Alhassanain(p) Network for Heritage and Islamic Thought

Visit to Skardu

The HRCP mission arrived in Skardu on October 26, 2013 where it held meetings with a cross-section of society over two days.

Views from the political spectrum

Pakistan Peoples’ Party (Skardu chapter)

Representatives of the Skardu chapter of Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP)- the ruling party in Gilgit-Baltistan at the time of the HRCP mission’s visit- were rather frank about what they had been able to achieve under the Empowerment and Self Governance Order, 2009, what could not be done and what should have been done. They acknowledged that there might have been shortcomings in the reform and those needed to be highlighted. They said that they had faced difficulties in implementation of the 2009 Order because of lack of experience.

The party leaders and activists said that when the PPP was in power in both Islamabad and Gilgit-Baltistan (before the May 2013 general elections in Pakistan), getting funds released for the region was easier. They said that there would be no limit to the development of this region and Pakistan if the federation supported them. With Islamabad’s support, Gilgit-Baltistan could blossom as a regional trade hub as, in addition to links with China and Afghanistan, Ghizer district was a short distance away from Tajikistan, across a sliver of Afghan territory known as the Wakhan Corridor.

Representatives from the ruling party rejected the charge that for the first time in the region’s history jobs had been sold in Gilgit-Baltistan. They called it propaganda by the opposition. They said that since the chief minister’s constituency was in Skardu and most voters were his supporters, many of the people who got jobs there included his supporters. Therefore, the opposition had assumed that jobs had been sold or given to favourites. That was mainly a charge without any proof, they said, adding that people had got jobs in the village of the candidate who ran in the election against the chief minister.

They said that Rs 100 million had been distributed among families whose breadwinners had been killed in sectarian violence. The PPP representatives stated:

The 2009 Order was preceded by a set-up under which a joint secretary of the government of Pakistan controlled the affairs of Gilgit-Baltistan. Now the chief minister was elected by the people of Gilgit-Baltistan. Discussion on all issues and decisions on development were made in Gilgit-Baltistan.

Elections earlier used to be contested on sectarian basis and political activities also followed sectarian lines. The role of political parties, including mainstream parties in Pakistan, had now come forward.

The government had created employment opportunities, hired 15,000 people in the public sector, and given service structure for doctors, teachers and paramedics. In the near future, Gilgit-Baltistan could contribute 50 percent to Pakistan’s economy. As much as 100,000 megawatts of electricity could be generated in this region, which was considered a ‘power corridor’ because of the enormous potential for hydro-electric generation. The fruit preservation industry could also be developed.

Efforts were underway to develop mining. The government had created the Mineral Department with offices in every district of Gilgit-Baltistan.

Steps had been taken to address internal displacement and attention paid to disaster management.

Before 2009, there were people who talked about independence and some who even celebrated national days as black days but the secessionist sentiment had retreated after the election and government formation under the new order.

The government of Gilgit-Baltistan had taken up the issue of killing of Shias and of foreign climbers on Nanga Parbat with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government.

The road link with Pakistan was vital to the region’s economy and for people working elsewhere in Pakistan and students who visited their homes in Gilgit-Baltistan during vacations at educational institutions. The planned Shigharthing Road from Skardu-Kachura-Astore-Kashmir and a further 10-hour journey to Rawalpindi would diversify the road connections with Pakistan.

The Kargil-Ladakh road across the Line of Control should be opened for tourists and trade and also for divided families who could go to India via Lahore but not from Gilgit-Baltistan.

Ismailis in Gilgit-Baltistan were the role models in terms of their pursuit of education.

Good intentions “Through the 2009 Order we have done something which was not considered possible. There might have been things we did not manage as well as we could have, but we did not make any mistakes intentionally. They were caused by lack of experience. The reform package of which the 2009 Order is a part is not our destination; it is just the pathway to that destination. We strongly advocate representation in the National Assembly and Senate with provincial status as the next step in empowerment of this region. The people of Gilgit-Baltistan should also have the right to petition the Supreme Court of Pakistan. The next elections will give people a chance to judge us on our performance. Bracketing us with Kashmir is a conspiracy against Pakistan. We are the most patriotic Pakistanis. We won freedom through our own efforts and joined Pakistan unconditionally.” - A member of the Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly

