Gilgit-Baltistan : A Deprived and Subjugated Region

The PPP led government of Pakistan has, through the enactment of the Gilgit-Baltistan (Empowerment and Self Governance) Order 2009 of August 29, opened yet another Pandora’s Box in the already complicated dispute over the status of the erstwhile monarchial State of Jammu and Kashmir. The legislation has evoked different responses from the various actors who have either a direct and legitimate or a self appointed interest in the region. The Government of Pakistan is of the opinion that the legislation will meet the long standing aspirations of the people for self empowerment by granting to them wide ranging political rights. However, its application on ground tells a different story, in accordance with this legislation the Legislative Assembly of the region can elect its own Chief Minister and a Governor will be appointed by the pleasure of the President of Pakistan. Further, the Governor will head a 12 member council with 50% members from the Assembly and the remaining 50% appointed by the Governor himself, this caveat by itself reduces the position of the Chief Minister to that of a dummy. Also the Legislative Assembly will have no control over defence and the treasury. This devolution which is the result of a protracted political movement of the people of this beleaguered region clearly falls short of their justified aspirations and therein lies the reason for their strong and acrimonious reaction.

The people of the region who had willingly thrown their lot with Pakistan at the time of independence and partition of the sub-continent have been, for the last 60 years, denied even the basic right of having a distinct identity of their own. Having received this bonanza without effort Pakistan set about misusing it as a tool to further its political, economic and strategic objectives, it wrested away the name of the region and gave to it an ignominious nomenclature of the Northern Areas, it further denied the region a well defined political status with the singular objective of utilising its votes to strengthen the position for a plebiscite in J&K. The remote region with a small population had no means to counter this bloodless invasion and it became a virtual colony of Pakistan. As time passed the covetous Punjabis of Pakistan Punjab realised the immense economic potential of the region and they let loose a massive exercise to control all the assets of this forgotten colony through a devious plan of changing its demographic pattern and denying it political legitimacy. Governments and political dispensations in Pakistan changed over time, they hopped from democracy to dictatorship and back but the policy towards the Northern Areas remained unchanged. In fact, the hapless soldiers of the Northern Light Infantry who are recruited from amongst these people were the chosen cannon fodder of Pervez Musharraf for his ill conceived misadventure in Kargil in 1999. It was the people of Gilgit-Baltistan who were subject to an ignominious death for a lost cause.

The strategic location of the region as a communication hub for China, India, Afghanistan and the Central Asian Republics is not lost to Pakistan. The country has, without consent from the people of the region, already ceded considerable territory to China to facilitate its corridor to the Arabian Sea through the equally controversial Gawadar Port in Balochistan by development of the Karakuram highway.
Now it is looking at giving cosmetic legitimacy to its machinations by according a semblance of autonomy to the people so that the region can be further exploited for commercial gains. There are projects in the pipeline designed to exploit the water and other natural resources of the region, as and when these come up it will benefit the Punjabi more then the ethnic population. Thus by playing out this sham of autonomy Pakistan has tightened the noose around the already besieged region.

Now we come to the reactions, predictably the strongest negative reaction has come from the political parties of the region itself since they fully realise that the package has strengthened Pakistan’s claim over the territory and has not, by any means, devolved to the people the empowerment that they were agitating for. According to Malika Batlistani the chairperson of the Gilgit Baltistan United Alliance (GBUA) the package gives to the people a provincial status without a province, a political system without political empowerment and a constitutional package without constitutional rights. The second aggrieved party is the separatist elements of the Kashmir imbroglio. They have reacted sharply because they consider these areas to be a part of the disputed territory of Jammu and Kashmir and they perceive this action as a sell out of their cause by Pakistan. They also believe that Pakistan is now bringing about permanency in division of Kashmir to its benefit. The third party, India, has already registered its protest since the entire State of J&K is an integral part of India and Pakistan is in illegal possession of the area in question, it has also protested the proposed construction of the Bunji Hydro Electric project by the Chinese on ‘Build Operate Own Transfer’ (BOOT) basis, Pakistan has predictably rejected these claims by India.

Coming to the ramifications of this new political development, it seems that Pakistan has learnt no lessons from the happenings in its existing Provinces that are on the boil for a long time now, Balochistan and the Frontier are in the throes of an active insurgency and a civil war respectively, the country is destabilised and has the whole world worried about the security of its nuclear arsenal.

Amidst this turmoil, instead of reacting sympathetically to the justified aspirations of the people of Gilgit-Baltistan, the democratic government of Pakistan is denying them their rights and leading them on a path of confrontation, a confrontation that it can ill afford at this juncture. In the case of the separatist elements this is the time for them to understand that Pakistan has been using them for its own ends and it will dump them whenever its feels the need to do so. The sooner they realign their policies in accordance with what is obviously good for the people whom the represent the better. The third party, the Indian government, should provide political, diplomatic and moral support to the people of Gilgit-Baltistan in their justified fight to shed the colonial yoke of a fascist State. It should spare no effort towards securing for the people their rightful place in the Indian democracy.