protest against supreme court decision
kute ki toheen hai ..........
A Mind-Boggling Decision by the Supreme Court of Pakistan By : Izhar Hunzai
January 20, 2019
A Mind-Boggling Decision by the Supreme Court of Pakistan
By : Izhar Hunzai
The recent decision of the Supreme Court on the constitutional status of Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) came as another disappointment for the people of GB. Rather than addressing key issues, the decision magnifies GB’s longstanding political, legal and economic marginalization vis-à-vis Pakistan. Specifically, it fails to address the persisting effect that GB’s ambiguous status has on the region’s ability to participate in and benefit from meaningful self-governance and development opportunities. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a case in point. Despite being touted as the gateway to CPEC, not a single CPEC dollar is invested in GB, because China does not want to annoy India by investing in a disputed region. The decision does nothing to mitigate the acute sense of unfairness felt by GB residents that despite liberating a large and strategic area and making it part of Pakistan, their interests are continued to be sub-ordinated and held hostage to the Kashmir dispute.
GB’s persisting exclusion from Pakistan’s policy-making forums, such as National Parliament, Senate, Council of Common Interests, and other forums has been widely contested by the region’s residents. It is clear that without this leverage there can be no way to influence national laws and policies that are the essence of democracy and affect the lives of people in GB. The people of GB have tried to disassociate their fate from the fate of Kashmir, arguing that they have no cultural, ethnic, or linguistic relationship with the Kashmir people, and that therefore the final status of the GB should be resolved separately from the solution of Kashmir. The areas comprising current GB, were ruled for millennia as independent feudal and republican states and are unique in their forms of governance and management of natural resources. Between the 7th century and early 19th century, areas of GB were ruled by a succession of various dynasties including the Trakhans of Gilgit, the Maghlots of Nagar, the Ayashos of Hunza, the Burushai of Punyal, the Maqpoons of Skardu, the Anchans of Shigar and the Yabgos of Khaplu. The modern colonial period began in 1846 when the East India Company sold “all the hilly territories east of Indus”, including areas that are a part of current GB, to Maharaja Gulab Sing of Kashmir under the Treaty of Amritsar. Except for a period of occupation by the British and their Kashmiri allies, outsiders never ruled these states. Pakistan inherited the region of GB through a voluntary accession by the people of GB. It did not inherit this area from the British or the Kashmiris.
It is just mind boggling that the Supreme Court goes to extraordinary lengths to defend the right of self-determination of the people of Kashmir, but cringes from according the same right to the people of GB. What is most disheartening is that the Honorable Court in its decision seems to condone and accept the criminal acts of colonial powers selling GB and its people to third parties without the knowledge of the people concerned, as the legal basis for accepting GB as part of the erstwhile state of J&K, while conveniently ignoring the legitimate Revolution and Liberation of GB on November 2, 1947. In the eyes of people in GB this in itself constitutes a bigger violation of the fundamental human rights that the Supreme Court purports to protect and uphold, by extending its own jurisdiction to GB.
GB’s uncertain status not only prevents the region’s inhabitants from participating as full democratic citizens, but also discourages investments by bilateral (China) and multilateral agencies, such the World Bank, Asian Development, and Islamic Development Bank (which have declined to finance the Diamer-Basha Dam and Bunji Hydropower Project). Without access to highest policy forums, GB citizens have limited avenues to voice their opinions, promote and protect their interests, and demand governmental accountability. GB’s economic opportunities, including developing natural resource industries (like mining and renewable energy) and CPEC and tourism, are also curtailed by such liminal status. The continued failure of the Pakistani state to respond positively to the political demands of the people of the GB has spawned an atmosphere of disenchantment and disdain, which this judgement has confirmed. What is more, the Court seems to support the recommendations made by the Sartaj Aziz Committee, which would have given a special ‘provisional’ provincial status to GB, until a final settlement could be found for the Kashmir dispute. First proposed in the PTI Manifesto for the GBLA elections of 2015, this is the preferred solution for all political parties in GB, and there is also a Resolution passed by the Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly (GBLA), supporting this option. It is surprising that this being the most workable solution of meeting the legitimate demands of the people of GB and also protecting Pakistan’s stance on Kashmir, the Honorable Court stopped short of supporting it in its decision.
The only silver lining one can see in this decision is that the Honorable Supreme Court says that the State of Pakistan has all the de jure and de facto powers to decide the fate of GB. Now, the ball is again in the court of the Federal Government.
https://gbcef.blogspot.com/2019/01/...QMbQ9A5uP9NP495P44E-fw0Usg5h5R5VKRJDY8liE8hWY