Devastating blows “The attacks on the Karakorum Highway and targetting of foreign mountaineers on Nanga Parbat have destroyed our area. Even toddlers in their parents’ laps have been affected. Everyone depends on the road for travel; education has been affected and every household hit. It is now common for the people of Baltistan coming back from Rawalpindi to travel without informing their families in advance so they do not worry for the entire duration of the 36-hour journey. In addition to fostering sectarian harmony and tolerance, steps have been taken to overcome security issues on the roads. Check-posts are being established and a separate force led by the army is being raised to ensure safety on the road. We will also seek financial resources, including weapons and vehicles for security, from the federation.”- A member of the PPP delegation

Mischief, motives and dismay “The people are frustrated and really disappointed that those involved in massacres on Karakoram Highway (KKH) have not been punished. They believe that they do not have the means to get justice for the killings. These sentiments appear set to grow. There are some problems with bringing perpetrators of violence and acts of terrorism to justice. For instance, the witnesses are scared to go to Chilas [in Diamer district] to appear in court or identify the killers because they fear that they will not come back alive. The case should be transferred to Gilgit. We have learned that 100,000 rupees were given for killing each person in the massacres on the road. This crisis was created to disturb the KKH. When you consider that from Siachen to Karakorum the reliance is entirely on this solitary road then it makes sense why the enemies of Pakistan are creating mischief here.”- A PPP representative

The bouquet in Gilgit-Baltistan “Skardu withits predominantly Shia population, Ghanche with Noor Bakhshis, Ghizer with Ismailis and Diamer with Ahl-e-Sunnat make the bouquet complete in Gilgit-Baltistan. The diversity of Gilgit-Baltistan is also reflected in the legislative assembly and the government, where there are representatives and ministers from the Shia, Ismaili, Ahl-e-Sunnat and Noor Bakhshi communities.”- A member of the PPP delegation

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz

The PML-N representatives claimed that there had been various failings of Gilgit-Baltistan’s administration led by the Pakistan Peoples’ Party. They flagged in particular alleged corruption, wastage of taxpayers’ money on ostentation and poor handling of law and order. They began by saying that the socio-political problems in the area had begun under the British colonial control. They said that the biggest ongoing violation was that the people of the region had been deprived of their fundamental rights and a constitutional status. They made the following observations:

As far as the region’s legal identity was concerned, Gilgit-Baltistan had not been defined in the constitution of Pakistan. Gilgit-Baltistan did not have a constitution of its own or an autonomous set-up like Azad Jammu and Kashmir. If there was a will, nothing stopped Islamabad from making Gilgit-Baltistan the fifth province of Pakistan. The lack of a constitutional status was a hurdle in the completion of an incomplete Pakistan. The 2009 Order was a step towards that destination but lack of competence had prevented progress.

If there was any complication due to Gilgit-Baltistan being considered part of the Kashmir dispute, the region could be given a provisional provincial status until the Kashmir issue was resolved. However, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had not done its work in this regard.

Gilgit-Baltistan should be given immediate representation in the National Assembly and Senate.

There were countless pertinent issues with regard to the region that had not got attention at the national level. Gilgit-Baltistan was not part of the media discourse in Pakistan. The local population had many grievances with the national media regarding the content and quality of the debate. When TV news channels could engage in ceaseless political discussion, why not talk about geographical issues at least some time? What happened to the glaciers affected all of Asia. That was just one pressing issue for Pakistan and the wider region. The media had failed to convey the aspirations and sentiments of the people of Gilgit-Baltistan to the people of Pakistan. The local media depended on government advertisements and that seemed to determine which issues they covered.

There was a budget of 26 billion rupees in Gilgit-Baltistan for a populace that was less than the population of most districts in the Punjab. This was a generous allocation in terms of population but the resources had not reached the people. The administration was wasting federal grants on non-development expenses instead of developing Gilgit-Baltistan’s own resources. There had been corruption in non-development expenditure. Previously, 20 percent resources were allocated for the development fund but now the allocation had plummeted.

Bad governance and corruption had peaked. There was a need to attend to the health and education sectors instead of “selling jobs to favourites”. Appointments had been made in violation of merit and over-employment had meant that hirings were made when there was no budget to pay salaries to the employees.

The law and order issues had attained a dangerous dimension.

PML-N candidates had won the by-elections in one Ghanche and one Skardu constituency in October (2013), laying bare the claims of popularity by the ruling party.

Ministers and advisers were being appointed on the basis of party affiliation and not competence. The resources of Gilgit-Baltistan could be used to develop the region and enhance the capabilities of the people. But taxes had been levied on electricity and mining. “What would you say of someone who sits on a goldmine and sleeps hungry?” said a PML-N leader.

