GILGIT, Pakistan-administered
Kashmir - Surrounded by three famous mountain ranges,
the Himalayas, the Karokorams and the Hindukush, Gilgit
Valley is perhaps the most fascinating and spectacular
part of Pakistan-administered Kashmir. But the visiting
India media personnel had hardly been able to take a
deep breath at Gilgit airport, trying to soak up the
breathtaking beauty of the valley, when we were
confronted by a demonstration by the Jammu and Kashmir
Liberation Front (JKLF - Amanullah group) that seeks the
third option of independence from both India and
Pakistan. (The other options being either accession to
Pakistan or India.)
The JKLF demonstrators were
cordoned off and not allowed by the airport security to
meet the visiting media. This was no major loss as we
had already met their chief, Amanullah Khan, in
Muzaffarabad and Islamabad. But as soon as we reached
our government-run motel, the proponents of a fourth
option were awaiting us. They are seeking the
independence of the Gilgit-Baltistan region designated
by Pakistan as the Northern Areas [1] from India,
Pakistan and even the state of Jammu and Kashmir.
In their view, this paradise for mountaineers,
climbers, trekkers, hikers and anglers has a separate
identity and needs to be an independent country. They
include the neighboring Ladakh and Kargil across the
Line of Control [2] in Indian-administered Jammu and
Kashmir also as part of their country, which they
variously name as Balawaristan and Bolor.
Though
an interaction with local nationalist leaders was not a
part of the official itinerary, we were allowed to meet
the proponents of the third option, like the JKLF
cadres, and also proponents of the fourth option,
members of organizations like the Balawaristan National
Front (BNF), the Gilgit-Baltistan Thinkers Forum, the
Gilgit Baltistan United Action Forum, the Muttaheda
Quami Party and the Karakorum National Movement.
JKLF president (Gilgit-Baltistan) Zia ul-Haq,
said the Northern Areas (NA) had been denied the right
to self-rule. He complained that the state's rules that
give a distinct identity to this region have been
grossly violated in the NA, and outsiders (mainly Sunni
Pashtuns) have been settled in the region. Like several
other nationalist leaders, he expressed the fear that
the demographic character of the region was being
deliberately changed with the settlement of outsiders.
BNF leaders Ali Mohammed Taj and Mohammed
Rafique, too, complained about the scrapping of state
subject rules and complained that outsiders were
settling in the area. They said that Pakistan and its
'"agencies" were suppressing the nationalists and
crushing all expressions of nationalist ideology. They
revealed that nearly 150 of their workers were fighting
cases of treason and sedition. A senior JKLF leader
revealed that nearly 300 Kashmiri youths are currently
in jails in Azad (Free) Kashmir.
The NA consist
of the northwestern part of the erstwhile J&K state
wedged between Afghanistan, North West Frontier Province
in Pakistan and Xinjiang in China. It has a population
of 2.8 million and has been divided administratively
into five districts, Gilgit, Shardu, Diamir, Ghizer and
Ghanche.
Other more senior leaders of this group
had met us in Muzaffarabad, though interaction with them
was not a part of the official itinerary. Indeed, our
South Asian Free Media Association organizers were not
happy with some of us spending too much time talking to
these people. Clearly, while Pakistan is willing to deal
with the third options, the fourth option is too much
for it to stomach. This despite the fact that President
General Pervez Musharraf's recently articulated formula
gives some hope for these regions also to get their
political status changed.
There has been
widespread discontent among the people of the NA for
quite some time. The most prominent group agitating for
self-rule or freedom is the Balawaristan National
Movement. Since 1999, there have been demands by
dissidents for an independent republic of Balawaristan,
including the NA regions of Gilgit, Baltistan, Chitral,
Shhenaki Kohistan, and Indian Kashmir areas such as
Ladakh and Kargil. The movement has been led by the BNF
and the All Party National Alliance (APNA), an umbrella
organization of political groups from
Pakistan-administered Kashmir (PAK).
