BANG-E-SAHAR

Weekly Bang-e-sahar Saturday, May 31—–June 6, 2008
(Editorial)
The people of Gilgit-Baltistan continue discussing their 61-years of deprivation from the levels of muhallahs, streets to five-star hotels, while local nationalist parties hold seminars, public gatherings on the issue besides devising their future strategies. Still the masses are interested to see all facts behind their `slavery’ brought to fore. Because the people have reservations about the ongoing dialogue process between Pakistan and India as well as the present status of the issue of Kashmir including Gilgit-Baltistan and its possible solutions. The masses also want to know why Gilgit-Baltistan had to face the brunt of the over 60 years of the cat and mouse game between Pakistan and India over the Kashmir issue. First, the existence of the liberated local state was sabotaged in 1947, and then using different tactics under the garb of lack of constitutional provisions and disunity amongst the masses, the area was denied its due rights. This was followed by engineered tragedies including sectarian violence in the area to make the world believe that the area people lacked unity and did not deserve the political rights. During the dictatorship of Gen Zia in 1988, a group of Afghan militants attacked Gilgit-Baltistan and did not hesitate to destroy even cattle and forest of the area and sowed the seed of an unending sectarian hatred among the peaceful population. Ironically, the report of the 1988 tragedy did not come to open till today. Then in 1999, thousands of NLI personnel were made to fight a mighty army of India. The world was made to believe that Kashmiri Mujahideen, not the Pakistani Army, were at war with India in Kargil. It is ironic that on the one hand the brave soldiers of NLI were sent to Kargil in track suits while on the other they were not provided with even proper rations and weapons, causing their annihilation at the hands of the enemy. When the world knew about the facts, the then US President Bill Clinton was approached for an immediate ceasefire. We believe that a Kargil commission is necessary because Pakistan has refused to accept the bodies of thousands of NLI personnel buried in the mountains of Kargil. Before going on exile in December 2000, former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had alleged that then Chief of Army Staff Gen Pervez Musharraf had not taken him in confidence on the Kargil operation. During his exile in Saudi Arabia and London, Mr Sharif also kept on demanding the formation of a commission on Kargil. However, strangely, the PML-N leader after his return to the country seems silent on the demand. This has led the people of Gilgit-Baltistan to believe that there is now no one to listen to their grievances. They say Mr Sharif after his return to the country should have reiterated his demand for formation of a commission on the Kargil debacle. The people of the region are justified in demanding a truth commission to expose all those responsible for the Kargil operation. They also very justly seek return of the dead bodies of NLI personnel from Kargil mountains and bury them in their native areas with military honour. Similarly, in January 2005, sectarian violence spread in Gilgit-Baltistan in which many lives were lost, but, as usual, no inquiry report was made public. The people of the region consider that until and unless all tragedies occurred in the area were investigated and the reports made public, they would see the future of the dialogue process on the issue of Kashmir with skepticism. Therefore, it is mandatory on the new democratic government to make public all reports of the incidents in the region and bring the perpetrators to book to win public sympathy and provide justice to the affected families, and then proceed on to resolve the bigger issue of Kashmir.