Nationalists

In a meeting with HRCP in Skardu, individuals and groups identifying themselves as nationalists complained about the people of Gilgit-Baltistan being second-class citizens of Pakistan. The big issue for them, as indeed for everyone that the mission met in Gilgit-Baltistan, was the question of the region’s legal identity.

They wanted their region to be delinked from the Kashmir issue and given a system similar to Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) for the time being. Some said that they considered independence as the final destination. They admitted that they did not have across-the board support but claimed growing support for their stance. They strongly advocated opening of the Kargil route for travel between Gilgit-Baltistan and Indian-administered Kashmir.

The participants in the meeting with the HRCP mission said that they had been unwillingly and unjustifiably made part of the Kashmir issue and subsequently their rights had been denied because they were classified as part of the lingering dispute.

Corruption was certainly present in Gilgit-Baltistan prior to the incumbent government but instead of goats and ghee, after the 2009 elections money had started changing hands; the going rate for an elementary government job was Rs 300,000.

There was no sectarianism in Gilgit-Baltistan in the 1970s. In 1988, Afghan militants and their patrons not just from Pakistan but from many other countries gave the region that gift. The massacres in Chilas, Kohistan and Lulusar were militants’ gifts too.

The students in Gilgit-Baltistan were not taught this region’s geography but that of Pakistan.

Adding four rooms to the degree college and labeling it as the campus of Karakorum International University was an insult to the word international.

The people of Gilgit-Baltistan did not even have the status that residents of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) had in the federation of Pakistan. The economic quota of Gilgit-Baltistan was linked to FATA.

Second-class citizens “If we are the citizens of Pakistan why can we not vote to elect the president and the prime minister? The National Database Registration Authority had informed us ahead of the May 2013 general elections that we could not vote in the national elections because we were residents of Gilgit-Baltistan. We are counted as citizens neither of Pakistan, nor of Kashmir or India. This region had shown the unmistakable desire to join Pakistan 66 years ago. What would you call not approving our merger with Pakistan? Is this not sedition? This is not a question of Islam or sect. It is a national issue.”- A participant in the meeting with the HRCP mission

Religious leaders’ point of view

Meeting with Shia clerics

The population of Baltistan subscribes to all sects, but the majority is Shia. The fact-finding team visited the Central Jamia Masjid in Skardu where it met Shia clerics and religious scholars, including family members of victims of sectarian violence.

The participants in the meeting began by underlining their belief that the violence in Gilgit-Baltistan was on account of interest of other countries there because of the region’s geostrategic importance and the land access it offered to China.

What’s in a name? Identity “It was because of the efforts of our forefathers that a very large area got rid of Dogra Raj and they unconditionally acceded to Pakistan. We won freedom without Pakistan having to fire a single shot. And yet we do not have constitutional rights. Constant efforts for recognition as a part of the federation have not succeeded so far. What has changed with the 2009 Order is the title of this region, which is important because it acknowledges our identity. The old name, Northern Areas, only gave an indication of our geographical locations with reference to Pakistan.” - A Shia religious leader

Mischief from outside “There are outsiders behind the problems in this region. Due to Gilgit-Baltistan’s importance because of the land link with China, regional and international powers that do not want to see Pakistan prospering have their sights set on Gilgit-Baltistan. We have not asked the government for compensation for the killings in the KKH massacres. We only ask them to provide protection to the road users so that the enemies of Pakistan do not succeed. Sectarian hatred is being fanned in proxy wars here. The long delay in giving a legal identity to this region has complicated matters and has the potential to further aggravate the problem.”- A cleric at Central Jamia Masjid Skardu

Certain outside elements were trying to fan sectarian violence in Baltistan. Efforts had been made to poison the minds in Gilgit in order to destroy the peace in Baltistan. In Kohistan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Chilas in Diamer, citizens had been butchered in execution-style killings only because the victims were Shia. In the Lulusar massacre (August 16, 2012),[7] 21 Shias were first identified and then executed. The faces of the killers in Chilas attack (April 3, 2012) were easily recognisable from a video made by a bus passenger’s cell phone and yet they had not been caught. Vengeful sentiments rose in all parts of the region where the victims’ bodies were brought for burial. A deliberate attempt had been made to pit people against each other on the basis of sectarian belief and on the basis of which area or district they came from.

