Pakistan Army Accused Of Rigging Gilgit-Baltistan Polls, Backing LeT-Linked Candidates | Exclusive

Key Takeaways

• Pakistan Army Accused Of Rigging Gilgit-Baltistan Polls, Backing LeT-Linked Candidates | Exclusive Reported By, Edited By Last Updated: June 01, 2026, 09:48 IST Critics have also accused the military leadership of reviving policies reminiscent of the era of General Zia-ul-Haq, who Islamisation policies across Pakistan Rapid Read Leaders associated with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) have accused the military of preventing rivals from campaigning freely.
• 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.