World should help us directly

By Dj Mathal

The waves of destructive rains and floods have engulfed the whole country right from Gilgit-Baltistan to Gwadar and there is no piece of land which has remained safe from the cruel gushing waters. The natural calamities in the form of landsliding and floods started from Gilgit-Baltistan when a huge piece of earth came down in Attabad area in January this year killing scores of people and blocking the Hunza river. Later, villages after villages lost their existence in front of their residents with the government standing by as a silent spectator. This also displaced hundreds of families in the area and caused loss to their properties worth billions of rupees.Then came the monsoon rains, when rivers originating and coming from the mountains of Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan wreaked havoc with the settlements down stream. The swollen rivers of the Indus, Gilgit, Hunza and Chitral caused large scale destructions in Gilgit-Baltistan and Chitral washing away bridges, roads and other infrastructure before bringing further damages to Pakistani cities and villages. So far about 100 km portion of Karakoram Highway has been washed away by floods and the gushing rivers and experts say it will take months to reconstruct it. Due to disruption in communication system, the whole region is facing shortage of supplies of daily-use items. At present, due to absence of life-saving drugs and other necessities, spread of contagious diseases is being feared. Besides, due to disruption in the supplies of petroleum products, the wheel of business has come to a grinding halt in the region. In the Ghizer district, the floods have brought record breaking destruction. Due to lightening in the Damas village near the district headquarters of Gahkuch, 15 houses and many other buildings were destroyed. Two bridges were also washed away in Ishkoman. Besides, standing crops, fruit orchards and agriculture lands were also destroyed in the flooding. Due to washing away of the Hatoon bridge, the village has been disconnected from rest of the region and people there are stranded with supplies of daily-use items running out. In Gupis and Phandar, the floods have also caused destruction to public properties. The most affected area is stated to be the tehsil of Yasen, where in the village of Therchhet the river Dharkut has been blocked by landsliding leading to formation of an artificial lake there. However, the locals on self help basis released the blocked river. Similarly, floods in Hondur stream washed away about 30 houses besides destroying standing crops, houses and fruit orchards. It is a fact that even developed nations including the US have not been able to check or minimize floods and their destructions. In China and US, every year floods cause huge damages to properties. But the difference is that in the developed and civilized nations, the governments reach to every affected person without any discrimination and delay to extend all available assistance soon after a calamity. On the contrary, in our country neither the government carries out any homework before such calamities nor comes to the affected areas after the crisis to help the people in an organized manner. Here the common people are always seen suffering the most and helping each other in times of crises.The basic purpose of the formation of states and governments is to protect the life and properties of the masses and start welfare works for their betterment. The government of Gilgit-Baltistan should also have this objective in mind but unfortunately here we can see that people like Mehdi Shah and his government have failed to meet the expectations of the masses in times of need. There are a number of reasons for this sorry state of affairs. Gilgit-Baltistan is the only colony in the whole world in this modern era which has not been given its due right of freedom. The local people are still looking towards the international community and international organizations for fulfillment of their dreams. Pakistan, which has become self-made advocate of the two million people of the region, has its own objectives and therefore has been hindering the freedom movement while the so called elected representatives of the locals are busy in filling their pockets without regards to the conditions of their electorates.Pakistan is not only violating the basic rights of the people but also plundering their resources without any check. The people of the area not only remain deprived of their basic rights but have also been deprived of their own natural resources. Besides, key areas with tourist and historical importance like Chitral, Bhasha and Shandur have been snatched away and included in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The scourge of sectarian has been promoted in the region so that the people remain divided and unable to rise for their rights. Despite all these factors, the people of the region cannot be held uncountable. It should have been better had the two million people of the region got united and throw out the outsiders and take hold of their own resources and become masters of their own destiny. But due to unknown factors, the locals have fallen prey to the conspiracies of their enemies and remain divided on sectarian, regional and ethnic lines.The areas of Gilgit, Yasen, Chatorkhand, Darel, Basin and Diamer have badly affected by the recent floods. Due to blockade of road link, Ghizer seems to have fallen into the Stone Age with many of its areas becoming cut off from each other.Besides, large number of houses have been damages, agricultural fields, orchards and forests washed away by the floods. In the Nazber village of Yasen, people are compelled to live under the open sky. The area is also facing shortage of daily use items due to blockade of roads and disruption in supplies.Unfortunately, despite all these destruction, Gilgit-Baltistan does not figure in the eyes of the Pakistani media and as a result Pakistani masses and civil society organizations are unaware of the severity of the situation and intensity of the destruction in the region.The federal government which never tires of claiming to have given GB all its due rights under the 2009 packages also seems to have forgotten its dummy government in Gilgit. Even the dummy chief minister of GB is said to have waited in Islamabad to meet the power that be and returned with empty hands. The dummy chief minister himself acknowledged that the president and prime minister of Pakistan had refused to meet him because they were unable to provide any assistance to the region devastated from the recent floods. Even the maiden meeting of the GB council scheduled for Aug 5 was postponed for an indefinite period.In fact, beggar can never become chooser. But our stance has always been this that if we succeed in getting our right of ownership on our own resources we would not need anybody else' help. Now we suspect that even the peanut budget announced for Gilgit-Baltistan by Islamabad rulers will not be released to us on the pretext of large scale destruction from the recent floods in Pakistan.We appeal to the international community and human rights organizations to come to the help of the affected people of Gilgit-Baltistan. But we also appeal to them that we they give any assistance it should not come through Pakistan and its departments. The international community should provide direct help to the people for Gilgit-Baltistan.

(www.bangesahar.com)