There had always been and there still remained an environment of peace and harmony in Baltistan because of the positive role of religious scholars there and their understanding of Islam. Ties and marriages across sects had been commonplace.

Baltistan refused to divide along sectarian lines despite killings of Shia clerics in Gilgit and recent killings of Baltistani Shias. There had been no retaliation. The clerics and leaders urged the people to be patient because the killers were the enemies of Pakistan and of Islam. The clerics had declared retaliatory killing of innocent or punishing any person for another’s crimeharam (prohibited by religion). The clerics had tried very hard to keep the area calm.

If the Shias were pushed to the wall and not provided justice for those killed they could react. The enemy seemed to be seeking that. The bodies that the families received after the massacres on the road were in such a condition that it was difficult to identify the deceased from their faces. There was a lot of tension under the surface. Young children talked about the killings. That worried the clerics. After Shias’ killings on the road, slogans had been raised that if the people could not be given safe access to Pakistan they were ready to go to Kargil. There were serious apprehensions that if those involved in Shias’ killings in 2012 and 2013 were not punished the vengeful sentiments might get out of control. The clerics feared that if there were more attacks and killings it might become difficult for them to hold back the youth in Baltistan.

The region faced very harsh weather for five months. Living in mountainous valleys, there were not too many income opportunities for the people. The only overland access route was the KKH. Much of the infrastructure development in the region had been on account of the military, because of the Siachen conflict, and not because of civilian administration. Part of it was thanks to the KKH providing the land link to China. Some development had occurred on account of the tourists from Pakistan and abroad who came to witness the region’s natural beauty. “Tourism had been affected by terrorism in the beloved homeland Pakistan.” Lack of tourists had already started causing severe problems for the region’s economy before the Nanga Parbat killing in June 2013 compounded the situation.

The people had been demanding discount in the cost of air travel but the fare for the state-run PIA flights had been raised by Rs 4,000 in 2012.

It had never been the policy of the clerics or the Shia community to contest elections on the basis of sectarian identity.

Despite getting so many dead bodies from ‘down area’ the people in Baltistan had never responded in the same manner. That was the biggest example of their tolerance.

Things had improved somewhat on KKH in terms of safety. There had not been killings on the road in some time and the people had started thinking that they were somewhat safer. But the killers had not been caught. Then foreign tourists (Diamer, June 22, 2013) and even a senior police officer and soldiers (Chilas, Diamer, August 5, 2013) had been murdered. [8] There had been talk of an operation being launched against the killers but no killer had been sentenced. Punishing them would not bring back the dead but it would give victims’ families the satisfaction that no one else’s home would be destroyed. There had not been any concrete assurance from the government. The chief justice of Pakistan had not taken suo motu notice of the killings on the road even when he was taking notice of “anything and everything”.

The government, both in Pakistan and in Gilgit-Baltistan, sprung into action only when its own officials got killed.

Military ruler Ziaul Haq had started a policy of altering this region’s demographic. The state-subject rule in place in Kashmir was also present in Gilgit-Baltistan at the time but had been abolished.

When the border between the two Kashmirs could be opened, why not the Kargil-Ladakh border? The roads went right up to the frontier. Allowing access across the Line of Control via Kargil-Ladakh road would have no adverse impact on Pakistan’s economy.

The burnt out carcasses of buses torched on the KKH during killing of Shias still lay by the roadside, stark reminders of the barbarism that had visited the region.

‘Pakistan’s human face’ “Gilgit-Baltistan is the face of Pakistan which has humanity and non-discrimination. Religious scholars have had a big role in making and preserving this face. What the people face in the region is terrorism and not sectarianism. If it were a sectarian issue, why would foreign tourists have been killed on Nanga Parbat?” - A relative of a victim of violence on the road to Gilgit-Baltistan

Voices and institutions “We are being made to feel like second-class Pakistanis. There is a real sense of deprivation. Afghan nationals buy national identity cards and get all the rights under the constitution overnight. Why don’t we, who have not spared any sacrifice for Pakistan, get the same privilege? If talks can be offered to those who openly declare rebellion against Pakistan, torch the national flag and disrespect the Quaid-e-Azam, why can the people of Gilgit-Baltistan notbe engaged in talks? The FATA residents have representation in parliament, but we do not. We believe that if we have representation there then our voice would also reach Pakistan. Voices are magnified by institutions.”- A Shia cleric

Tanzeem Ahl-e-Sunnat

Representatives of Tanzeem Ahl-e-Sunnat told the fact-finding mission that all sectarian riots in Gilgit-Baltistan were rooted in a desire among various sects to suppress or supersede other communities. Every community shared part of the blame. Gilgit-Baltistan was geographically divided along sectarian lines. Gilgit had perhaps the best mix of Shia, Ahl-e-Sunnat and Ismailis.

