PTI leader Salman Akram Raja, others barred from entering G-B

CHILAS: Police on Tuesday barred Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders, including party Secretary General Salman Akram Raja from entering Gilgit-Baltistan and escorted them back to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, party leaders said.

Gilgit-Baltistan police said the PTI leaders were prevented from entering or moving within the region and were deported back to KP on instructions from “higher authorities.”

Those sent back to KP also included PTI leader Shaukat Basra, Naeem Panjotha and Zahir Babar, police and party sources said.

A police official, speaking in a video circulating on social media, said: “We have received orders from above to province-bound you.”

Before being sent back, Salman Akram Raja questioned the move, saying how local residents accompanying them could be expelled from the region.

Meanwhile, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Khan arrived in Skardu for an election campaign and received a large welcome from supporters.

He was greeted with a convoy of vehicles and taken in a procession through different parts of the city towards a rally venue, where he is expected to address supporters ahead of the upcoming Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly elections.