Weekly Bang-e-sahar Saturday, May 31—–June 6, 2008
By Our Correspondent
GILGIT: The increasing incidents of suicide by women in the Ghizer district is a big cause of concern and more so when all political, administrative and social organizations including NGOs remain a silent spectator to the issue. This was stated by Sadia Danish, chairperson of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), women wing, Northern Areas while talking to Bang-e-Sahar. She said suicide committed by as many as 151 women in Ghizer is a test case as far as regional and human rights violations were concerned. She said it was also a cause of concern why only women commit suicide in the district. She said human rights organizations in Pakistan should take note of the incidents and probe into the underlining causes of the incidents. Ms Danish stressed the need to get a survey conducted by a team of psychologists to ascertain the causes of suicide by women in Ghizer, so that practical steps can be taken to resolve the problems. She also pointed out that we should also go into the depth of the issue to find out whether cases of murder are not being termed suicide to escape the law. She said police and administration officials should also play their role in investigating the cases and bring out the truth. Ms Danish welcomed the announcement of federal minister for women development to launch a five-year program named after slain PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto to empower women in the country. She, however, demanded that the women of Gilgit-Baltistan should be included in the 20 per cent quota reserved for women in government jobs. She also called upon the government to extend the jurisdiction of women crisis centres to the Northern Areas, adding the step would help in saving the lives of hundreds of women, especially in the district of Ghizer. According to social analysts, the main underlying cause behind the increasing suicide cases among the women in Ghizer is poverty and lack of education, because there are still many areas in the district where the government has failed to open an educational institution. In areas where there are Aga Khan Diamond Jubilee schools, parents are unable to send their daughters to the institutions due to poverty. Those who manage to educate their children up to the matric level become helpless after matriculation exams due to lack of resources and absence of colleges in their areas. This becomes a stumbling block, as poor people cannot send their daughters out of the district to pursue education. Analysts say rising cases of suicide among women are not confined to Ghizer alone but are also widespread in other areas of Gilgit-Baltistan but such cases are not brought into the public in the name of honour. Sometimes when a suicide case is leaked out to the press the reporter concerned is taken to court under the name of libel. Sources tell Bang-e-Sahar that the rising suicide incidents in Ghizer are caused by lack of educational institutions in the area, rampant corruption among administration authorities and discrimination against the local people in allocation of government jobs. In this regard, the role of NGOs has been disappointing. The activities of the NGOs who are making tall claims of working for human rights in the area has been limited to specific segment of population and they are mainly working to achieve their vested interests. The government should take immediate measures to end the sense of deprivation among the people and provide them basic facilities of life so that they can live honourable life and the suicide cases could be checked.

Weekly Bang-e-sahar Saturday, May 31—–June 6, 2008

Bureau Report
Gilgit: A conspiracy to once again fan sectarian violence in Gilgit, the capital of Gilgit-Baltistan, has been started to sabotage peace and tranquility of the region. This was alleged by Gilgit Chamber of Commerce vice-president Haji Abid Ali Baig, member union council Iqbal Rasool and People’s Students Federation Gilgit president Shahzad Noori in a joint statement here. They said a group of conspirators and anti-social elements were active to spread sectarian clashes in the region by using different tactics. However, they expressed the surprise that in spite of presence of a horde of security agencies and law-enforcement personnel, none of the alleged accused had been arrested. They said the elements hell-bent on destroying peace of the area had been distributing hate material in different areas of the city besides resorting to wall-chalking in the city at night to create sectarian violence. They said religious scholars from both schools of thought have also condemned such anti-social elements and called upon all religious leaders and the public at large to join hands to foil such conspiracies for good. They called upon the local administration to play its role in eliminating such elements and exposing their conspiracies in order to maintain peace in the area. They said at a time when tourists had started moving to the Northern Areas, the efforts to create law and order situation in the area under the garb of sectarian tension seemed to be a handiwork of some powerful anti-Islam and anti-Pakistan forces. Meanwhile, in their statements, Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam Northern Areas general secretary Maulana Attaullah Shahab and Khateeb of Moti Masjid Gilgit Maulana Khalil Ahmed Qasmi have also condemned distribution of hate pamphlets in the city. They appealed to Ulema of all schools of thought to foil the conspiracies in a united way and promote brotherhood among people belonging to all schools of thought. They said due to collective efforts, peace had been maintained in Gilgit-Baltistan but the anti-social forces were once again out to sabotage the peace of the area. They, however, vowed to foil the designs of such forces by maintaining unity among their ranks and educating the public about such conspiracies.

Weekly Bang-e-sahar Saturday, May 31—–June 6, 2008

By Our Correspondent
Skardu: Chairman Gilgit-Baltistan Democratic Alliance Shahzad Agha has said Pakistani leaders should first set their own house in order before making tall claims of providing justice to the people of Gilgit-Baltistan. Mr Agha criticized the recent secretary level talks between India and Pakistan on the issue of Kashmir. In a press statement, he said Siachin was an integral part of Glgit-Baltistan and no outside leader had any right to take decision about it. If Pakistan and India are interested in resolving the issue of Kashmir including Gilgit-Baltistan, nationalist leaders of the region should be included in the dialogue process. Mr Agha said there would be no effect on the overall socio-economic situation in Pakistan with the change of faces at the helms of affairs. He said the masses have been hoodwinked in the name of restoration of judiciary and democracy in Pakistan. In this crucial time, the people of the region should support nationalist leaders and take part in their movement so that they can achieve their basic human rights. Mr Agha said if Pakistan and India were serious in solving the longstanding issues, people of this region should be given representation in the dialogue process. They should also open routes between Kargil and Ladakh for travel and trade between the divided parts of Kashmir, he added.

