NEW DELHI: What are the reasons and why are the people in Gilgit-Baltistan and other parts of Kashmir under Pakistani control, protesting as a result of which the normal life came to complete standstill with a full shutter down and wheel-jam strike being observed, as reported by The Dawn.
Everything in Gilgit-Baltistan continues to remain at a standstill as the protests by locals entered fourth consecutive day on Sunday.
The protests come on the heels of a major price hike on materials for basic amenities, including the restoration of wheat subsidy, among other grievances, Dawn reported.
In a post on social media platform X, Zaighum Abbas, an activist from PoK wrote, “People from all 3 divisions of Gilgit-Baltistan started marching towards provincial capital today. A sea of people is expected at the Ittehad Chowk. Demands include restoration of wheat subsidy, internal autonomy royalty shares in the Diamer Bhasha dam. Help amplify the protest.”
According to Dawn, massive demonstrations against Pakistan’s regime were seen in various districts of the area, including Astore, Diamer, Ghizer, Hunza, Nagar, Skardu, Shigar, Kharmang, and Ghanche.
In addition to this, all main roads, including the Karakoram Highway, the Skardu Road, and the Ghizer Road, continue to remain deserted, and the people of the area are unable to purchase necessities.
Meanwhile, other than the protests by the general public, which have been ongoing for over a month, the Awami Action Committee (ACC), a political party from PoK, has also called for a protest as part of Plan B.
The Dawn report further mentioned that hundreds of individuals on motorbikes took part in the rallies staged in Hunza district and Ghizer district, ultimately joining the central protest at the Ittehad Chaowk.
The protestors received a warm welcome from the public along the route. According to experts, these protests were a successful strike against the regime, as thousands of people participated in these rallies.
The protestors have demanded that their strike will only be called off when the authorities will meet their 15 demands which include restoring the subsidised wheat rate which was implemented in 2022, suspension of the Finance Act of 2022, and the revoking of various taxes and returning the land ownership rights to the locals of Gilgit Baltistan.
According to The Dawn report, the charter of demands put forward by the protestors also includes the revocation of all leases granted to outsiders for the exploitation of minerals, the 80 per cent royalty of Diamer-Bhasha Dam under net hydel profit must be given back to the people of Gilgit-Baltistan finally ending the electricity outages, and the provision of basic medical and educational facilities to the region.
The reports in Pakistani newspapers including The Dawn said that the people have observed a complete strike against an increase in the subsidised wheat rate and other grievances across the region.
In Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK), which India calls it, political activists have openly protested against the Pakistan Army and have claimed that they have been treated as ‘second class citizens for several decades, since 1947 when the two countries were created.
The Dawn has reported that “India and Pakistan, though different pieces of the same land, have always been against each other with diplomatic animosity over most issues; the biggest being Kashmir.”
Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), is a part of Jammu and Kashmir, India which was overtaken by Pakistan in 1947; while United Nations and other international organisations call it Pakistani-Controlled Kashmir or Pakistan Administered Kashmir, India calls it ‘Pakistan Occupied Kashmir’.
People have been holding big protest demonstrations and rallies in all districts of Gilgit-Baltistan, forcing suspension of the vehicular movement in all the regions.
Moreover, shops, markets, restaurants and trade centres were closed on Friday in various areas of Gilgit, Skardu, Diamer, Ghizer, Astore, Shighar, Ghanche, Kharmang, Hunza and Nagar. There was a call for similar protests on Sunday also.
The Awami Action Committee (AAC), spearheading the agitation, gave the strike call, in consultation with the associations representing traders, transporters and hotel owners, according to The Dawn.
However, it was the next phase of the protest that has been going on for the last one month against the Gilgit-Baltistan government’s decision to raise the subsidised wheat prices.
Maryam S Khan, a researcher at the Institute of Development and Economic Alternatives (IDEAS), Pakistan, posted on social media X, stating that the largest telecom operator of PoK, Special Communications Organization, has blocked internet services in Gilgit-Baltistan.
