ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Secretary General Salman Akram Raja, along with party founder Imran Khan’s Spokesman on Legal Affairs Naeem Panjutha and MPA Shaukat Basra were reportedly barred from entering Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) on Tuesday to partake in the final phase of campaigning ahead of the upcoming June 7 polls.

In a post on X, Raja stated that the PTI leaders were stopped from proceeding into G-B, with his name listed with the deputy superintendent of police. “We, along with friends who had come from ISF, have been surrounded by police vehicles and expelled from the province,” he added.

In a separate post, the secretary general stated that his name, along with those with him, was given to the authorities so that the group may be barred from entering G-B. He added that “the foundational relationship between the public and the state, formed on the basis of votes, has been broken.”

Further, Raja claimed that the authorities told him and the group that they had been directed to stop the group and ensure they did not enter G-B.

The PTI also posted a statement on its official X account, saying that G-B police stopped the leaders at the first checkpoint as soon as they entered Gilgit.

Panjutha, part of the exiled group, stated that the PTI was not being allowed to campaign, writing that sometimes the party symbol was taken away and other times, the authorities were ordered to conduct raids. “Everyone else is being allowed vehicles, but we’re not being let go,” he said.

The party’s Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) president, Junaid Akbar Khan, was arrested by G-B Police at Hunza on Friday while campaigning for the upcoming polls. Akbar was visiting various areas of the region as part of PTI’s election campaign when he was detained along with Members of the National Assembly Saleemur Rehman and Syed Mehboob Shah.

Akbar said he was told to leave Gilgit because he did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC).

Reacting to Raja’s group being stopped and expelled from the province, Akbar took to X, terming the incident as “extremely shameful and condemnable”. He added, “My question is: if the elections are truly free and transparent, then why such fear of PTI and its leadership?”

“Those claiming to conduct the elections: will the “transparency’ of elections be ensured by tying the hands and feet of political opponents, arresting them, and expelling them from the province? Has this reign of darkness now simply been named democracy?” he asked.

Meanwhile, PTI Provincial General Secretary Ali Asghar Khan stated that “every limit of shamelessness has been crossed.”

Senior PTI leader Asad Qaiser, on May 30, also claimed that he had been barred from reaching Islamabad Airport and missed his flight to Skardu for the election campaign.

“Punjab Police did not allow entry into Islamabad Airport, blocked the airport’s access routes, and we, along with the general public, had to face severe difficulties,” Qaiser said after the incident. The former speaker of the National Assembly added that police kept him in custody until his flight to Skardu departed.

Instances of PTI leaders claiming they are being restricted from campaigning in G-B for the polls came as those from other political parties, such as the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and the Pakistan People’s Party continue their push to mobilise voters in the region through rallies and public gatherings.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday pledged to pursue major infrastructure, aviation and energy projects in Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B), saying he would take the region’s concerns directly to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, pushing for long-overdue development initiatives.

Addressing a public gathering in G-B, the former prime minister said he would seek federal action to improve road infrastructure, expand Gilgit Airport and address chronic electricity shortages in the region.

Highlighting infrastructural deficits in the region, the PML-N chief said when he arrived in G-B, “The condition of the roads caused me great pain and sadness,” adding that he saw so many potholes, and told people three or four times that seeing the roads made him very sad.

“Once, these roads were built with enthusiasm,” he said, adding that during his tenure, they “started the road from Mansehra, and it was completed very well up to Thakot.” However, he asked why it was not completed up to Gilgit and why it did not continue beyond Gilgit to Chilas.

“I do not want to speak against any party. I do not want to criticise any government, but my heart compels me to ask: you had the opportunity to govern this country, so why did you neglect this region so much?” Nawaz said. He added that seeing the current condition of G-B saddens him. “Why was no attention paid to it? What was the reason? Your attention was focused elsewhere,” he stated.

Further discussing the road project, Nawaz noted that during his tenure the road was extended to Skardu at a cost of nearly Rs50 billion. “This is the right of the people of Gilgit, it is not a favour from me,” he said.

“My heart weeps. Why was all this allowed to happen? Why was the money that should have been spent on you not spent on you? Where was that money spent?” Nawaz questioned, noting that if hospitals were built in the region, it was PML-N that had built them, applying the same to power plants and hydropower projects, along with the Jaglot-Skardu project, all of which he stated were initiated and completed by his party.