The reform package could not be rejected in its entirety as in terms of representation there had been some improvements. The system would prove to be beneficial if those who had to implement it were themselves capable and competent.

There had been discrimination against Sunnis in government jobs. They had faced excesses in the name of merit. No educated member of the Ahl-e-Sunnat community had got a government job in Skardu.

There had never been any clash in Baltistan only because of the positive role of Shia and Sunni clerics. The Shia religious scholars were very well intentioned.

Conspiracies, extremism and harmony “There is extremism on both sides. We vehemently reject the Taliban thought. The use of force to reform someone is not something that the religion teaches us. When the Shiawere massacred on the road the Tanzeem Ahl-e-Sunnat condemned it unequivocally and called it a conspiracy against Islam and humanity. We believe the conspiracy was hatched by agents of a neighbouring country and a western power. Their henchmen were local. Immediately after news of the Chilas massacre reached us ourulema went to Chilas and condemned the killing of Shias. We condoled with the Shias and grieved for their loss. On April 3, religious scholars arranged cars and sent women and men who had survived the attack or were stranded in Chilas after transport stopped on the KKH following the Chilas attack. Good and bad clerics are everywhere. When the massacres occurred on the road, some impact and tension was visible in Skardu too. Some unreasonable persons started harassing people from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab. I called up [leading Shia religious leader] Sheikh Muhammad Hassan Jafari and drew his attention to the intimidation. Sheikh Jafari told me that he had already condemned the behaviour in his Friday sermon asharam . We have also condemned the killings of mountaineers on Nanga Parbat and government officials in acts of terrorism.”- A representative of Tanzeem Ahl-e-Sunnat

Tanzeem Ahl-e-Hadees

In a meeting with the Tanzeem Ahl-e-Hadees in Skardu, the HRCP team was informed that the predominant majority in Baltistan did not approve of sectarian killings and riots. Asked if they saw improvement in the sectarian situation or whether they considered that the differences and grievances were growing, the Tanzeem said sectarianism had been brought to Gilgit-Baltistan by those who came from ‘down area’ in the last decade or so. They had been trying to influence people but Ahl-e-Hadees ulema had foiled these attempts in collaboration with Shia scholars.

1- Ulema of both sects met whenever there was some tension and resolved the issue. In 2005 after the murder of a Shia religious scholar, some miscreants torched the entire markaz of Tanzeem Ahl-e-Hadees in Skardu. If that had happened in Gilgit there would have been a strong reaction and retaliation but the Ahl-e-Hadees remained patient and urged tolerance and restraint.

2- Intelligence agencies should be aware of the culprits involved in the Chilas killings. Their inability to track down the killers had raised questions.

3- Tanzeem Ahl-e-Hadees opposed Lashkar-e-Jhangvi’s view that Shias were kafir (infidel).

4- Those who felt happy over the killing if the victims were Shia were sinners.

5- Tanzeem Ahl-e-Hadees used to get financial assistance from Saudi Arabia, but that had stopped after 9/11.

Stance on the Chilas killings

“We had condemned the killing of Shias in Chilas as a crime, and an illegitimate and haram act. Whoever did that was an enemy of Pakistan and of Islam. Why do the government and all the intelligence agencies not know who did it? If they do not know then what right do they have to govern and if they know then only they can explain why the killings were not prevented or the killers not proceeded against.” - The head of Tanzeem Ahl-e-Hadees in Skardu

Civil society and professional bodies

The journalists’ story

The journalists in Skardu, including representatives of the local media organisations and correspondents for Pakistan-based print and electronic media, stated that every time a new government took over it promptly pointed to the previous administration’s failure to resolve the perennial question of identity and a constitutional status for this region. But they did not do anything about it themselves.

A range of responses were giving regarding the significance, impact and implementation of the 2009 Order. Some called it “a better journey towards a desirable destination” while others said the order “did nothingexcept rebranding designations” and “the change had not reached the common citizen”. Deficiencies were pointed out but the new system was said to be an improvement on what was there earlier. However, questions were raised about the ability and commitment of those who were supposed to implement the system. “National political parties have failed to give us good individuals that can run the system. There were instances where a well-educated person had applied for the party ticket to contest elections but he was overlooked and an illiterate person awarded the ticket,” a journalist stated.