“As protests grow stronger over wheat subsidy issue, SCOM @hq_sco has blocked internet services in Gilgit-Baltistan,” Khan reposted on X.
Whereas, an X user shared a video of Senator Farhatullah Babar, stressing that Gilgit-Baltistan is the only region of Pakistan where people do not own their lands.
“Gilgit-Baltistan is the only region of Pakistan where people do not own their lands, Pakistan does not implement the 18th amendment in GB because after that people will become the owners of their own lands. This is an area being denied,” he said.
Meanwhile, as the protests continued, attendance in private and government offices and educational institutions remained thin owing to the unavailability of transport, as a result, causing difficulties for people to purchase essential commodities and travel.
Notably, the AAC announced that marches from various areas of the region towards Gilgit and Skardu will begin today, as reported by Dawn.
Furthermore, on Friday, a large number of people participated in a protest demonstration, held at Siddiq Akbar Chowk in Chilas, the district headquarters of Diamer, after Friday prayers.
The speakers condemned the Gilgit-Baltistan government’s decision to raise the subsidised wheat rate, terming it a failure of the chief minister.
They further warned that if their demands were not fulfilled, the Karakoram Highway would be blocked, Dawn has reported.
Moreover, protest rallies and demonstrations were also held in Tangir, Astore, Kharmang, Skardu, Shigar, Ghanche, Hunza, Nagar and Ghizer after Friday prayers.
However, the main demonstrations were staged at Garibagh in Gilgit and Yadgar-i-Shuhada in Skardu where thousands of people gathered for their daily, hours-long sit-in.
The AAC chief organiser, Ehsan Ali, said that GB residents had been deprived of their basic rights for the past seven decades.
“Currently, the Gilgit-Baltistan people have been facing 22 hours of electricity outages, despite spending billions of rupees annually from public funds,” he said.
Amidst all these protests and demonstrations, GB Governor Syed Mehdi Shah held a meeting with President Arif Alvi in Islamabad on Friday and discussed the overall situation in the region, including wheat subsidy and other issues, as reported by The Dawn.
According to a statement issued by the Presidency, the president told the Governor that he had raised the issue with the caretaker prime minister and finance minister and hoped that it would be resolved soon.
People, Political Activist In PoK Protest Against Pak Army
As mentioned earlier, the people in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) are showing anger and resentment against Islamabad as they have been treated as second-class citizens for the past several decades. While addressing a rally in Muzaffarabad, political activists in PoK openly expressed their anger and sorrow against the Pakistan Army and the regime, a report by ANI said.
Leader Of Ongoing Protests, Toqeer Gilani Said.
A prominent political activist and the leader of the ongoing protests in PoK, Toqeer Gilani, said: “The Pakistan administration has been saying that they will always stand with us, and will always fight for the rights of our people. But anyone who is friends with the Pakistani establishment, will not need a foe anyway. You may ask the Afghans, you may ask the Palestinians, and you can also ask us about the atrocities they are inflicting upon us.” Gilani also mentioned that the administration of Pakistan has been inflicting atrocities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Political Activist Questions Pakistan’s Administration
“They did not even forgive the national leaders, who had served the country more than once, putting them behind bars after declaring them traitors. The administration now has fallen to breaking political parties, destroying cultures, and traditions, and capturing land everywhere,” he said in his public address. He added, “What sort of an administration is this? What sort of a democracy is this? And what sort of Islam is this? There is no bigger lie than this in the history of mankind”.
Gilani further said: “The Pakistani administration even today is not ready to listen and grant us the freedom that we ask for. The administration continues to call us anti-Pakistan and anti-Islam. All intend to take away what belongs to us, the people of PoK. Even today, the people whose forefathers have destroyed our lands, are not letting us improve our economic condition”.
In another news, as quoted by Pakistani Ambassador to Tehran in an Al Jazeera report, nine Pakistanis have been killed by gunmen at the South-Eastern border area of Iran. Pakistani ambassador to Tehran Muhammad Mudassir Tipu has also expressed his shock and has condoled the deaths.
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