PTI Alleges Pre-Poll Rigging Ahead of Gilgit-Baltistan Elections
Islamabad - On Saturday, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party once again alleged large-scale pre-poll rigging ahead of the Gilgit-Baltistan elections scheduled for Sunday. Party leaders claim that the deployment of thousands of additional security personnel and restrictions on political activities are creating an unfair electoral environment.
The PTI accused the federal and Gilgit-Baltistan governments of pre-poll rigging over the deployment of 5,600 local police personnel and over 13,000 additional security personnel from outside the region. The people of Gilgit-Baltistan are set to vote in key elections today amid tight security.
Criticism of Security Deployment
PTI’s Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram criticized the unprecedented deployment of external forces and the systematic suppression of the PTI. He stated, "In a region with a total population of approximately 900,000 and only 5,600 GB police personnel, the federal government has deployed over 13,000 additional security personnel from outside Gilgit-Baltistan, including 11,000 from the Punjab Police, 1,000 from the Sindh Police, 700 from the Frontier Constabulary (FC), and 140 from the ICT Police."
Akram alleged, "This overwhelming presence of external forces, far exceeding the requirements of the local population, lays bare the regime’s alleged intent to seize control of polling stations, disrupt the voting process with the help of local proxies, and engineer a pre-determined outcome on election day."
Claims of Systematic Suppression
Akram further claimed: "This massive influx of police is not for maintaining peace but for orchestrating large-scale rigging. The Form-47 government is deliberately pushing the peaceful region of Gilgit-Baltistan into an atmosphere of fear and hostility by attempting to prevent genuine voters from exercising their right to vote for the PTI." He alleged systematic pre-poll rigging, noting that internet services and landlines had been disrupted across Gilgit, describing it as "a classic tactic to sever communication among PTI workers and supporters."
He further claimed that key PTI workers had been arrested in Gilgit over the past two days, even as the situation, according to him, had been improving for PTI candidates. PTI MLAs (Members of the Legislative Assembly) were reportedly coerced and bribed to abandon the party. Leaders and workers loyal to Chairman Imran Khan were forced into exile from GB. The PTI election symbol was arbitrarily banned.
Akram also alleged, "A last-minute alliance with the Gilgit-Baltistan Democratic Party was sabotaged when its symbol was abruptly withdrawn at midnight via a single text message to returning officers, without any written orders or legal justification from the Election Commission."
These allegations come amid broader political tensions, with similar claims of rigging and suppression in other regions.