“Tell me the name of any other party that even laid the foundation stone of a project here or started construction of a road here,” Nawaz said. Referring to a four-lane highway from Islamabad to Mansehra that he said should have been extended all the way to G-B, the former prime minister stated that he regretted to say that even the airport remains exactly as it was during his tenure. “It has neither been expanded nor upgraded, the flights are still the same,” Nawaz stated, adding that the airport should have been expanded so that jet aircraft could land there, just as they do in Skardu.

“If that has still not happened, then it causes me great regret, and I express my sorrow to you from the bottom of my heart,” he said. Nawaz added that he had flown to the region on a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) aircraft, questioning how many flights operate in the region in a week and saying that it should be 30.

The PML-N chief assured the gathering that he would meet with PM Shehbaz and ask him to expand the airport, creating the capacity for jets to land and take-off from the region. Saying that the travel time from Gilgit to Skardu had been cut down to three hours from nine, Nawaz stated that the party had saved the people of Gilgit six hours of travel time. “How many opportunities have we created for you and your children? Fulfilling this was one of our heartfelt aspirations,” he said.

Discussing Lowari Tunnel in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) that connects Dir and Chitral, Nawaz stated that the project had remained unfinished for 30 to 40 years before it was completed during his tenure. “But here, projects are started and then never seem to reach completion,” he added, noting that the electricity projects in the region remain a particular source of concern for him due to a shortage of electricity despite the abundance of water resources.

Extending gratitude to his brother, the PML-N chief stated, “I appreciate Shehbaz Sharif, who has allocated 100 megawatts for solar energy here,” but he noted he would tell the prime minister that “20 to 22 hours of load-shedding in winter is not acceptable, and neither is 10 to 12 hours of load-shedding in summer.”

“Others may find it acceptable, but I do not,” Nawaz stated, assuring the gathering that he would speak to PM Shehbaz as soon as he returns to Pakistan. “Whether the solution is found or not, only God knows, but we do not deprive you of these things,” he said.

He concluded his address saying that he would continue to come to G-B “every second or third month” so that the projects in question may be initiated. “I would like to see them being completed under my own supervision and oversight,” the former prime minister added.

Nawaz arrived in G-B on a one-day visit amid ongoing campaigning for the upcoming elections on June 7. Upon his arrival, he was received by Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs Amir Muqam, former G-B chief minister Hafiz Hafeezur Rehman, Captain (retd) Muhammad Safdar, along with other party leaders.

Federal ministers including Khawaja Asif, Ahsan Iqbal, Rana Sanaullah, along with Senator Pervaiz Rashid, Punjab Senior Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb, Senator Anusha Rahman, and Kazim Pirzada are accompanying Nawaz during his visit.

While in G-B, the PML-N president will hold meetings with party leaders and party ticket holders contesting the elections.

A day ago, the Election Commission issued a No Objection Certificate (NOC) clearing Nawaz to visit G-B to launch his election campaign. The polls, due to take place on June 7, have spurred major political parties to make a final push to mobilise voters across the region before campaigning officially ends later this week.

However, allegations by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf that the party had been barred from campaigning intensified the political temperature in the region.

In the notification issued by the Election Commission Secretariat of G-B, the chief election commissioner of G-B accorded permission for Nawaz’s visit on Tuesday, “for participation in election-related activities.”

It added that the NOC was subject to strict compliance with the Elections Act, 2017, applicable election laws and rules, and the Code of Conduct for General Elections 2026. “Any violation thereof shall entail legal consequences under the relevant election laws and may result in appropriate proceedings against the concerned candidate(s) and other persons responsible for such violation,” it stated.

SKARDU: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Tuesday said Gilgit-Baltistan should be granted the same constitutional protections, powers and facilities available to the provinces under the 18th Amendment, asserting that only then would its people become owners of their resources and masters of their own destiny.

As political activity gathers pace ahead of the G-B general elections scheduled for Sunday after a four-month delay attributed to harsh winter weather, Bilawal addressed a public gathering in Skardu attended by First Lady Aseefa Bhutto-Zardari.

Recalling the previous elections, he said there had been an atmosphere of celebration at the time, whereas the current election campaign was taking place in an atmosphere of grief.

“I toured G-B on foot in the last elections. I wanted to do the same this time,” he said, adding that there was an “air of grief” for both the people of G-B and himself.

He said there was no politician in the country who had travelled as extensively as he had, adding that he had visited every tehsil of G-B.

The PPP chairman said his party was the only political force representing the underprivileged and the poor, stressing that Pakistan could only progress when workers and young people were economically empowered.

“Progress is when the farmer gets the fruit of their hard work, progress is when employment opportunities are created for the youth,” he said, recalling that the policies of his grandfather, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, had “made labourers the owners of mills”.

