Gilgit: Junaid Akbar was arrested by Gilgit-Baltistan Police along with several Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf lawmakers in Hunza during the party’s election campaign, police officials said.
Police officials confirmed that Junaid Akbar, PTI’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa president, was travelling for campaign activities in Gilgit-Baltistan when he was taken into custody.
PTI lawmakers Saleem Rehman, Syed Mehboob Shah, Dr Amjad Ali and Naeem Khan were also detained.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi condemned the arrests and warned that he would travel to Gilgit-Baltistan if the detained parliamentarians were not released immediately.
Sohail Afridi called the police action “undemocratic and politically motivated.” He said such measures were creating divisions and increasing political hatred in the country.
The chief minister alleged that PTI was being denied a level playing field through pressure tactics. He also claimed that the caretaker chief minister of Gilgit-Baltistan was not responding to his calls.
Read: PPP Gilgit-Baltistan Campaign Begins With 8 Rallies
Afridi said Gilgit-Baltistan should not be turned into a “no-go area” for political parties. He said voters in the region would respond through the ballot in the upcoming elections.
PTI leaders also condemned the arrests and demanded the immediate release of Junaid Akbar and the detained lawmakers.