Some media persons said that the Gilgit-Baltistan chief minister had much more authority now. Service structures had been developed for doctors, teachers, etc. There was now a commissioner in Baltistan. The common citizen had benefited.

Several journalists highlighted that the 2009 Order was not even an act of parliament, but a mere executive order. “When our court itself is not constitutional, how will it ensure that we have constitutional rights?” one journalist asked. Another referred to the system under the 2009 Order as glorified district government but insisted that that should be persisted with and improved.

As was the case with all the meetings the mission held in Gilgit-Baltistan, the journalists looked at the 2009 Order from a personal perspective. They said that earlier there were only a few newspapers in Gilgit-Baltistan, but the number had now grown to dozens. The nature of the region’s economy was such that there was not much private advertisement. It was claimed that the government often gave advertisements to dummy newspapers or to those among the functional ones that were in the government’s good books. There was no coherent policy on the media or advertisement by government departments.

Under a recent policy, government advertisements were only being given to newspapers that had their own printing press. Some journalists claimed that pro-government newspapers had been provided funds to buy printing press.

The gist of the Skardu journalists’ views was:

In 1970, the first printing press started operating in Gilgit-Baltistan and the first newspaper was launched in 1987. No wage board award had been announced for practicing journalists. Poor working conditions and exploitation of journalists by newspaper owners were commonplace and many got between Rs 3,000 and Rs 5,000 as monthly salary.

The local journalists’ voice did not go beyond the mountainous area and even the Pakistani media organisation that they worked for gave little coverage to Gilgit-Baltistan’s issues. That had resulted in the problems of the region being confined to the mountainous region.

The TV news channels in Pakistan were not even paying their Gilgit-Baltistan correspondents the meager amounts they paid to such staff in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Access to information was the basic right of journalists and other citizens. Elsewhere in Pakistan this right was acknowledged at least in letter if not in spirit. That right had not been extended to the region. In Gilgit-Baltistan, a circular issued a couple of years ago had directed government officials not to share information with the media. Practicing journalists were not invited to official events. Instead of supporting and training journalists and taking steps for their welfare, journalists and newspaper offices were attacked and when they protested for their rights police were unleashed on them.

Because of their geographical location, both Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan were vitally important for numerous external powers. People in Gilgit-Baltistan apprehended that the fate of this region could not be decided without these powers’ wishes. They insisted that it was only the will of the people of Gilgit-Baltistan that should matter.

The leaders of the political parties in Pakistan did not understand the Gilgit-Baltistan issues. The region was not counted in the constitution of Pakistan as a part of Pakistan and it also did not have a separate constitution of Gilgit-Baltistan.

Ninety-five percent of Gilgit-Baltistan’s population supported the region’s merger with Pakistan. If maintaining the status quo in Gilgit-Baltistan was in the national interest earlier, persisting with that now would not only be against national interest, it would also be dangerous. Denial of a legal status in the federation of Pakistan would fuel exasperation and alienation among the youth.

The integration problems of a province that isn’t

“Like the other parts of Pakistan we too should get representation in parliament. If the region is not given representation even in vital national institutions such as the National Finance Commission what is the hope of us getting representation in the civil services, etc?

Elsewhere in Pakistan you might hear about separatist movements. In Gilgit-Baltistan, almost to the last person we have been waging a movement for participation and inclusion in Pakistan. We have been locked out of representation in the high forums of decision making. They call the Federally Administered Tribal Area (FATA) illaqa ghayr (meaning an alien territory), and even the people of illaqa ghayr have representation in the Senate and the National Assembly and we do not.

We had no link with India yesterday and have none today. But we have been waiting for a very long time for our rights in the federation of Pakistan. Those must not be denied any longer.

Bracketing Gilgit-Baltistan with the Kashmir issue and saying that the status of our region would be determined after the Kashmir issue is resolved is to disregard our sacrifice and our keen desire to join Pakistan. It also ignores the human problem that we face. If Gilgit-Baltistan is indeed considered a disputed territory in the same manner as Pakistani- and Indian-administered Kashmir are then whyis there no consultation with and representation of the region in Pakistan’s delegation to the United Nations? We are not Kashmiris. Perhaps it was thought that because we overwhelmingly support merger with Pakistan, clubbing our region with Kashmir would mean that our vote for Pakistan would cancel out any rigging in Indian-controlled Kashmir whenever a plebiscite took place. We are a part of Pakistan and must be acknowledged as such.” A journalist working with an English language newspaper

Women’s views on rights and empowerment

The mission met a group of women students and working women and asked them if the situation had improved for women and if their voices were being heard more under the new system.

