29, 2026
GB police officials said Akbar was detained from the Hanzel area along with his associates, adding that they would be expelled from the region.
In another post on X, Junaid Akbar said this morning, he and his companions were initially stopped from travelling to Ghizer by saying that we do not have an NOC.
“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.
آج صبح گلگت بلتستان انتظامیہ نے آ کر اعتراض کیا کہ آپ کے پاس این او سی (NOC) نہیں ہے۔ اور اب، ایک بار پھر مجھے اور میرے ساتھیوں کو غذر جانے سے یہ کہہ کر روک دیا گیا ہے کہ آپ کے پاس اجازت نامہ نہیں ہے۔
کیا گلگت بلتستان پاکستان کا حصہ نہیں ہے؟ ایک پاکستانی کو اپنے ہی ملک میں سفر… pic.twitter.com/J16gDkcsxI— Junaid Akbar (@JunaidAkbarMNA) May 29, 2026
Meanwhile, Sohail Afridi, Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, strongly reacted to the detention of PTI lawmakers and warned that he would personally travel to Gilgit-Baltistan if the parliamentarians were not released.
“If our parliamentarians are not released soon, I will personally go there to question the puppet government of Gilgit-Baltistan and those who are active in forming a fake government there about their mistreatment of our parliamentarian,” he wrote in a post on X.
He alleged that attempts were being made to establish a “fake government” in Gilgit-Baltistan and said such actions were increasing political division in the country.
Afridi added that those whose job is to protect the public mandate always cast a shadow on the mandate of Pakistanis. 2
“By not providing a level playing field in the elections and by forcibly, through oppression and coercion, the democratic system is being destroyed to wall off Imran Khan’s party,” he wrote, adding that Gilgit-Baltistan would not be allowed to become a “no-go area.”
In addition, Chairman PTI Barrister Gohar condemned the arrest of Junaid Akbar and the party workers, saying denying political space even in GB will harm democracy in the country.
“Preventing [political workers] from running election campaign ahead of polls is tantamount to rigging,” he added.
