Unrest widespread in PoK areas: Report

Claire Galez, a human rights activist of International Relations and Human Rights Research Centre, Brussels, during her visit to these areas observed that Pakistani nationals continued to hold every top administrative post in NA and the locals had no access to a responsible post.

“These areas do not have their own administrative set up, they are neither an integral part of Pakistan nor are they administered by POK,” she said, adding, “the essential question remains then: whose citizens are the 1.5 million people of NA”.

Galez in her report, Kashmir on chess board of South Asia’, presents a gloomy picture for the subjects of these areas. During her conversation with the bar association of these areas, Galez observed, “a sense of deep concern and anger was growing among the residents as there was no response to their claim for the last 50 years.

“For them the situation is more or less frozen,” she said, and added the local population was kept aside in all circumstances, which increased the alienation of the managers (Pakistan) of this region.

For several years, according to the reports, the locals have carried a feeling that Pakistan has “back-stabbed” them.

Benazir Bhutto, during her election campaign in 1994 promised reforms for NA. She kept the “promise” and announced a package of administrative and political reforms. “But these reforms have remained confined to paper only,” Galez said, and quoted a local politician Abdul Hamid Khan, vice-chairman of Balawaristan national front as saying, “these reforms are old wine in a new bottle”.

Khan said, “The package is an attempt to divert public attention and offset the pressure of human rights agencies for granting basic rights to the 1.5 million people of the area”.

“While visiting the NA, I noted that military and armed police presence was high in Gilgit town,” Galez said in her report.

She said a check-post was at every 20-25 metres and jeeps mounted with heavy weaponry were constantly circulating.

“On enquiring,” says Galez, “the locals replied that authorities claimed the situation as unstable due to repeated sectarian violence”.

The locals say that sectarian violence is being instigated and orchestrated by Pakistan in order to divert attention of the world community and justify military presence, she said.

Galez observed that the alien administration was too weak or unwilling to defend the local population, she said.

On the economic front, the NA contribute Pakistani Rs 140 billion annually to the Islamabad exchequer as the area is full of natural resources.

Since there is no legislative assembly and no representation in any decision making body, the people of NA have no control over the revenue or taxes, she said.

The Belgium human rights activist concludes her report on the visit to this area, saying, “the hapless community of this region have nowhere to go”.

The high court of POK in a judgement said that Gilgit and Baltistan, also called as NA are an integral part of Jammu and Kashmir.

The high court of POK, in its judgement on Gilgit and Baltistan also said, “the NA were being administratively controlled by Pakistan without any lawful authority and residents in these areas were being dealt within an un-civic manner as no domestic institutions were established there”.

The Pakistan supreme court also recently upheld the decision of the “high court of POK”.