The ‘empowerment order’ was welcome as it brought some change. In Skardu, women had growing realization that they had the right to have control over their lives and things had changed for the better in that respect.

In the Karakorum University campus in Skardu there were are more girl students than boys.

Girls should be awarded scholarships to enable them to realise their potential by getting more education.

Girls’ education had been supported by clerics in Baltistan. There was minimal sectarian tension in Baltistan because of the progressive role of clerics and religious scholars.

Girls were consulted regarding the decision about their marriage. However, some participants in the discussion said that daughters were reluctant to turn down the prospective spouses suggested by their parents.

Practices like karokari were absent.

There was some disagreement on whether a fatwa (religious edict) had been issued in Baltistan against girls using cell phones. However, there was some mention of references in Friday sermons to the use of cell phones by girls for “improper conversation”.

The lawyers’ argument

The Skardu Bar has 52 members. The lawyers in Skardu who met the fact-finding mission stated that under the new system there had been some positive impact in terms of dispensation of justice.

There used to be two judicial magistrates in Baltistan and dispensation of justice meant nothing more than adjournments on most dates of hearing. With the judges appointed now there was better access and entertainment of cases. However, there was a lack of coordination among the judiciary and other institutions and enforcement was lacking.

The incidence of crime was not too high in Baltistan. There was also under-reporting, but there was little heinous crime. There had been one murder in Skardu in the whole of 2013. In one police station in Skardu, there had been a total of 137 cases in all year.

There was one women’s police station in Skardu. The only female lawyer in Skardu had left in 2008 because she did not have any briefs.

As far as Baltistan was concerned police had had a positive role. There was emphasis on informal community policing. The local culture enabled intervention by elders in resolution of disputes in a manner that did not breed enmity for the future. Generally, only the more serious crimes were reported to the police.

A chief court circuit bench had been established in Skardu but there was only a touring judge for the bench. There had been complaints that the judges got perks and benefits twice. They got pension from chief court when they got inducted to Supreme Appellate Court.

The 2009 Order was a step forward but full provincial status was still not granted and no representation had been given in the National Assembly and Senate.

Students of an ‘international university’

Students of Skardu campus of Karakoram International University complained about non-existence of a proper campus. They highlighted lack of university transport as most of the 450 students had to travel long distances to attend classes. A quarter of the students had left or stopped attending classes because of the difficulties. The problems were greater for women students. There was lack of a science faculty and there was no library. The prime minister had promised that fee would be waived for two semesters but the university administration had asked the students to pay the supposedly waived-off fee.

Transporters

The mission met representatives of the Baltistan Transporters’ Association. The buses, vans and coasters of the association’s members were the principle means of travel for the common citizen from Baltistan to Rawalpindi as well as to and from Gilgit and Siachen. They said their occupation was no longer profitable because of the law and order issue. They traced the beginning of their problems to the sectarian attacks in 2005.

The transporters complained about the convoy system started after the Chilas massacre on April 3, 2012 and that it had increased the travel time to 36 hours (twice the normal travel time) between Skardu and Rawalpindi as well as forced them to hike the fare for the passengers. After the killings on the road to Gilgit-Baltistan, it had been made mandatory for buses to travel in convoys. Buses from Skardu bound for Rawalpindi took four hours to reach a place called Sassi.If they reached Sassi at 10 pm. They had to wait there until 6 in the morning when they were allowed to proceed in a convoy escorted by police vehicles.

It was very difficult for the buses in the convoy to stop. There were severe difficulties for any bus developed a mechanical fault or had a flat tyre on the way or if a passenger had to stop for medical reasons or to respond to nature’scall . Even when the vehicles had to stay back in a town, they had to wait until they could join the next convoy.

The KKH was one of the key routes in the world. Seven buses were burnt in the Chilas attack but no compensation had been paid. The transportation business had plummeted to 25 percent of what it was before the Chilas attack. From buses running eight different times a day to Rawalpindi they now ran only twice a day, when the convoys departed.

