Pakistan Army Chief General Asim Munir is facing allegations of orchestrating a pre-election crackdown in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) ahead of the region’s June 7 polls, with opposition leaders and local groups accusing the military establishment of blocking campaigning, manipulating the electoral process and facilitating the entry of candidates linked to a political outfit associated with the banned terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).
According to top intelligence sources, Pakistan’s military establishment has backed candidates from the Pakistan Markazi Muslim League (PMML), widely viewed as a political front linked to LeT founder Hafiz Saeed, in the strategically important and Shia-majority Gilgit-Baltistan region.
The development has triggered concerns among local political groups, who allege that the move is part of a broader attempt to reshape the region’s political and ideological landscape. Sources said the fielding of PMML-linked candidates in GB has raised fears of sectarian polarisation in an area where Shia communities constitute a significant portion of the population.
Opposition parties, including leaders associated with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), have accused the military of preventing rivals from campaigning freely. According to sources, PTI leaders and members of the Tehreek Tahafuz-e-Ayeen Pakistan (TTAP) alliance were allegedly stopped at Islamabad airport and prevented from travelling to Skardu to address election rallies.
Local political activists claim that several opposition figures have been detained, expelled from the region or subjected to administrative restrictions in the run-up to polling, undermining confidence in the electoral process.
“These actions reflect a pattern of pre-poll management designed to engineer a favourable outcome,” a senior intelligence source said, alleging that the establishment was attempting to ensure the emergence of a compliant political leadership in the region.
Critics have also accused the military leadership of reviving policies reminiscent of the era of former military ruler General Zia-ul-Haq, who promoted Islamisation policies across Pakistan. Local voices in Gilgit-Baltistan allege that the encouragement of Sunni Islamist groups in the Shia-majority region is aimed at tightening Islamabad’s control over the territory and countering demands for greater political rights.
