Gilgit Baltistan: Pakistani parties root-cause of trouble

Gilgit Baltistan: Pakistani parties root-cause of trouble

SKARDU 24 March 2013

 Interference by federal political and religious parties in the affairs of Gilgit-Baltistan is further pushing the region into chaos and instability. Any political activity in the disputed region by political parties of Pakistan is illegal and is without any justification.
After announcement of the election schedules in the four provinces of Pakistan, the people of Gigit-Baltistan should reflect for a moment on the fact and try to understand why the region is excluded from the political process if it is like a province of Pakistan. Not holding the general elections in Gilgit-Baltistan along the four provinces of Pakistan testifies that this region has its own distinct identity and cannot be treated like the four provinces of Pakistan.
These views were expressed by Manzoor Hussain Parwana, the chairman of Giglit-Baltistan United Movement, in a statement here.

He said that the national identity question of Gilgit-Baltistan had become the burning issue in the word. Without determining the national status of the people of Gilgit-Baltistan, the basic rights of the people of the region cannot be guaranteed, he added.
Those Pakistani or Pakistani-backed political parties who are promising to make Gilgit-Baltistan a model province are the liars and they have no mention of the region in their election manifestos. Mr Parwana said these political parties even cannot include Gilgit-Baltistan in their manifestos because the region is not part of Pakistan. Therefore, political activity by any political party of Pakistan should be banned in the region.

The GBUM leader also said that the Supreme Court and the election commission of Pakistan should take notice of the fact that under which law the political parties of Pakistan were taking part in political activities in the disputed region.
He also pointed out that Pakistani political parties were trying to divide the people of Gilgit-Baltistan in order to achieve their own vested interest. As a result, this region has become a battle ground for political, religious and sectarian rivalries, depriving the two million people of their right to live in a peaceful atmosphere, He said currently, Pakistani political parties like the PPP, PML-Q, JUI-F and the MQM are ruling the region. If tomorrow the PML-N and the PTI take over, there would be no difference as far as the life of the common people in the region was concerned.
The GBUM chief said that the solution of the region's issues lied in banning all political parties of Pakistan and allowing the indigenous political entities to play a role in running the affairs of the region.

Issued by

Gilgit Baltistan United Movement

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