Six thousand Punjab police personnel are being deployed in Gilgit-Baltistan ahead of the June 7 election, it emerged on Sunday as the PTI reiterated its allegations of pre-poll rigging.
Punjab authorities had initially approved the deployment of 5,000 personnel to GB and later gave the nod for the deployment of 1,000 more police personnel.
Meanwhile, the PTI alleged on Sunday that “systematic pre-poll rigging” was under way ahead of GB elections on June 7.
In a statement, PTI Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram accused the federal government of engineering the “pre-poll rigging”. The party further asserted that the government was “brazenly misusing state resources to suppress democratic voices and undermine the electoral process even before a single vote is cast”.
It further condemned what it described as the “partisan and unacceptable conduct” of the GB Election Commission, saying that the “commission issued a notice to the mother of former chief minister Khalid Khursheed, questioning why she had displayed a picture of her son on campaign posters”.
“Additionally, commission officials have contacted candidates and issued threats, directing them to abandon PTI and contest on tickets of government-backed parties”, the PTI claimed.
It accused the PML-N of violating the elections code of conduct, claiming that federal ministers belonging to the PML-N, including Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan Amir Muqam and Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, had been “stationed in the region to influence the local administration”.
However, at the same time, PTI parliamentarians were being “prevented from entering GB”, the statement said.
However, the GB chief election commissioner, Raja Shahbaz Khan, has stated that strict implementation of the electoral code of conduct is being ensured during the upcoming general elections and any violation will not be tolerated under any circumstances.
Speaking at a press conference in Gilgit the Chief Election Commissioner emphasized that the core objective of the Election Commission is to conduct free, fair, transparent, and peaceful elections, enabling voters to exercise their right to vote in a secure and independent environment.