Asad Qaiser alleges restrictions prevented him from reaching airport for Skardu flight

• Qaiser says restrictions risk making the polls controversial.
• Adds of this continues, elections serve little purpose.
• Khokhar calls for new political charter with consensus.
  

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) senior leader Asad Qaiser alleged on Saturday that restrictions on his movement prevented him from reaching Islamabad airport in time, causing him to miss a flight to Skardu where he was scheduled to take part in the Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) election campaign.

Addressing a press conference in Islamabad alongside former senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar and Senator Fauzia Arshad, Qaiser said he encountered road blockades while travelling to the airport for his flight to Skardu.

"At first, I believed the roads had been closed due to security arrangements, but later learned the restrictions were imposed because of my planned movement," he said.

The development comes as political parties intensify campaigning across Gilgit-Baltistan ahead of the June 7 elections. 

Questioning the fairness of the electoral process, Qaiser said leaders of other political parties were being allowed to campaign freely in the region.

"Bilawal Bhutto is travelling to Gilgit-Baltistan and Amir Muqam is already there, yet I was stopped from reaching the airport," he said, adding that such actions were making the upcoming elections controversial.

"If this is how elections are to be conducted, there is little purpose in holding them," he added.

Qaiser also criticised the ruling coalition, saying the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) were "two sides of the same coin".

He said a future PTI government would focus on developing Gilgit-Baltistan into a major tourism destination.

Speaking on the occasion, Khokhar claimed that hundreds of passengers had missed their flights due to the road closures. He said every candidate had the right to campaign and participate freely in the electoral process.

He alleged that if election outcomes were predetermined, authorities should avoid spending public resources on polls and instead "hand out Form 47s".

Khokhar also said political dialogue and consensus among political forces remained the only way to steer the country out of its current challenges.

Calling for a new national charter agreed upon by all political parties, he said political reconciliation was essential for democratic stability.

Referring to previous efforts at negotiations, Khokhar said the Tehreek Tahaffuz-e-Ayeen Pakistan alliance had accepted the prime minister's offer for talks.

"No meaningful progress has been made in the two months since the proposal was made," he added.