Now or Never

Pakistan's Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan Arbab Alamgir Khan the other day told the national and international media that the government of Pakistan has decided that royalty for the Diamer Dam being built in the Diamer district of Gilgit-Baltistan would be paid to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa because Gilgit-Baltistan is not the geographical and constitutional part of Pakistan and its final status has to be decided along with the Kashmir dispute. As there is no provision in the constitution of Pakistan under which royalty can be paid to politically disputed Gilgit-Baltistan; therefore, it has been decided that the royalty would go to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, he said. The minister has very rightly stated that Gilgit-Baltistan is not part of Pakistan and its relation with Islamabad was limited to a temporary nature till holding of a plebiscite by the UN to ascertain the wishes of the local people about the political status of the region. Till that time Pakistan is entrusted to protect the sovereignty of the region and help in running its day-to-day affairs. In this context, we should be very thankful to the minister for candidly stating that Gilgit-Baltistan is not in any way an integral part of Pakistan. This is for the first time that a key central political figure and high-ranking official of the federal government has publicly declared that Gilgit-Baltistan is not a geographical and constitutional part of Pakistan. However, the usual tone and tenor full of intentions to loot the resources of the region and cheat the masses was evident from the minister's media talk. He was so innocently explaining the articles and provisions of the constitution as if he was one of the architects of the law or had full grip on jurisprudence. It seemed that he knew well that GB was not part of Pakistan but was oblivious to the fact that nowhere in the constitution of Pakistan it had been mentioned that Islamabad can plunder the resources of the disputed region without the wishes of the locals. It is a fact that Pakistan has been working for decades on eliminating the very existence of the indigenous people of Gilgit-Baltistan. The rulers of Pakistan have adopted double standard for the last several decades. On the one hand, it is said that Gilgit-Baltistan is not part of Pakistan constitutionally and, therefore, Pakistani laws cannot be implemented here but on the other the local people have been deprived of their own resources. Besides, by deploying its security forces in the region, Pakistan is not only trampling human rights and creating a wave of terror in the region in order to perpetuate its grip on the local resources but also is busy in forcibly transferring the natural wealth and other resources to Islamabad. On the face of world pressure and fearful of a popular uprising in the region and to hoodwink the international community, Islamabad through the help of its local stooges last year staged the drama of self-rule and introduced a fraud package. Those always faithful to the soil had at that time also warned the masses that under the garb of governor and chief minister "Ali Baba and 40 thieves" would be imposed on the region who would not only loot and plunder the resources of the region but would also let loose a wave of terror and cruelties on the masses compelling them to flee their own soil and take shelter somewhere else thus facilitating the occupation of the region's resources by Islamabad. This is one of the conspiracies that a mega dam is being built in the region to meet the energy requirements of Pakistan.If the rulers had any sympathy with the people of Gilgit-Baltistan and not been greedy for their economic interests, they would have respected the wishes of the people of Gilgit-Baltistan as they had done in the case of Kalabagh Dam and not insisted on the construction of the Diamer Dam. Islamabad which never tires of claiming to be the sole supporter of the people of Kashmir and champion of their rights has miserably failed to stop its security forces from violating human rights in its own administered Gilgit-Baltistan. Had Islamabad been a proponent of justice and fair play it would have set an example by holding a plebiscite in Gilgit-Baltistan under the UN resolutions to ascertain the wishes of the local people and help in determining a political dispensation there. And after forming a government after such a plebiscite, Pakistan would have entered into an agreement with that government to take benefit of the resources of the region. But Pakistan has trampled the UN resolutions and also put those natives of the region who raise voice against the injustices to severe intimidation and even thrown them out of the region. The political, social, cultural and economic deprivation of the people of Gilgit-Baltistan is a direct result of the shenanigans and conspiracies of some local elements who have always worked in tandem with the rulers of Pakistan against the interests of the two million natives of the region. Had these people shown even an iota of self-respect and national pride, the governor, chief minister and the whole legislative assembly would have become one voice and struggled for the rights of the local people. They should know that if the constitution of Pakistan has no provision for giving the royalty for the dam to the people of Gilgit-Baltistan nowhere the constitution allows Pakistan to construct a mega water reservoir in the disputed region. These so-called political leaders of the region have failed to protect the rights of the nation and are directly responsible for the backwardness, poverty and deprivation of the region. Had there been sincere political leaders in Gilgit-Baltistan, the rulers of Pakistan would never had even dared to build a mega dam in the region let alone deprive it of its rightful royalty. It is strange that Pakistani rulers have become so callous and are shamelessly staging the drama of boundary issue just to give the royalty to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is also a moment of reflection for us that compare to our so called political leaders how the leaders of Pashtoons have gone far ahead in securing the future of their people. In case of Kalabagh Dam, the Pashtoons knew that it would give them no benefit and therefore they opposed it tooth and nail and even the ANP threatened that if constructed the dam would be bombed. It is time the people of Gilgit-Baltistan, whether inside the assembly or outside, would decide whether to live under the political and socio-economic subjugation of others or rise and fight for their rights and for their identity. This decision has to be taken on the basis of Now or Never. If we delayed, it would cost our future generation dearly.

(www.bangesahar.com)