Rent-a-car service charged Rs 25,000 from Skardu to Rawalpindi for four passengers. The journey was completed in 19 hours because cars were not obliged to travel as parts of convoys. It took a bus 36 hours to make the same journey.

The transporters proposed patrolling by police and other law enforcement agencies along with check-posts at sensitive spots to provide security for road-users with normal running of public transport vehicles. The new force for securing the KKH could be useful but the transporters apprehended that it was being created only to treat the symptoms.

The killings on Nanga Parbat were not religiously motivated. That had been done to ruin the economy for which the local people had also been used. The money to cause bloodshed was coming from abroad.

‘An international game’ “The transporters consider the area from Chilas to Jaglot as the most dangerous. The security escorts are clearly not enough. What is the point in the security agencies waiting for an attack before they act? Intelligence should be used to track down those who plan and launch these attacks and the puppet-masters exposed. This is not a local crime; it is an international game and demands an appropriate response and preventive action. They create a spark in the hope that that would cause an inferno.”- A transporter

The miners’ story

Gilgit is the centre of Pakistan Gemstone Association. The representatives and members of All Pakistan Gems and Minerals Association Baltistan in Skardu said that few other places in the world were more richly endowed by nature’s treasures than Gilgit-Baltistan, but lack of an official policy hindered investment.

There was a lack of finances / loans for those who wanted to engage in mining.

In the absence of any official policy, people engaged in mining on their land and fields in the same manner as they would engage in agriculture on their land. There was strong demand for developing and implementing a proper mineral policy.

Private village committees oversaw mining. Leases of land for mining were not awarded by the government and some speakers stressed that such leases should not be awarded by the government and village committees should retain control.

Minerals and forests were among the legislative subjects for the Gilgit-Baltistan Council, which had not become functional because the members that the centre was supposed to nominate to the council had not been named. This had delayed policy making and hindered development.

Meetings with police officers

The fact-finding mission met police officers, including a senior superintendent of police (SSP), in Skardu. The mission members shared their pleasant surprise over the positive perception of the police in Baltistan. They learned that there were few serious crimes in Skardu. In the whole year, there had only been 190 first information reports of all manners of crime in all police stations of Skardu. These included the only murder case in Skardu during the year. The region had a culture of non-violence and influence of Buddhism too. The police officers said that Taliban had no influence in Baltistan However, the police officials said that over time things seemed to be changing for the worse in many respects. Earlier, it was impossible to find hashish in Baltistan but now that and other narcotics were not that difficult to obtain. They called reform of the police service structure up to Grade 20 following the 2009 Order a positive development.

There was no terrorism in Gilgit-Baltistan before the Kargil war. Baltistan had always been the abode of law-abiding people and even the killings and violence elsewhere in Gilgit-Baltistan had been done by outsiders.

People had demonstrated great patience even when dead bodies from the Chilas massacre reached Baltistan. Ulema were respected and they said that those who did not commit the crime must not be targeted in revenge. Masjid committees had played a very positive role.

The 1988 lashkarkashi (attack by lashkar) was the catalyst for extremism in Gilgit-Baltistan. Clerics were involved as were weapons smugglers who wanted the weapons’ sales to increase. In the 1950s and ’60s households that kept guns were looked down upon with contempt.

The clerics persuaded the citizens that they had to defend themselves because they said that in the regime of Gen Ziaul Haq in 1988 the lashkar had crossed so many districts to reach several Shia-populated villages of Gilgit district including Jalalabad and Minawar and massacred Shias and burned their houses. They said that that was impossible without the connivance of the rulers and asked the Shias of Gilgit to prepare to defend themselves.

Some people had been exploited because they respected clerics without realizing if they were well-read or not.

The rot could be stopped. The road would be secured with a 400-strong force of police, Rangers and Gilgit-Baltistan Scouts.

It was disappointing that the transporters had refused to pay miniscule sums for passenger insurance. Each passenger could be insured for a mere 22 rupees but the transporters had declined to pay that sum.

There were some nationalists in Ghizer but people had not gone along with them.

Some clerics had been using religious crutches with an eye to the next elections. Clerics who promoted tolerance and harmony in their Friday sermon had been taunted for being cowards. The next elections will be contested by religious scholars of all sects in Gilgit-Baltistan.

One hundred families had been displaced after the Kargil war. Water had been blocked to the bordering village by the Indians and crops had withered away. Part of the compensation had been paid to the displaced families to rebuild their houses.