Govt accused of injustice in Gilgit Baltistan

23 January 2009


Govt accused of injustice in Gilgit Baltistan

SKARDU, Jan 22: GilgitBaltistan is fast slipping into poverty, joblessness, social injustice and backwardness due to the illplanned policies and coloniallike system of government, an activist said.
Talking to a delegation of youth in Islamabad, GilgitBaltistan United Movement Manzoor Hussain Parwana said: “The major reason behind the economic decline in GilgitBaltistan is ‘conspiracies’ by Pakistani ruling class due to which no industry was set up in the region during the last six decades and the locals were also not allowed to set up small-scale industries.” Mr Parwana said it was an irony that the graduating students of Gilgit-Baltistan failed to get jobs in their region despite having the required qualifications. Outsiders are given priority over the local residents in bureaucracy, judiciary and administration. A large number of locals are now jobless, he added.
“Gilgit-Baltistan, the last colony of the world, has become heaven for the retired civil and military bureaucracy of Pakistan. All administrative and key posts are reserved for non-locals to strengthen the control on the region,” he remarked.
Mr Parwana asked the government to change its “discriminatory attitude” towards the region otherwise “the continuing the suppression will not be as easy as it had been in the past.”—Correspondent

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