Balawaristan leaders argue that if the people of
the region cannot vote for the Pakistani parliament,
then how can and why should Pakistan apply its laws in
the NA? Asked why so little public support has been
demonstrated for their position, they said that there
was a climate of fear created by what they called
"agencies", referring to the myriad intelligence
organizations monitoring their activities. They even
pointed to some people right there who they said were
from the "agencies". This, they said, stifled the voices
of the people. The climate of fear became apparent when
even an elected member of the district council, Mohammad
Javed Mirza, of the Karakoram National Front, felt
unable to give his home telephone number. He told this
correspondent that telephones of all politicians and
activists were tapped. He said: "We are being ruled by
force. We were even stopped from meting you. But we have
come at great risk."
"Even Amanullah Khan was
beaten up here last year for seeking to organize a
demonstration," said another disgruntled JKLF leader.
The NA are ruled directly from Islamabad through
what is called the Northern Areas Legislative Council
(NALC), which is headed by Pakistan's minister for
Kashmir affairs. A chief executive, normally a retired
Pakistani army officer appointed by Islamabad, is the
local administrative head. The NALC is headed by the
minister of Kashmir and the Northern Areas and meets
only when it is convened by the minister.
There
is great dissatisfaction with the current system. As Zia
ul-Haq of the JKLF pointed out, it has hardly any powers
to set either legislation or development priorities. The
NALC members who met with Indian journalists found it
difficult to justify their constitutional status. In
fact, there was so much confusion, even the speaker of
the NALC, Malik Mohammed Miskeen, had to retract his
statements several times as they were immediately
contradicted by other members and proved to be wrong.
All they were able to agree on was that the situation
was far from perfect, though they said it was improving.
Another point of confusion among the NALC
members was on the question of the NA being a part of
the state of Jammu and Kashmir. While the speaker said
it was not a part of J&K, the former deputy chief
executive, Fida Mohammed, and several other members said
it was part of the "disputed" state. Indeed, the speaker
later appeared to be on the verge of retracting from
this statement as well. There appeared a clear
disconnect between the publicly stated view of an
elected member and his privately expressed view. Several
elected members of the NALC profess their
pro-independence or pro-fourth option (independent
Balawaristan) view in private.
Pakistan
maintains an ambivalent stand over the status of the NA
in the context of its demand for the resolution of the
Kashmir issue through a plebiscite, as per United
Nations resolutions of 1948. It has never clearly
defined the constitutional status of the NA. Pakistan
clearly desires to integrate the NA into Pakistan,
distinguishing it from Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK). It
seeks to differentiate between NA and Kashmir in the
expectation that, in case such a plebiscite is ever
held, the NA would vote for Pakistan. Significantly,
while the NA comprises 72,495 square kilometers, the AJK
consists of only 5,703 square kilometers.
There
is one piece of recent history that almost everyone in
NA, particularly the pro-independence group, never tires
of recounting. Frustrated over the years with the
stonewalling tactics of the government of Pakistan over
granting autonomy to NA, three public representatives of
the NA, Malik Maskeen, Hajij Ameer Jan and Sheikh Abdul
Aziz, filed a writ petition under section 44 of the POK
(Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir) interim constitution act of
1974 with the POK high court on October 16, 1990. In its
verdict on March 8, 1993, the full bench of the Azad
Kashmir High Court declared the NA to be a part of the
territory of Jammu & Kashmir.
The chief
justice of the court, who delivered this judgment, now
retired Justice Majeed Malik, heads a political party in
AJK, demanding independence from both India and
Pakistan. He gave visiting Indian journalists a copy of
his historic judgment published in the form of a book.
This book has become a kind of Bible for
independence-loving Kashmiris in Pakistan. People quote
chapter and verse from it to prove that NA belongs to
Kashmir and not to Pakistan. This is a point to which
even pro-establishment politicians have to show
allegiance. It is difficult to find anyone in AJK or NA
who doesn't agree with the court judgment.
Even
the pro-Balwaristan people agree with the judgment to
the point that they say NA is not a part of Pakistan.
They, however, have their own version of history that
proves that NA is not even a part of the state of Jammu
and Kashmir. Mirza Nadir Hasan of another fourth-option
party called Gilgit-Baltistan Thinkers Forum, which is
also part of the all Parties National Alliance,
distributed a research paper seeking to prove that NA
becoming a part of the Jammu and Kashmir state was
essentially a part of British conspiracy. The paper
says: "It [Pakistan] also accepted the independent
republic of Gilgit-Baltistan created on November 1,
1947, in all its official national and international
correspondence but blundered because of its evil
intentions and is facing the music now."