Weekly Bang-e-sahar Saturday, May 31—–June 6, 2008
Rawalpindi: Secretary general All Parties National Alliance (APNA) Arif Shahid has welcomed the recent meeting between foreign secretaries of India and Pakistan and demanded implementation of their decisions. He said decision regarding a truck service between Srinagar-Muzaffarabad and Poonch-Rawalakot has not yet been implemented despite elapse of a long time, which is deplorable. He demanded that Kargil-Skardu and Astore-Valley roads should also be opened forthwith, and people should be allowed to meet each other without creating obstacles by making the procedure easier. It is necessary, he said, for the restrictions of last 60 years have created lot of reservations and led to awe and fear in the people, and they need full and long respite now. He opined that the rulers of India and Pakistan would not be able to exploit Kashmiris on the pretext of our differences with each other. “We should be allowed to meet each other without restrictions so that we could see hell and heaven on either side before deciding our future.” He declared that whatever the case, we would decide ourselves whether we like to live together or separately, and shall not give this right to Delhi or Islamabad. “We are certain that unless decisions are made in the light of ground realities, there won’t be durable peace in the Subcontinent. We are in favour of good relations between India and Pakistan but these should not be established at the cost of national question of people of Jammu Kashmir.” He advised those who had been hell-bent on one particular point in the past that they should see things in current perspective, so that the imminent economical crisis could be averted MEETING: The alliance of nationalist groups and parties of BJK - All Parties National Alliance (APNA), held an important meeting which was presided by its chairman Farooq Niazi, and was conducted by Mr Arif Shahid, its secretary general. Others who attended the meeting were Mirza Wajahat Hassan Khan, Ali Ahmed Jan and Hassan Jehangir from Gilgit-Baltistan, and Prof MARK Khaleeque, Sardar Mushtaq and some others from Pakistan-administered Kashmir. The meeting deliberated over the local, national and international situation and concluded that all the major problems of the day were due to the uni-polar world in which a single superpower was trying to establish its upper hand and hegemony over whole of the world. The meeting further concluded that unless a multi-polar world was brought into being, these problems would remain, rather would continue to increase. In the perspective of Jammu Kashmir, Pakistan, India and South Asia as a whole, the meeting emphasized that all the chronic and long pending disputes of the region should be resolved peacefully through negotiations and dialogue, so that all the countries of the region could come closer to each other and could unconditionally cooperate to eliminate the poverty, illiteracy and backwardness to raise the quality of life of the billions and billions of the people.

Weekly Bang-e-sahar Saturday, May 31—–June 6, 2008

By Farman Ali
ISLAMABAD, May 27: Gulkhin glacier caused a second flooding in four days in Gojal, upper Hunza, Gilgit District, on Sunday, damaging orchards and properties and suspending trade and traffic on the Karakoram Highway some 145 kilometres northeast of Gilgit city. Last Thursday the glacier’s snout had blocked the regular flow of a river in Gulkhin village area, causing a flood that disrupted life and communications in Gojal Tehsil close to the border with China. Traffic was resumed in the area on Friday after the Chinese engineers and the Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) working on the KKH expansion project repaired the damaged road. But on Sunday the water building up behind the blockage burst again causing more damage and flooding new areas. Local people said the mudslides and flood were caused by dramatic changes in the behaviour of the Sheri Baigh glacier due to global climate changes. Dozens of houses, cattle-pens, potato and wheat fields, and orchards have been affected by the flooding. Telecommunication and road links between Gojal Tehsil and Gilgit were severed. Local boy scouts and volunteers constructed a makeshift wooden bridge to cross stranded passengers over. But Sunday’s flooding disrupted the traffic on KKH once again. Local people claim the glacial change has put some 5,000 people of villages of Ghulkin, Hussain and Borit are at great risk. They accuse the local administration of indifference, saying no high official had visited the area to take stock of the situation and provide relief to the people. In February a similar glacier burst had caused heavy damage in Passu village. The Gojal Tehsil is hub of many glaciers which have witnessed dramatic changes in recent years putting the population in danger. They asked the government to send experts to the area to monitor the changes in the movement of glaciers and the dangers the local population are facing and take precautionary measures. This phenomena was rare in the area but, according to scientists there has been a tenfold jump in such catastrophes in the past two decades. Glacier lakes in Karakoram, Himalayas and Hindukush are filling up with more and more melted ice.—Dawn

