Gilgit-Baltistan autonomy package wins few friends

[Roybot]

Gilgit-Baltistan Autonomy

By M. Ismail Khan

The ‘autonomy package’ introduced by the government for the people of Gilgit-Baltistan is a mix of good and bad news. The good news is that the area will now have an autonomous status with a chief minister and a governor. The bad news is that it has been given only a province-like status and has no institutional link with the four provinces or the Pakistani constitution.It is not yet clear how the Gilgit-Baltistan Empowerment and Self Governance Order 2009 signed by the president will affect the area’s denizens and other stakeholders. What is obvious, though, is that this is an entirely new experiment in statecraft where a democratically elected government has created a province-like entity through an order.

Gilgit-Baltistan Autonomy

 

[53fd]

so does ladakhis in j&k. by ur logic so can we make it our 30th state.

If that is what the people of Ladakh want, I don't see it as a problem

do people in pakistan have these features

Yes, the Pakistani Tajik people from Chitral, & the places inside Pakistan's Northwest border close to the Wakhi corridor have Mongolian features as well. These people have ethnic, cultural links with the people of Gilgit-Baltistan.

since g&b has been part of j&K historically pakistan has no right to make its own state.

It all depends on the wishes of the people my friend. The people of Gilgit-Baltistan do not want to live under the historical suppression they've always lived under in J&K, especially with people they have no cultural or ethnic links with. Why should the people of Gilgit-Baltistan be forced to be a part of Kashmir when they don't have any kind of ethnic & cultural ties to them?

only disscussion can be made with is valley.

As I said, the people of Gilgit-Baltistan have already expressed their willingness to live as a part of Pakistan than Kashmir. The people of J&K should reunite with Azad Kashmir and form their own nation. The people in Ladakh must express their willingness to live as a part of India, otherwise they should join Azad Kashmir, J&K and form a new nation with them.

 

[Kashmiri Nationalist]

It response to #17:

-Heresay on the people of GB's wishes. Research Bawalaristan movement, iirc. Kashmir is extremely diverse, and we are all proud of it. Gilgit Levies also fought non-GB battles when they revolted. It is another way for Pakistan to further its agendas.

-Azad Kashmir is not "Azad", it is a proxy of Pakistan Government.

 

[Shakeel67]

I am Kashmiri and we are against GB Autonomy Package. This is a move by certain people in Pakistan's administration to split Kashmir even further and in doing so, make easier their agendas in Kashmir.

I am from Skardu....GILGIT BALTISTAN..... i live here and i have been raised here......and through out my life I have not seen anyone in this region saying that they are part of Kashmir.... Although Gilgit-Baltistan and Kashmir remained under the same ruler for a small time during Dogra's raj, but apart from this period historically they were never the same territory. They have seperate cultures, tradition and life style. The people of Gilgit-Baltistan remained in a hanging state for more then 60 years after independence in 1947. They wanted to be a part of Pakistan since independence, but due to the unavoidable circumstances in Kashmir, they could not be made proper part of Pakistan. The people of Gilgit-Baltistan always demanded to give then their identity of being Pakistan's fifth province, which finally seems to be fulfilled. Although the presidential order of 2009 is not all what they have demanded, but still by this order they can see a ray of hope.
One thing more important that i want to share is that, 100% population of Gilgit-Baltistan are true Pakistanis, there are number of them serving in armed forces and different other services and serving their beloved country Pakistan.

 

[somebozo]

Read it twice and couldnt make any sense of it. GB is soo remote it wouldnt make difference if it was part of India or Pakistan. What these people needs are state institutions to enforce law and start building a local social fabric. We have some labours in our camp from GB, they are proud to be Pakistanis and highly value their culture. I like the yearly tribute of dry fruits and various local sweets they bring for us.

Indians instead of jumping up and down in excitement look at their own rapport in the IOK.

Atleast we are heading somewhere, you are state-terrorizing people into submission.

 

[53fd]

I am from Skardu....GILGIT BALTISTAN..... i live here and i have been raised here......and through out my life I have not seen anyone in this region saying that they are part of Kashmir.... Although Gilgit-Baltistan and Kashmir remained under the same ruler for a small time during Dogra's raj, but apart from this period historically they were never the same territory. They have seperate cultures, tradition and life style. The people of Gilgit-Baltistan remained in a hanging state for more then 60 years after independence in 1947. They wanted to be a part of Pakistan since independence, but due to the unavoidable circumstances in Kashmir, they could not be made proper part of Pakistan. The people of Gilgit-Baltistan always demanded to give then their identity of being Pakistan's fifth province, which finally seems to be fulfilled. Although the presidential order of 2009 is not all what they have demanded, but still by this order they can see a ray of hope.
One thing more important that i want to share is that, 100% population of Gilgit-Baltistan are true Pakistanis, there are number of them serving in armed forces and different other services and serving their beloved country Pakistan.