Calling for greater rights for the people of G-B, the PPP chairman said his party’s new generation would continue the struggle to secure the region’s right to govern, own its resources and create employment opportunities for its youth.

“I have to struggle along with G-B’s new generation. If we have to implement the manifesto of roti, kapra, makaan in its true sense, then we will have to work on three principles — we will have to secure the right to govern, the right to ownership and the right to employment,” he said.

He added that the struggle of the PPP’s new generation would be aimed at securing the people of G-B’s right to govern and that this would only be achieved when the region received the protections, facilities and powers provided under the 18th Amendment.

“We believe all of this will only be possible when G-B is granted the same powers and facilities that will make its people owners of their resources and masters of their own destiny.”

Bilawal said this would happen when G-B received the same authority under the 18th Amendment that was available to Sindh, Punjab, Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

“When G-B has those powers and that constitutional protection, only then will our new generation feel that we have succeeded,” he added.

Referring to the situation in the Middle East, the PPP chairman said innocent children had been martyred after a school in Iran was targeted by missiles and that people around the world were bearing the burden of the conflict.

He added that Zionist forces had targeted a girls’ school, resulting in the martyrdom of innocent schoolgirls, and also referred to the reported martyrdom of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during the holy month of Ramazan.

“We pray that the efforts for peace being undertaken by the field marshal prove successful. The Pakistan People’s Party has always opposed war. The recent conflict has resulted in casualties not only in Iran but also in Palestine, Lebanon and Syria, where Muslims are being martyred. In this situation, every Pakistani is praying for the success of the role being played by the Pakistan Armed Forces and the field marshal for the establishment of peace,” he said.

Bilawal said the conflict was also having economic consequences that had adversely affected people across the world.

He also referred to the presence of foreign air bases in some Middle Eastern countries and said Pakistan’s history included a period when a military ruler had allowed foreign powers to establish air bases in the country.

“However, when the Salala incident occurred, and Pakistan’s sovereignty came into question, President Asif Ali Zardari took a courageous decision and shut down all foreign bases, sending a clear message that no compromise would be accepted on Pakistan’s territory and sovereignty. It was a moment when the state prioritised national dignity and self-respect over hospitality,” he said.

Referring again to the PPP’s slogan of “roti, kapra aur makaan”, he said the party would have to secure the right to govern, the right to ownership and the right to employment for the people of G-B if it wished to implement its manifesto in its true spirit.

The PPP chairman said that during his tenure as foreign minister, the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) was the only institution about which other countries asked Pakistan for assistance in establishing similar initiatives.

“From Egypt to Brazil, and across many countries in Africa, there is a desire to launch programmes similar to the Benazir Income Support Programme to serve poor people,” he said.

Without naming any party, he said some political forces called for the abolition of BISP rather than examining subsidies provided to the wealthy or the taxes paid by the business community.

“This is the only institution from Islamabad that reaches every poor household. From Balochistan to the former tribal districts, and from there to the mountains of G-B, this financial assistance provided to poor women in the name of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto reaches those in need. The conspiracies of political parties that oppose this programme will fail,” he said.

Read More: Barrister Gohar, Bilawal arrive in Skardu as G-B election campaign enters final stretch

Bilawal said the PPP would not only protect BISP but that the prime minister would announce an increase in its allocation in the upcoming budget.

He further said that everything could not be controlled from Islamabad and that G-B must be granted ownership rights.

“It must be accepted that local people should be given ownership in every project. This is how it was done in Sindh. When coal was extracted from Thar, electricity was provided to local communities, jobs were created for them in the projects, and they were even offered shares. They chose financial compensation instead of shares. The benefits of Thar coal are being enjoyed by all of Pakistan, but the local people benefited first. This is what the PPP wants,” he said.The

PPP chairman said he compared Sindh not with other provinces but with the wider world.

“The housing project in Sindh is the largest of its kind in the world. Previously, Nepal held the record for post-earthquake housing construction. Now that the record belongs to Sindh, where two million permanent homes are being built after the floods. These homes will not be destroyed even if floods occur again, and they will be registered in the names of women,” he said.

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday reviewed the country’s overall law and order and security situation during a meeting with Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi in Lahore.

During the meeting, the two leaders held a detailed discussion on national security and public safety measures, according to an official statement.

The interior minister briefed the prime minister on special arrangements made to ensure the protection of citizens’ lives and property and to enhance security at public places during Eidul Azha.

Naqvi also informed the premier about the preparations undertaken by security agencies to ensure the peaceful, transparent and orderly conduct of the upcoming elections in Gilgit-Baltistan.