In
their interaction with local journalists in Gilgit,
Indian media asked about the level of freedom of the
press in the NA. The local press appeared to be free to
report on anything, provided it was first cleared by the
authorities, particularly the home secretary, who also
functions as information secretary. The independence of
the media thus depends entirely on the tolerance of the
local administration. There are no laws to protect
journalists, and some of the journalists, such as the
editor of K2, Raja Hussain Khan Maqpoon, had been jailed
for expressing a view that went against the state's
ideology.
Another major complaint is about
Islamabad apparently encouraging sectarian violence. The
paper accused Pakistan of following a policy of divide
and rule in the manner of the colonial British rulers
and said Pakistani "agencies" were creating
Shi'ite-Sunni tensions. It is not very difficult to
create these tensions as NA is described as a
kaleidoscope of ethnic groups (Baltis, Shins, Yashkuns,
Mughals, Kashmiris, Pathans, Ladakhis and Turks), of
languages (Balti, Shina, Burushashki, Khowar, Wakhi,
Turki, Tibeti, Pusto and Urdu) and sects (Shi'ites,
Sunnis, Ismailis and Nurbakshis). Shi'ites constitute
about 55% of the population, Sunnis 25% , Ismailis 15%
and Nurbakhshis 5%.
The NA faced a lot of
trouble in 2003 over the Islamic textbooks that the
Pakistan Ministry of Education had issued as a part of
the curriculum for schools in the region. According to
Shi'ite community leaders, the textbooks promoted Sunni
thought and values and their introduction was an attempt
to promote sectarian hatred between the two communities.
A large number of protest rallies were organized in
Gilgit and hundreds of primary and secondary school
students boycotted classes.
There is no way of
verifying the level of public support for the NA (or
Balawaristan that includes Indian parts like Kargil and
Ladakh) gaining independence from all three - India,
Pakistan and Kashmir. But there can be no doubt that a
section of Gilgit-Baltistan's political thinkers and
activists are seriously preoccupied with searching for
the region's separate identity.
Notes [1] Pakistan has divided
the parts of Kashmir under its control into two
administrative units: Azad (Free) Jammu and Kashmir
(AJK) of 5,703 square kilometers and the Northern Areas
(NA) of 72,496 square kilometers. (The total area of the
state of Jammu and Kashmir is 222,236 square kilometers.
Pakistan controls approximately 78,000 square kilometers
of the state.)
AJK, with an estimated population
of 2.5 million, comprises six districts of Muzaffarabad,
Mirpur, Kotli, Poonch, Bagh and Bhimber. NA consists of
the northwestern part of the erstwhile J&K state
wedged between Afghanistan, North West Frontier Province
in Pakistan and Xinjiang in China. It has a population
of 2.8 million and has been divided administratively
into the five districts of Gilgit, Shardu, Diamir,
Ghizer and Ghanche.
NA is described as a
kaleidoscope of ethnic groups (Baltis, Shins, Yashkuns,
Mughals, Kashmiris, Pathans, Ladakhis and Turks), of
languages (Balti, Shina, Burushashki, Khowar, Wakhi,
Turki, Tibeti, Pusto and Urdu) and sects (Shi'ites,
Sunnis, Ismailis and Nurbakshis). Shi'ites constitute
around 55% of the population, Sunnis 25% , Ismailis 15%
and Nurbakhshis 5%.
AJK has always claimed the
NA a part of the territory controlled by it in 1947. The
NA have, however, been annexed by Pakistan and are under
its administration, described by dissidents as "colonial
and repressive". Regardless of their distinct cultural
and historical identities, the dissidents point out,
sub-units such as Nagar and Yasin have been unilaterally
integrated within new district boundaries.
Many
people in Pakistan and AJK have urged that NA be treated
as part of AJK. When the interim constitution of Azad
Kashmir was proclaimed in 1947, the Muzaffarabad
government took the line that the Karachi Agreement,
which had temporarily placed the NA under the control of
Pakistan, had lapsed and that this region should de jure
and de facto revert to Azad Kashmir, to which it
legitimately belonged. The federal government of
Pakistan resisted that effort and has maintained that
the NA are an integral part of Pakistan.
