PTI and Tehreek-e-Tahafuz-e-Ain-e-Pakistan leader Asad Qaiser has claimed that he was stopped from reaching Islamabad Airport on Saturday, due to which he missed his flight to Skardu for the ongoing election campaign in Gilgit-Baltistan.
It is being alleged that the incident took place after Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader Junaid Akbar was expelled from Gilgit-Baltistan during the election campaign, who was there with his team to campaign for the June 7 elections.
TTAP Secretary General Asad Qaiser alleged that Punjab Police did not allow him to enter Islamabad Airport and blocked the routes leading to the airport.
In his statement on X, he said, “The Punjab Police detained me until my flight departed.”
He added, “As a result of this action, not only did he miss his flight, but ordinary citizens also faced severe hardship and distress.”
Asad Qaiser condemned the move, calling it an obstacle to political activities, while no official response has been received from the authorities on the matter yet.
However, Gilgit-Baltistan government spokesperson Shabbir Mir has said that the impression that Caretaker Chief Minister Gilgit-Baltistan Justice (retd) Yar Muhammad did not attend the phone call of the Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is not correct.
In a statement, the spokesperson said, “When the phone call was received from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the caretaker chief minister was undergoing examination by doctors due to back pain.” He said, “As soon as the medical examination was completed, the caretaker chief minister immediately called back, but the chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was not available at that time.”
Shabbir Mir clarified that “no political party or candidate is being discriminated against in Gilgit-Baltistan and equal opportunities are being provided to all political parties and independent candidates.”
A statement issued by the office of Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Sohail Afridi strongly condemned the arrest of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf provincial president and member of the National Assembly Junaid Akbar Khan and other parliamentarians in Gilgit-Baltistan.
The Chief Minister of KP said, “If our parliamentarians are not released soon, I will go to Gilgit-Baltistan myself to question the puppet government of Gilgit-Baltistan and the elements active in forming a fake government there about the ill-treatment of our parliamentarians.”
He said in a statement that “such behaviors are harming Pakistan and these actions are increasing hatred while such behavior is creating division. Those whose job is to protect the public mandate, they always rob the mandate of Pakistanis.”
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