ISLAMABAD/PESHAWAR: Leader of the Opposition in Senate and Tehreek Tahaffuz-e-Aiyeen-e-Pakistan (TTAP) Vice-Chairman Allama Raja Nasir Abbas on Saturday said stopping Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s senior leader Asad Qaiser at the Islamabad Airport was a clear violation of democratic values and political freedom.
“The stopping arrest of ex-NA speaker Asad Qaiser while he was on his way to campaign in Skardu is not only regrettable but also a clear violation of democratic values and political freedoms,” he said in a statement he posted on his social media account.
Federal ministers and leaders of other political parties, he pointed out, are campaigning vigorously in Gilgit-Baltistan, but Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and TTAP leaders are being continuously targeted. He regretted that a day earlier, PTI Khyber Pakhtunkhwa President Junaid Akbar Khan was stopped in Gilgit and today, Asad Qaiser was stopped from traveling.
He emphasized that if leaders of a particular party are deprived of the basic democratic right to campaign, the claims of fair elections and political equality lose their validity. “Such measures do not eliminate political differences but rather create more hatred, division and distrust in the society. The country needs stability, tolerance and democratic traditions, not political revenge and unilateral curbs. The question is, in which direction is the country being taken?” he wondered.
Meanwhile, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Saturday condemned what it called the ongoing campaign of political victimisation, systematic trampling of democratic norms and the use of fear-based governance. The party said all this continued to erode democratic institutions and undermine the country’s democratic process.
In a statement issued by the PTI Central Media Department, the party charged that the ruling regime consistently boasts about its self-proclaimed popularity, yet its actions serve as undeniable proof that it is deeply terrified of facing the public. “If the ruling clique had truly enjoyed public support, it would not have resorted to panicked arrests of PTI leaders and unlawful restriction of their movements ahead of the upcoming GB elections.”
“The arrest of PTI Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) President Junaid Akbar and preventing former speaker of the National Assembly and PTI senior leader Asad Qaiser from participating in the election campaign are clear indications that the government is relying on state machinery rather than democratic competition,” the party added.
Separately, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi has written to the chief justice of the Supreme Appellate Court of Gilgit-Baltistan, seeking judicial intervention to ensure free, fair and transparent elections in the region.
In a letter addressed to the chief justice, the chief minister expressed concern over reports regarding the political environment in Gilgit-Baltistan ahead of the forthcoming elections. He said information received from the region suggested that a political party contesting the elections is facing undue restrictions on its political activities, including election campaigning, public gatherings and the movement of its leadership and workers.
The chief minister referred to reports of harassment, arbitrary arrests and obstacles to lawful political participation, warning that such developments, if left unchecked, could undermine the integrity, credibility and transparency of the electoral process.
Emphasising constitutional guarantees, he said every political party and citizen have the fundamental right to participate in free, fair, transparent and impartial elections. Any departure from these democratic principles, he added, would constitute a violation of constitutional guarantees and democratic norms. Sohail requested the Supreme Appellate Court to take cognisance of the matter and issue appropriate directions to relevant authorities to ensure that the electoral process is conducted in accordance with the Constitution and democratic principles.
On the other hand, speaking to Geo News, Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry said a “high alert” is in place in the twin cities owing to the presence of Australia’s cricket team in Rawalpindi. Rejecting PTI’s claims of being denied a level-playing field, the state minister said the government does not want any questions raised about the electoral process in GB. Responding to a question about Asad Qaiser’s arrest, he said: “Whatever happened was due to security concerns. If the intention had been to stop Qaiser, there would have been many other ways to do so.”
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa President Ali Shah Bacha rejected the criticism levelled by Asad Qaiser, holding the PTI responsible for the deteriorating law and order situation and economic challenges facing the province. “The PPP had handed over a peaceful Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to its successors in 2013, the resurgence of terrorism is the result of PTI’s failed policies,” he said in a statement on Saturday.
He said the worsening security situation in the province reflected what he described as 13 years of PTI’s bad governance. He blamed the party’s policy decisions for inflation, unemployment and the broader economic crisis. “Facts cannot be changed through blame-shifting,” he said, adding that the people of Gilgit-Baltistan and the rest of the country are well aware of who had pursued politics of public service and who had promoted politics of division and confrontation.
The PPP leader urged the PTI to answer for the deteriorating security situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa instead of shifting responsibility onto others. He said the public needs solution to their problems rather than political polarisation. He reaffirmed that the PPP remains committed to democratic values and the protection of public rights.
