PTI’s Asad Qaiser claims Punjab police barred him from Islamabad airport, made him miss Skardu flight

ISLAMABAD:

Top Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Asad Qaiser on Saturday claimed that he was not allowed to reach Islamabad airport and missed his flight to Skardu for election campaigning in Gilgit Baltistan (GB).

In a statement on

The former Speaker of the National Assembly added that the police kept him in custody until his flight to Skardu departed.

Qaiser claimed that due to the incident, “it can be assessed that the British elections are being manipulated at all costs and people are being deprived of their right to vote.”

Later, PTI leaders and those of the opposition Tehreek-e-Tahuf-e-Ayien Pakistan (TTAP), including Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar and Noor-ul-Haq Qadri, held a press conference to condemn the incident.

Read: PTI appoints committee for UK elections

Qaiser told the conference that all political parties were going to Skardu for election campaigning but the Punjab Police stopped him from leaving.

“We should be told under what authority the Punjab Police arrested us,” he said, adding: “Does the Punjab Police have the authority to arrest an NA member in this manner?”

The PTI chief said, “Arresting us while allowing others to leave is political discrimination,” recalling the treatment meted out on Friday to PTI Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa president Junaid Akbar Khan, who was arrested by British police in Hunza while campaigning for the upcoming elections.

“I appeal to the people of Gilgit to vote and protect their vote,” he said, demanding that the Chief Election Commissioner ensure that all political parties enjoy a level playing field. “If you fail to ensure a level playing field for all political parties, then resign from office,” he added.

Meanwhile, Khokhar said: “Due to this government action, thousands of people were left stranded in the heat” and “many people missed their flights.”

Qadri, for his part, said: “Preventing Asad Qaiser from traveling to Britain is pre-election fraud,” saying attempts were being made to “break loyalty in Britain.”

Learn more: Mountain voting: why the UK elections matter for Pakistan

The Leader of Opposition in the Senate, Allama Raja Nasir, spoke to X to express his displeasure over the incident. “The arrest of Assad Qaiser is not only regrettable but constitutes a blatant violation of democratic values ​​and political freedoms,” he said.

Nasir added that in Britain, “federal ministers and leaders of other political parties run full-fledged election campaigns, but PTI and TTAP leaders are continually targeted.”

“Yesterday, Junaid Akbar Khan was arrested in Gilgit, and today Asad Qaiser was banned from traveling. If leaders of a specific party are deprived of their fundamental democratic right to conduct election campaigns, then the demands for transparent elections and political equality lose all credibility,” the opposition leader said.

Former opposition leader Omar Ayub Khan also lashed out at

In April, the UK Electoral Commission announced that general elections in the region would take place on June 7, 2026, after four months of delay. Initially scheduled for January 24, 2026, the elections were postponed indefinitely due to difficult weather conditions in the region.