What happened
Four leaders of the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), including its secretary general, were stopped from entering Gilgit-Baltistan and escorted out on 2 June 2026, five days before the region’s assembly election, the party said.
PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja said he was travelling with Shaukat Basra, Naeem Panjutha and Zaheer Babar when police stopped them in the jurisdiction of Jal police station in Diamer district. In a post on X, Raja said a deputy superintendent of police told them his name was already on a list, and that he and colleagues from the Insaf Student Federation were surrounded by police vehicles and forcibly escorted out of the province. He said the police accompanied the group until Babusar Top before turning back, and described the action as an attempt to restrict their constitutional right to free movement and political activity.
Shaukat Basra told reporters that local PTI and Insaf Student Federation workers who had come to receive the delegation were arrested. PTI Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram condemned the incident and said the treatment mirrored what the party says it faced before and during the 8 February 2024 general elections, alleging that police had been given lists to identify and stop PTI-affiliated individuals. In a separate statement, the PTI’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa president, Junaid Akbar, called the incident shameful and asked why there was such fear of the party if the polls were free.
Why it matters
The expulsions came in the final days of campaigning for the Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly election, scheduled for 7 June after a four-month delay attributed to severe winter weather. PTI leaders said the party was being denied a level playing field, an allegation the authorities have not accepted; Gilgit-Baltistan police have previously said action against PTI figures followed alleged breaches of the election code of conduct.
The same day, PML-N President Nawaz Sharif and PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari addressed rallies in the region, with Bilawal saying Gilgit-Baltistan should have the same rights as other provinces under the 18th Amendment and Nawaz promising to press the prime minister on expanding the local airport.
The episode follows the earlier detention and expulsion of Junaid Akbar while he was campaigning, which KhabarWire reported here. PTI’s account of the 2 June incident is based on statements by the party and its leaders, which have not been independently verified by KhabarWire.
Sources & reporting notes
This is a summary of published reporting, not independent reporting. Details are as carried by the cited sources, and the expulsion account is attributed to PTI and the leaders involved. Sources reviewed on 2026-06-02.
- The Express Tribune — "Salman Akram Raja, PTI leaders say barred from entering G-B ahead of polls"2 June 2026 · Reports the leaders' accounts, the Jal police station stop and the pending 7 June election.
- ARY News — "PTI's Salman Raja says he was expelled from Gilgit-Baltistan"2 June 2026 · Carries Raja's statement on the names list and the ejection from the province.
