ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has accused the federal and Gilgit-Baltistan governments of orchestrating “pre-poll rigging” following the deployment of 5,600 local police officers and over 13,000 additional security personnel from other provinces ahead of the upcoming polls.
Elections in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) are scheduled for Sunday (June 7), following a four-month delay caused by severe winter weather. While the PPP and other political entities have intensified their campaigns and held numerous rallies across the region, the PTI is raising alarms over the security environment.
The party has called upon international bodies, human rights organizations, and democratic forces to address what it describes as a “blatant murder of democracy” and a gross violation of fundamental rights in the region.
Sheikh Waqas Akram, the party’s Information Secretary, criticized the unprecedented influx of external forces, claiming the systematic suppression of the PTI. He noted that in a region of approximately 900,000 people, the government has deployed 11,000 personnel from the Punjab Police, 1,000 from the Sindh Police, 700 from the Frontier Constabulary (FC), and 140 from the ICT Police.
Akram alleged that this overwhelming security presence far exceeds actual requirements and suggests an intent to seize control of polling stations, disrupt the voting process via local proxies, and engineer a predetermined result.
“This massive influx of police is not for maintaining peace but for orchestrating large-scale rigging,” Akram stated, alleging that the current administration is attempting to intimidate genuine voters and prevent them from supporting the PTI.
The Information Secretary further claimed that communication networks, including internet and landline services, have been disrupted across Gilgit to sever ties between PTI workers. He also reported that key party workers have been arrested in recent days, even as candidates’ momentum was increasing.
According to Akram, PTI Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) were coerced or bribed to defect, while loyalists to Chairman Imran Khan were forced into exile. He further alleged that the party’s election symbol was arbitrarily banned.
He specifically mentioned that a last-minute alliance with the Gilgit-Baltistan Democratic Party was sabotaged when its symbol was withdrawn via a text message to returning officers at midnight, without formal legal justification from the Election Commission.
Akram further alleged that polling schemes were manipulated to target PTI and nationalist candidates, and that postal ballots for the party were blocked under false pretexts, while candidates from the PPP and PML-N faced no such restrictions.
The party also claimed that its leaders were barred from campaigning on “flimsy” grounds, and that the Chief Election Commissioner allegedly suggested that PTI candidates should be “thankful” simply for being allowed to submit nomination forms—a comment Akram described as an admission of partisan bias.
The PTI asserts that government ministers worked to eliminate viable PTI candidates during the nomination phase and that voters are being pressured to support the PML-N and PPP. Akram argued that these parties are relying on “Form 47-style manipulation” because they fear the region’s overwhelming support for Imran Khan.
“The message to PTI leaders is clear: the party will not be allowed to win any seats,” Akram asserted, describing the election as a “state-orchestrated farce” designed to crush the democratic will of the people. He warned that these tactics would fail to silence the residents of Gilgit-Baltistan.
Additionally, the PTI expressed disappointment over the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) government’s decision to proscribe the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC). The party emphasized that grievances should be resolved through democratic dialogue rather than coercion or bans.
In an official statement, the PTI questioned the government’s logic, asking why it had previously negotiated and signed agreements with the JAAC if the organization was truly a terrorist entity. The party claimed the government is applying a “failed model” of suppressing peaceful protests and branding democratic demands as threats to the state.