The person who worked at my house in Islamabad was also from Skardu. He came to Islamabad as a young man, & his kids were born & brought up in Islamabad. Even though he wasn't educated, he was a hard & honest worker. He got his brothers living in Skardu to work in Islamabad. We gave him a good salary, paid for all of his children's education, paid for most of the amount his zameen that he bought in the outskirts of Islamabad worth a few lakhs, as well as buy tickets for his family to Skardu on their annual trip, as well as pay for his Iran & Iraq trip. All of his family have Pakistani passports, they've never even heard of the Balwaristan National Front; his brothers are doing exceptionally well in Islamabad as well. His wife has a full time job as well, & both of their incomes combined together is 20K rupees per month. His eldest daughter is in her second year of university (& she's engaged to a successful Chartered Accountant from Skardu as well), his son has just started university, one of them is in Intermediate. They keep sending money to Skardu, attract people from there to come to Islamabad; & my family sends money to Skardu as well for development purposes. Gilgit-Baltistan people see no connection to Kashmir: they are ethnically, culturally & historically different; as well as 'religiously' (almost all of them are Shia Muslims, who do not want to live under the Kashmiri Sunnis). They are patriotic Pakistanis & want nothing to do with Kashmir.

 

[Shakeel67]

The person who worked at my house in Islamabad was also from Skardu. He came to Islamabad as a young man, & his kids were born & brought up in Islamabad. Even though he was educated, he was a hard & honest worker. He got his brothers living in Skardu to work in Islamabad. We gave him a good salary, paid for all of his children's education, paid for most of the amount his zameen that he bought in the outskirts of Islamabad worth a few lakhs, as well as buy tickets for his family to Skardu on their annual trip, as well as pay for his Iran & Iraq trip. All of his family have Pakistani passports, they've never even heard of the Balwaristan National Front; his brothers are doing exceptionally well in Islamabad as well. His wife has a full time job as well, & both of their incomes combined together is 20K rupees per month. His eldest daughter is in her second year of university (& she's engaged to a successful Chartered Accountant from Skardu as well), his son has just started university, one of them is in Intermediate. They keep sending money to Skardu, attract people from there to come to Islamabad; & my family sends money to Skardu as well for development purposes. Gilgit-Baltistan people see no connection to Kashmir: they are ethnically, culturally & historically different; as well as 'religiously' (almost all of them are Shia Muslims, who do not want to live under the Kashmiri Sunnis). They are patriotic Pakistanis & want nothing to do with Kashmir.

Yes u are perfectly right that Gilgit-Baltistan people are true patriotic Pakistanis and do not want to be united with the Kashmiris. We have our own seperate identity and wants to maintain that. Gilgit-Baltistan people have sacrificed their lives for their beloved country Pakistan and proved their patriotism on many occassions, Kargil war of 1999 is an example, during which 80% of the shuhadas of Pakistan army were from the NLI which mainly have these people

 

[Areesh]

Agree with the posters here. One of my friend is from Gilgit and he is a very patriotic person. He also doesn't consider him to be Kashmiri.

 

[King123]

So, 1 poster who posted earlier become wrong ? Then 2nd poster came all of a sudden to post this ? Good job.

But it's easy to know the truth, You can't hide it.

Everyone knows Balawaristan

 

[Areesh]

Lol Balawaristan.

 

[Shakeel67]

Everyone knows Balawaristan

Actually there are only very few who talks about Balawaristan, and they are in numbered. Yet King123 make it clear that those talking about Balawaristan also wants to make it the 5th province of Pakistan and they dont want to get seperate from Pakistan and they also have no soft corner for india. The only difference between people talking about Balawaristan and other 99% of the Gilgit-Baltistan people is that they want to name it like that and wants some extra constitutional and economical power, but still they want to remain with Pakistan.

 

[Omar1984]

AJK whether you like it not, is a proxy of Pakistan Government and an extremely corrupt one at that. Gilgit Batlistan was part of Princely States of Jammu and Kashmir, therefore disputed and part of the disputed State of Jammu & Kashmir. Kashmir is very diverse, we have Rajputs, Jatts and all kinds, but that doesn't mean we discriminate on ethnic lines. Using your post I can make the null point that Balochistan, Sindh, KP should accede as they do not speak Punjabi, which the majority of Pakistanis do.

Azad Kashmiris are much more similar to Pakistani Punjabis than people of Sindh, Balochistan, and K-P are to Pakistani Punjabis.

Pahari, the language which is mostly spoken in Azad Kashmir, is a dialect of Punjabi. Its just a mountainous version of Punjabi.

And most of these people are ethnically same as Northern Punjabis in Pakistan, even same castes like Gujjar, Jatts, Chaudhry Sahab. They are more similar to Pakistani Punjabis than ethnic Kashmiris.

As for people of Gilgit-Baltistan, they are a people of their own with their own language and culture distinct from Punjabis, Kashmiris, Pakhtoons, Sindhis, and Baloch and they dont like being called Kashmiri because they are not ethnic Kashmiri but they are patriotic Pakistanis and we love them.

Most ethnic Kashmiris in Pakistan are those who migrated from Kashmir Valley to Pakistan in 1948, after Indian invasion of Kashhmir, and they live mostly in Punjab Province of Pakistan.

Here is an ethnic Kashmiri living in Pakistan:

 

[Kazhugu]

^^ indian invasion of Kashmir in 1948....

hopeless