He said a comprehensive security plan had been devised to maintain law and order and provide a secure environment for voters throughout the electoral process.

The premier appreciated the efforts of the Ministry of Interior, law enforcement agencies and security forces in maintaining peace and stability in the country and safeguarding the public.

He also commended the interior minister and his team for putting in place effective security arrangements for the Gilgit-Baltistan elections and reiterated the government’s commitment to taking all necessary measures to support the democratic process.

ISLAMABAD: Power Minister Awais Ahmed Khan Leghari on Sunday rejected reports suggesting that electricity subsidies for protected consumers were being withdrawn, describing such claims as inaccurate and misleading.

Leghari’s remarks come against the backdrop of reports last month that Pakistan had committed to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to gradually end untargeted electricity subsidies for residential consumers and provide future support through the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) as part of conditions attached to a $1.2 billion climate support loan.

Addressing a press conference about the government’s power sector reforms, Leghari said the number of protected consumers had increased from 9.5 million to 21.5 million over the past four years.

“The government is not withdrawing electricity subsidies for protected consumers,” he said, adding that around 29.57 million domestic consumers — representing 86 per cent of the total — were currently receiving subsidised electricity.

The minister said the volume of electricity subsidies had increased from Rs199 billion to Rs423b, while total subsidies worth Rs527b were being provided to the agricultural and domestic sectors.

“Eligible consumers will continue to receive uninterrupted subsidies through the QR code-based system,” he said.

Leghari said the government had introduced a registration mechanism to ensure that subsidies were directed only to deserving consumers, adding that more than two million single-phase consumers had already completed the registration process.

He maintained that reports regarding the discontinuation of subsidies were contrary to facts, while government claims about reductions in electricity prices were accurate.

Read More: Pakistan assures IMF to withdraw untargeted power subsidies in January

Highlighting developments in the power sector, the minister said the review of agreements with Independent Power Producers (IPPs) had generated savings of Rs3.5 trillion.

He said reductions in losses incurred by power distribution companies (DISCOs) had resulted in savings of Rs193b, while circular debt had declined by Rs780b during fiscal year 2024-25.

According to Leghari, the sale of surplus machinery of JNCs had generated savings of Rs47b. He said ongoing reforms had significantly reduced electricity generation and distribution costs, with positive results becoming increasingly visible across the energy sector.

The minister said the reforms had provided direct relief to consumers, while lower subsidy allocations in the budget had eased pressure on the national exchequer. He added that the burden of cross-subsidies on industrial consumers had also been reduced.

Providing details of tariff reductions, Leghari said electricity prices had declined across all consumer categories between March 2024 and May 2026.

“Tariffs for protected consumers have fallen by 31pc, while domestic consumers have benefited from a 16pc reduction,” he said.

He added that industrial electricity rates had declined by 33pc, commercial tariffs by 8pc, and agricultural tariffs by 14pc. Consumers in Azad Jammu and Kashmir had seen electricity rates decline by 45pc, while tariffs for bulk consumers had been reduced by 13pc.

According to the minister, the average electricity tariff nationwide had fallen by 20pc, which he attributed to reforms and greater reliance on domestic energy resources.

Discussing the country’s energy transition, Leghari said the share of clean energy in Pakistan’s power mix was expected to rise from the current 55pc to 90pc by 2035.

During the same period, electricity generation from local resources was projected to increase from 74pc to 96pc, while renewable energy currently accounted for 57pc of the country’s energy mix, he said.

Comparing regional trends, the minister said India’s renewable energy share stood at around 48pc. He stressed that the government was not discouraging solar energy adoption but was introducing measures aimed at improving transparency and efficiency.

“The government is not discouraging solar energy adoption,” he said.

Leghari said the National Energy Plan included 8 gigawatts of distributed solar energy and that the recently introduced net billing policy would not affect 90 per cent of domestic consumers.

“No major changes have been made for single-phase residential solar users,” he said.

The minister also highlighted solarisation projects in Gilgit-Baltistan and Gwadar and announced that licensing requirements for solar projects of 25 kilowatts or below had been abolished to encourage wider adoption of renewable energy.

According to Leghari, the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) had approved additional facilities for small-scale solar projects at the request of the Power Division, while transparency had been enhanced through the digitisation of the net billing system.

He also clarified that net metering had not been abolished.

“Reforms have been introduced to improve billing procedures and create a balanced framework that protects the interests of both solar consumers and other electricity users,” he said.

Reaffirming the government’s position, the minister said subsidies for protected consumers would continue and were not being eliminated.