Thaindian News

By Sarwar Kashani
Srinagar, Nov 5 (IANS) Hundreds of separatist leaders in Gilgit-Baltistan, part of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, have been arrested and sent off to Islamabad ahead of the Nov 12 assembly elections in the strategic border region, says a prominent leader of the region that has recently been given the powers of a federal province.

“Top leaders of the Gilgit-Baltistan Democratic Alliance (GBDA) have been detained by the Pakistan occupying regime,” Abdul Hamid Khan, the chairperson of the Balawaristan National Front (BNF), wrote to IANS in an email.

“The GBDA had fielded its candidates for the elections. However, in order to prevent them from campaigning, they have been detained and expelled to Islamabad,” Khan said.

“The detention of hundreds of GBDA leaders and workers exposed the fraud elections of Pakistan.”

The GBDA, of which the BNF is a constituent, is an alliance of the separatist political parties in the Northern Areas - officially renamed Gilgit-Baltistan after the Pakistan cabinet approved the Gilgit-Baltistan Empowerment and Self Governance Order, 2009, in August.

The self-governance order empowers the local assembly to elect its chief minister. The Pakistan president will appoint a governor for the region that was earlier under Islamabad’s direct control.

Like other provinces, the assembly will have no control over defence and the treasury.

The resource-rich territory, part of the erstwhile undivided Jammu and Kashmir, has seen a separatist movement gaining momentum over the past few years.

Alarmingly low literacy levels, the absence of industry, deplorable road and communication links, poor energy sources and and the lack of job opportunities have fuelled the rebellion in the region, which was part of Jammu and Kashmir before Pakistan militarily occupied some parts in 1948.

Many separatists have rejected the Nov 12 elections as “illegal” and called for a boycott. Others, including the GBDA, decided to challenge the process by participating in “whatever democratic space was there”.

Islamabad, Khan said, had given “all the facilities and huge funds to pro-Pakistan parties”.

“The two million indigenous people are not allowed to raise their voices and they don’t have access to justice, education and huge natural resources,” he added.

According to him, “Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) has also threatened student groups with dire consequences and warned that the nationalist candidates won’t be allowed in the elections”.

Also known as the Karakoram region, Gilgit-Baltistan extends from Shinaki Kohistan to Chitral (in Pakistan) up to Tashkurgan (under Chinese occupation) and from Ladakh to Kargil in India.

When British rule ended in 1947, the region was conquered by Pakistan in tribal raids. Pakistan later “gifted” a part of the territory towards the extreme north to China. Stringent laws make the region inaccessible to foreigners and there are few media reports from the region.

(Sarwar Kashani can be contacted at s.kashani@ians.in)