Salman Akram Raja, other PTI leaders barred from entering Gilgit-Baltistan

GILGIT: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Secretary General Salman Akram Raja on Tuesday claimed that he and several other PTI leaders were barred from entering Gilgit-Baltistan.

In a post on X, Raja said that he, along with PTI leaders Shaukat Basra, Naeem Haider Panjutha and Zaheer Babar, was travelling to Gilgit-Baltistan to campaign for the party ahead of the upcoming Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly elections.

According to Raja, police stopped their convoy within the jurisdiction of the Jal Police Station as they attempted to enter Gilgit-Baltistan.

آج مجھے شوکت بسرا، نعیم پنجوتھہ اور ظہیر بابر کو گلگت بلتستان داخل ہوتے ہی جل تھانہ کی حدود میں آگے جانے سے روک دیا گیا۔ میرا نام ڈی آیس پی کے پاس درج تھا۔ ہمیں اور آئی ایس ایف کے آئے دوستوں کو پولیس کی گاڑیوں کے نرغے میں صوبہ بدر کر دیا گیا ہے۔ عمران خان اور آزادی _ قوم کا فیصلہ pic.twitter.com/CDSXrcr1Gd

— salman akram raja (@salmanAraja) June 2, 2026

“Shaukat Basra, Naeem Panjutha, Zaheer Babar and I were stopped as soon as we entered Gilgit-Baltistan,” Raja wrote on X.

He claimed that the police informed them that the road ahead was closed. However, he alleged that authorities had already prepared a list of names to prevent them from proceeding.

Raja further claimed that he and members of the Insaf Students Federation (ISF) who accompanied the delegation were escorted out of the region under police supervision.

403 candidates to contest from 24 constituencies

Meanwhile, the final list of candidates for the Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly General Elections 2026 was released on Tuesday, showing that a total of 403 candidates will contest elections across 24 constituencies.

According to data released by the Election Commission, 272 independent candidates are in the race, while 131 candidates are contesting on tickets of various political parties.

Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians (PPPP) leads the field with 23 candidates, followed by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) with 22 candidates.

Read More: Junaid Akbar among PTI leaders taken into custody in GB

Other political parties participating in the elections include Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP) with 15 candidates, Pakistan Muslim League with 11, Islami Tehreek Pakistan and Pakistan Nazriyati Party with 10 candidates each, and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) with 9 candidates.

Majlis Wahdat-ul-Muslimeen (MWM) has fielded 7 candidates, while Jamaat-e-Islami and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) have nominated 6 candidates each. Awami Workers Party is represented by 4 candidates.

Constituency-wise details indicate that the most competitive contest is expected in GBA-2 Gilgit-II, where 40 candidates are vying for a single seat. The second-largest contest will take place in GBA-14 Astore-II, where 33 candidates are in the running. In contrast, GBA-24 Ghanche-III has the fewest candidates, with only 6 contestants.

The document also highlights the limited participation of women in the electoral process. Out of the total 403 candidates, only 8 are women. Among them, five are contesting as independent candidates, while one each represents Pakistan Peoples Party, Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party, and Pakistan National Party.

Following the issuance of the final candidate list, election campaigns have gained momentum across Gilgit-Baltistan. Political parties and independent candidates have intensified voter outreach efforts, resulting in heightened political activity throughout the region ahead of the polls.