PTI alleges pre-poll rigging over security deployment ahead of GB polls

ISLAMABAD: The PTI on Saturday 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 ahead of the polls.

Elections in GB are scheduled for Sunday (June 7), after a four-month delay attributed to harsh winter weather. The PPP and other political parties have staged a series of rallies across the region and ramped up efforts to garner support ahead of the polls.

The PTI called upon the international community, human rights organisations and all democratic forces to take immediate notice of the gross violation of fundamental rights and the “blatant murder of democracy” in the region.

Meanwhile, the party’s Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram criticised the unprecedented deployment of external forces and the “systematic suppression” of the PTI.

“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,” he said.

“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,” he alleged.

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, saying internet services and landlines had been disrupted across Gilgit, noting that it was “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 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 claimed.

“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,” he claimed.

“Polling schemes were manipulated to target PTI and local nationalist candidates. Postal ballots for PTI have been blocked under fabricated pretexts, while PPP and PML-N candidates enjoy unrestricted access,” Akram alleged.

The party’s information secretary further alleged that PTI leaders and workers were barred from campaigning on “flimsy and unlawful grounds”, with no supporting notification or law produced by the Election Commission despite repeated demands by PTI lawyers.

“Rallies have been stopped and public movement restricted. Even the chief election commissioner told PTI lawyers that the party’s candidates should be ‘thankful’ for being allowed to submit nomination forms — a shocking admission of the commission’s alleged partisan role and complete abandonment of neutrality,” he said.

Akram alleged that in the final days of nominations, government ministers ensured that no viable PTI candidate remained in the field, further claiming that the administration was openly pressuring voters to vote for the PML-N and PPP, while widespread pre-poll rigging continued unabated in every constituency.

“It is an open secret that both the PPP and PML-N are banking on yet another Form 47-style manipulation because they know the people of Gilgit-Baltistan overwhelmingly support Imran Khan and the PTI,” he claimed.

“The message has been clearly conveyed to PTI leaders that the party will not be allowed to win any seats, and that any resistance or noise will result in the disqualification of candidates before polling. This is not an election; it is a state-orchestrated farce designed to crush the democratic will of the people,” Akram asserted.

He warned that unconstitutional and undemocratic tactics would not succeed in silencing the resilient people of Gilgit-Baltistan, who remained firmly committed to the vision of Imran Khan. He called upon the international community, human rights organisations and all democratic forces to take immediate notice of the gross violation of fundamental rights and the “blatant murder of democracy” in Gilgit-Baltistan.

The PTI also expressed concern and disappointment over the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) government’s sudden decision to declare the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) a proscribed organisation.

“The party strongly believes that political, social and constitutional grievances must be addressed through democratic engagement, meaningful dialogue and constitutional means, not through bans, coercion or the use of force,” it said in an official statement.

“If JAAC was truly a terrorist organisation, why did the government spend months negotiating with it, signing agreements with it, implementing its demands, holding meetings with its leadership and treating it as a legitimate stakeholder?” it asked.

The PTI claimed that this was the “same failed model” used against itself, involving the suppression of peaceful protest, blocking of roads, suspension of communication, intimidation of citizens, and branding “every democratic demand as a threat to the state”.