Weekly Bang-e-sahar Saturday, May 31—–June 6, 2008
By Our Correspondent
GILGIT: President Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Northern Areas Syed Jafar Shah Advocate lodged protest at the Central Executive Committee meeting of the PPP for ignoring Gilgit-Baltistan in the proposed constitutional package.Sources told Bang-e-Sahar that Mr Jafar during the executive meeting of the PPP in Islamabad told the participants that 61 years ago we got Gilgit-Baltistan freed but we are still being deprived of our basic constitutional and political rights. He said in the Charter of Democracy both the PPP and the PML-N had promised to give the area its due political and constitutional rights but the proposed package of the PPP is silent over the issue. He told the meeting that the people of the region maintained patience for the last over 61 years but now their patience was running out and the area was facing a situation of restlessness. He said his area had nothing to do with the Kashmir dispute and, therefore, an article for making the area the fifth province of Pakistan should be included in the proposed constitutional package. If there is any lacuna in giving provincial status to the region, an AJK-type of setup should be the alternative option, Mr Jafar added. Sources said one of the participants of the meeting, Sardar Asif Ahmed Ali, fully supported the views of Mr Jafar and said injustices have been done with the people of Northern Areas and it was right time to give the area an AJK-type of setup without further delay. Another participant, Makhdoom Jamiluz Zaman, the son of Makhdoom Amin Fahim, said 61-year-long injustices with the area people should come to an end and they should be given their due rights. According to the sources, PPP chairperson Asif Ali Zardari remained busy taking notes of the speeches but did not express his opinion on the occasion.

Weekly Bang-e-sahar Saturday, May 31—–June 6, 2008
GILGIT: A leader of the Karakoram National Movement has warned the NWFP government against perpetuating its occupation on Shandur, adding the people of Gilgit would rise in revolt if Shandur was snatched from them. Talking to Bang-e-Sahar, Mr Shah Zaman said Shandur was an integral part of Ghizer and the NWFP government after snatching the whole Chitral from Gilgit-Baltistan was now trying to legitimize its illegal hold on Shandur. He said historically Chitral is also part of Gilgit-Baltistan and under a conspiracy the area was included in the NWFP.

Weekly Bang-e-sahar Saturday, May 31—–June 6, 2008
ISLAMABAD: Member Northern Areas Legislative Assembly Rani Atiqa has said the people of Gilgit-Baltistan are very simple minded and have also been deprived of their basic rights for the last over 60 years. She said taking advantage of the situation, government officials posted in the area misused their power and did nothing for the welfare of the masses. Talking to Bang-e-Sahar, she referred to former Chief Secretary Qamarauz Zaman and said we would not remain silent over the way he took decisions misusing his authority. Ms Atiqa said people of Northern Areas had been deceived by increasing the powers of the chief secretary. She said the former chief secretary was supposed to share information with the chief executive but he never did so and kept the local people in the dark. She said we condemn such types of attitude of the officials. She said officials coming from the outside would not be allowed to play with the destiny of the local people.—Correspondent

Weekly Bang-e-sahar Saturday, May 31—–June 6, 2008
By Our Correspondent
GILGIT: The 20th anniversary of the 1988 tragedy was observed at Central Imamia Masjid Gilgit. A large number of people attended the gathering. Speaking on the occasion, Agha Syed Rahat Husain Al-Husaini, Sheikh Mirza Ali and Sheikh Ghulam Hyder Najfi said despite passage of 20 long years the perpetrators of the crime have not been exposed. They said in order to ensure peace in the region it is imperative that we should respect each other’s faith and belief. They said it was unjustified to put innocent people behind bars in connection with the June 3, 2004, January 8, 2007 and October 13 incidents. They said when arrested people in Balochistan and the NWFP were being released under the NRO, why not those arrested in the Northern Areas can be set free. They demanded that the government should free all innocent people without further delay. They also asked the government to make public the inquiry reports of 1988 and October 13 incidents and punish the perpetrators. The gathering also criticized alleged irregularities in appointment of security staff for the Chinese engineers by the police department and asked the government to cancel the hiring and appoint people on the basis of merit alone.