Pakistan maintains an ambivalent stand over the
status of NA in the context of its demand for the
resolution of the "Kashmir issue" through plebiscite as
per UN resolutions of 1948. It has never clearly defined
the constitutional status of the NA. Pakistan clearly
desires to integrate the NA into Pakistan,
distinguishing it from AJK. It seeks to differentiate
between NA and Kashmir in the expectation that, in case
such a plebiscite is ever held, the NA would vote for
Pakistan.
Nothing could make Pakistani
intentions regarding Kashmir clearer than the ambiguity
about NA. Pakistan would clearly like to keep this
mountainous portion of the state in its own control,
even in the event of Kashmiris exercising their third
option of independence, the other two options being
accession to India or Pakistan.
Frustrated over
the years with the stonewalling tactics of the
government of Pakistan over granting autonomy to NA,
three public representatives of the NA, Malik Maskeen,
Hajij Ameer Jan and Sheikh Abdul Aziz filed a write
petition under section 44 of the Pakistan-Occupied
Kashmir (POK) Interim Constitution Act of 1974 with the
POK high court on October 16, 1990. In its verdict on
March 8, 1993, the full bench o the Azad Kashmir High
Court declared the NA to be a part of the territory of
Jammu & Kashmir.
The chief justice of the
High Court, who delivered this judgment, now retired
Justice Majeed Malik, heads a political party in AJK,
demanding independence from both India and Pakistan. He
gave visiting Indian journalists a copy of his historic
judgment published in the form of a book. This book has
become a kind of Bible for independence-loving Kashmiris
in Pakistan. People quote chapter and verse from the
book to prove that NA belongs to Kashmir and not to
Pakistan. This is a point to which even
pro-establishment politicians have to show allegiance.
It is difficult to find anyone in AJK or NA who doesn't
agree with the high court judgment.
Regardless
of the wishes of the Kashmiri people, however, the
people of NA are ruled directly from Islamabad through
what is called the Northern Areas Council, which is
headed by Pakistan's Minister for Kashmir Affairs. A
chief executive, normally a retired Pakistani army
officer, appointed by Islamabad, is the local
administrative head. The council is headed by the
Minister of Kashmir and Northern Areas and meets only
when the minister convenes it.
Complicating the
Kashmir tangle further, Pakistan unilaterally ceded a
part of the state to China. They concluded a "Boundary
Agreement" in March 1963 under which Pakistan handed
over more than 5,180 square kilometers of territory
under its occupation to China, ignoring India's
objections. Pakistan gave away the entire area belonging
to Hunza, south of the Mintaka Pass, to China. India
challenged the locus standi of both parties to
negotiate and conclude an agreement in respect of the
territory of the state of Jammu & Kashmir, over
which India had sovereign rights. India protested to
both China and Pakistan, indicating that it would not
recognize the illegal transfer of territory forming part
of the state of Jammu & Kashmir.
[2] The
Line of Control (LoC) is a demarcation line established
in January 1949 as a ceasefire line, following the end
of the first Kashmir war. In July 1972, after a second
conflict, the LoC was re-established under the terms of
the Simla Agreement, with minor variations on the
earlier boundary. The LoC passes through a mountainous
region about 5,000 meters high. North of the LoC, the
rival forces have been entrenched on the Siachen glacier
(more than 6,000 meters high) since 1984 - the highest
battlefield in the world. The LoC divides Kashmir on an
almost two-to-one basis: Indian-administered Kashmir to
the east and south (population about 9 million), which
falls into the Indian-controlled state of Jammu and
Kashmir; and Pakistani-administered Kashmir to the north
and west (population about 3 million), which is labelled
by Pakistan as "Azad" (Free) Kashmir. China also
controls a small portion of Kashmir.
Sultan Shahin is a New Delhi-based
writer.
(Copyright 2004 Asia Times Online
Ltd. All rights reserved. Please contact us for
information on sales, syndication and republishing.)
PART 3: Gilgit Valley
searches for identity
