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Leaders were stopped and taken to Gilgit while returning from a rally in Ghizer.
BY Mahnoor | 30-05-2026
ISLAMABAD: The PTI party claimed on Friday that their regional leader, Junaid Akbar, and several other party members were arrested by the Gilgit-Baltistan government. This happened while they were campaigning for the upcoming elections on June 7.
In a post on X, the party said that PTI K-P President Junaid Akbar and several other leaders were stopped at a checkpoint while returning from Ghizer district and were then taken to Gilgit.
This happened as political parties increased their campaigning for the next Gilgit-Baltistan elections.
PTI also posted a video on social media of the reported arrest. It showed Akbar and other leaders sitting in a van, with a police officer visible behind them.
Junaid Akbar previously shared on X that PTI supporters were meeting in Ghizer this Friday for a campaign rally.
Akbar wrote in another post that he and his friends were stopped while traveling to Ghizer. He said the local officials told them they did not have the necessary permit.
“Isn’t Gilgit-Baltistan part of Pakistan? Why must a Pakistani citizen get special permission to travel inside their own country?” he asked.
“These controlling methods and panic show they have already lost. If they are not brave enough to compete fairly, why hold these elections? We will not accept this violation of our rights and this unfair treatment.”
Later, he posted: “They told me to leave Gilgit because I don’t have a permit, and now they have stopped me at a checkpoint again. Is Gilgit-Baltistan not part of Pakistan?”
“They took our party’s symbol away and won’t let us campaign; instead, they are arresting us. We were stopped in Gilgit, arrested, and kicked out of the province, while PML-N leaders get special treatment and full security,” the post said.
Omar Ayub, the former opposition leader, also spoke out against the reported arrest of PTI leaders.
He wrote on X that he strongly disagrees with the arrest of PTI’s KPK provincial president, Junaid Akbar Khan, in Hunza. He said this shows the current government prefers a fake ‘selected’ leader over a fair and free election.
Meanwhile, KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi warned that he would personally step in if the detained lawmakers were not freed.
In a post on X, he said he would go there himself to ask the GB government and those trying to set up a fake government why our lawmakers are being mistreated.
He said these actions are hurting Pakistan.
This behavior spreads hatred and creates divisions. The people who are supposed to protect the public’s will are actually taking it away from the Pakistani people.
“The democratic system is being destroyed because the elections are unfair and Imran Khan’s party is being forced out through oppression,” he claimed.
The Chief Minister of K-P also said that the Chief Minister of Gilgit-Baltistan is not answering his calls.
“This behavior is unfair and unpolitical. We won’t let Gilgit-Baltistan become a place where people are unwelcome,” he said. He added that the friendly people of the region will punish this disrespect by voting against them.
