People of Gilgit Baltistan Waiting to be Heard

Following is the text of a letter written to the then Chief Justice of Pakistan, Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, now deposed, drawing his attention to the violation of fundamental human rights of the people of Gilgit Baltistan (Northern Areas of Pakistan).

We write this to draw your attention to the violation of fundamental human right of participation in political process to the 1.4 million people of the Northern Areas of Pakistan which has aggravated due to non-compliance with the judgment of the Honorable Supreme Court in “Al-Jehad Trust and 9 others v. Federation of Pakistan and 3 others” which explicitly directed the Federation:

“To initiate appropriate administrative/legislative measures within a period of six months from today to make necessary amendments in the Constitution/relevant statute/statutes/order/orders/rules/notification/notifications, to ensure that the people of Northern Areas enjoy their above fundamental rights, namely, to be governed through their chosen representatives and to have access to justice through an independent judiciary inter alia for enforcement of their Fundamental Rights guaranteed under the Constitution.

It is indeed a grave violation of the judgment of the apex court that till today, after passage of more than 8 years, the Federal Government in general and the Federal Ministry of Kashmir Affairs and Northern Areas (KANA) in particular have taken no substantial steps to ensure that the elected representatives of the Northern Areas are empowered and to enable the inhabitants to have access to independent judiciary. The following conditions reflect this:

1) The region is still being governed by the Northern Areas Legal Framework Order 1994 (LFO), an administrative instrument enforced by the KANA without any involvement of the people of Northern Areas who have been denied their own Interim Constitution endorsed in 2003 by 20 of 24 directly elected members of Northern Areas Legislative Council (NALC).

2) The legislative and judicial institutions of the region are created by virtue of provisions of LFO although the latter has no constitutional or legal status and can be revoked and amended at the whim of the Federal Minister of Kashimir Affairs and Northern Areas. Therefore these institutions owe their existence to the will of the non-elected and non-representative head of the executive branch of government.

3) Under the LFO, the NALC, the only representative body of the Northern Areas has no consequential legislative powers and can only legislate on 49 matters. The ultimate power of law making and giving assent to bills lies with the KANA, in clear violation of democratic norms. The NALC cannot even move no-confidence motion against the Chief Executive or Deputy Chief Executive.

4) The NALC has the mere role of an advisory body and is devoid of legislative or representative functions, so much so that its role in budget is restricted merely to the extent that a statement of annual budget is presented before it for information purposes.

5) The Chief Executive of the Northern Areas is the Federal Minister of KANA who is not elected by the NALC. This is a blatant violation of Supreme Court’s direction to grant the people of the region the right to self-rule through their elected representatives. Added to it is the fact that the Deputy Chief Executive of the region, the highest elected representative of the region, is made subservient to the non-elected Chief Executive. The NALC cannot even summon its session without the consent of the Chief Executive. This is yet another example of the legislative branch being made subordinate to the executive branch of government.

6) In reality, the entire governance structure in this region is being dominated by the bureaucracy, in complete absence of legislative and judicial monitoring. The state machinery is controlled by the Chief Executive, in coordination with the Chief Secretary.

7) The judiciary in Northern Areas cannot challenge the validity of any act done or order passed under LFO. This is so although LFO does not enjoy any constitutional or legal status. It is a clear evidence of the fact that the KANA Ministry has formulated rules with mala fide intent to secure itself from any form of accountability.

8) The appointment of judges is done by the Prime Minister in consultation with the Chief Executive and they are dependent on the executive branch for the survival and extension of their tenure. The ACRs of judges are written by KANA Ministry officials and they can be transferred to any other government department, even to Northern Areas Transport Corporation. This shows the absolute disregard to the doctrine of separation of powers and particularly the independence of judiciary.

9) The occasional promises by the concerned authorities to empower the people of Northern Areas are merely an election ploy to attract votes in the NALC elections. Once elections are over, these are all forgotten and the fate of our people is left at the mercy of the arbitrary behaviour of the bureaucracy.

10) The denial of fundamental rights to the inhabitants of Northern Areas has brought bad name to Pakistan as well. This is reflected by two almost recent incidents, namely, the report by the European Parliament and International Crisis Group. Both have criticized the Government of Pakistan for keeping the constitutional and fundamental rights of the people in limbo even after the passage of 60 years of independence. In the international media, the treatment meted out to the people of Northern Areas is being quoted as an illustration of absence of rule of law, democracy, justice and respect for human rights in Pakistan. This also brings in question Pakistan’s commitment and moral standing on the issue of self-determination to Kashmiris when it is denying the basic human rights to its own people, declared by the Honorable Supreme Court, to be citizens of Pakistan.

11) The people of Northern Areas fought a purely indigenous movement to gain independence from Dogra Raj and acceded unconditionally to Pakistan in a rare display of patriotism to the nascent state. Years of neglect and deprivation of fundamental human rights have given rise to resentment against Pakistan, particularly in youth. This may eventually give birth to another Bangladesh-like situation, a fear expressed by many veteran politicians of the region. The region has a very sensitive location since it borders India, China, Tibet and Russia. The consequences of dissent in this region will be of great detriment to national interest of Pakistan.

12) The strong bureaucratic structure, impotent legislature and weak judiciary have given rise to a dangerous political vacuum which has been filled by extremist sectarian organizations. This is evident by the worst sectarian strife of its kind suffered by our people which has till now claimed numerous lives. The academic year of students was wasted as educational institutes remained closed due to frequent sectarian clashes. In the absence of political leadership to resolve conflicts, the administration turns frequently to clamping curfew as the last resort. Certain areas have been designated as no-go zone areas for people belonging to rival sects. The lack of political institutions and absence of civil rights have worsened the sectarian violence by encouraging the bureaucracy to act arbitrarily. An example is the fact that many children were arrested during the sectarian violence, in stark contravention to Juvenile Justice Ordinance 2001 as indicated by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan.

13) The Government of Pakistan has initiated many mega projects in the Northern Areas, such as the Basha Diamer Dam. Further delay in the implementation of the judgment of Honorable Supreme Court may lead to increased bitterness against Pakistan which would hinder in the successful completion of these mega projects.

14) Enriched with mineral resources, glaciers, scenic beauty and some of the highest peaks of the world, our region is still backward due to absence of political institutions. We are patriotic citizens of Pakistan and our movement is unique in the sense that in this era of insurgencies and independence movements, ours is the only struggle in the whole world for formal accession. The enforcement of the Supreme Court judgment will play a significant role in allaying our grievances. We look up to you as our hope of salvation from this enigma.

Considering the above-mentioned facts and circumstances, the people of Northern Areas deserve to be guaranteed their right to self-rule and enforcement of fundamental human rights through an independent judiciary in light of the judgment of the apex court. For this purpose, it is requested to graciously direct the Federal Government to repeal the Northern Areas Legal Framework Order 1994. Further, we appeal that the Interim Constitution 2003, endorsed by the majority of members of Northern Areas Legislative Council, which enjoys the democratic mandate of the people of Northern Areas, be directed to be enforced.

It is most humbly requested that the concerned authorities be directed to take appropriate steps to comply with the judgment of apex court in the interest of justice.


The letter has been written by Imran Nadeem and Syed Ali.