PTI chief says he was asked to leave Gilgit for lack of NOC before being arrested by police; PTI condemns arrest
Junaid Akbar was elected unopposed as chairman of the Public Accounts Committee in January 2025. Photo: Express/File
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chairman Junaid Akbar Khan was arrested by the Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) Police in Hunza while campaigning for the upcoming elections, according to party leaders and officials.
Ahead of Britain’s scheduled general elections on June 7, Akbar was visiting various parts of the region as part of the party’s election campaign when he was arrested along with National Assembly members Saleemur Rehman and Syed Mehboob Shah.
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Speaking after the incident, Akbar said he was told to leave Gilgit because he did not have a no-objection certificate (NOC).
“I was told that since I don’t have an NOC, I should leave Gilgit,” he said, wondering: “Isn’t Gilgit-Baltistan part of Pakistan?”
Reacting to the arrests, PTI Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram strongly condemned the detention of Akbar and other party leaders in Britain.
He called the move a “failed attempt to suppress political activities and influence elections,” and urged the Speaker of the National Assembly to intervene immediately to secure the release of the detained leaders.
Let us strongly condemn the shameful expulsion of PTI leaders from Gilgit-Baltistan! The authorities prevent them from campaigning with baseless excuses. This is pure fear of PTI popularity and a desperate attempt to impose Form 47 results through rigging.
Stop politics…– Sheikh Waqas Akram (@SheikhWaqqas) May 29, 2026
“Democracy cannot be silenced through arrests and pressure,” he said.
Responding to the development, KP Chief Minister Suhail Afridi warned that he would personally visit Britain if the detained parliamentarians were not released soon.
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He said questions would be raised about alleged mistreatment by the “puppet government” in Britain and by those seeking to form a government there.
“Such attitudes are harming Pakistan and increasing hatred,” the chief minister said, adding that denying the PTI a level playing field in elections through “force and oppression” was undermining the democratic system.
He further said that the UK Chief Minister was not responding to his calls and called the situation “undemocratic and unpolitical”.
“We will not allow Gilgit-Baltistan to become a no-go zone,” he added.
KP Higher Education and Local Government Minister Meena Khan Afridi also condemned the arrest, calling it “unfortunate” that Akbar was arrested during the election campaign.
He said harassment of workers and political leaders went against democratic values and warned that suppressing dissent by force was not a positive sign for democracy.
Afridi demanded that Akbar be introduced immediately and called for a transparent and free political environment for the British elections.
He also condemned what he described as “political victimization and undemocratic tactics,” urging law enforcement to act in accordance with the Constitution and the law.
Provincial Information Minister Shafee Jan also criticized the arrests, calling them “the worst example of political vengeance.”
He said the detention of elected lawmakers was against democratic norms and amounted to disrespect for the public mandate.
“Participating in an electoral campaign is a constitutional, legal and democratic right of any political party,” he said.
Jan alleged that while other political parties were allowed to campaign freely in Britain, the PTI was hampered.
He questioned why the British government was so “scared” that elected lawmakers would be arrested.
“Such tactics cannot weaken the resolve of PTI workers,” he said, adding that the party would continue to contest elections despite what he called political vengeance.
He added that the British people would reject the policy of political victimization through the power of the vote.
“The government is so afraid of Imran Khan’s popularity among the public that it resorted to such tactics in the run-up to the elections,” he added.
