After its illegal occupation of Gilgit-Baltistsan in 1947, Pakistan has been changing her stance one after another on her legal position in that area. For many decades after its illegal occupation, Pakistan ruled over Gilgit and Baltistan from Islamabad. It became almost a colony of Islamabad. For many decades, Pakistan called it Northern Areas and administered it under that name. But during the premiership of Gilani, the name was changed to Gilgit and Baltistan. Soon after the occupation of the area by Islamabad, there appeared opposition to Islamabad’s rule over the area and denial of the right of the local people to be their own masters. They were denied the democratic right of having their assembly, elected representatives, their local bodies, administrative structure and democratic institutions. Civil and Police administrative officers were all brought from Pakistan and imposed on the people of the region.
A nationalist movement developed in the area that raised its voice against domination by Pakistan not only administratively but also by bringing in Pakistani army units to control the area which meant virtual occupation. Strangely in 1953, a clandestine document was signed in Karachi in which erstwhile Northern Areas were separated from the rest of the Pakistan occupied Kashmir and placed directly under federal administration. The military rulers of Pakistan, especially under General Musharraf, who was then the Corps Commander of Northern Area, ruthlessly brought about demographic change in the entire area. He was responsible for bringing about demographic change in the area in which he settled thousands of Sunnis from the adjoining NWFP in Gilgit thereby reducing the ratio of Shia population that was in majority in Gilgit. Jamaat-i-Islami of Pakistan played conspicuous role in this process of bringing about change in demographic complexion. Along with that, suppression of the local Shia population in all walks of life began. Blatant factionalism was exercised and the locals meaning Gilgatis and Baltistanis were treated as second class citizens. Not only that, developmental activity came to a grinding halt and the economic condition of the people became miserable. Discrimination in all walks of life became the norm. Nationalist movements were suppressed and many nationalist leaders had to flee their homes to seek asylums in foreign countries for fear of persecution at home. These nationalists raised the issue of violation of human rights of the people of Gilgit and Baltistan on world platforms including Human Rights Council in Geneva.
As pressure mounted on Islamabad, Pakistan tried to feign democratic system for Gilgit and Baltistan. It manipulated restructuring of political dispensation in a manner that real control remained in the hands of Islamabad and only sham of democracy was allowed for the people of the region. Actual control remained in the hands of senior Pakistani bureaucrats and military officers who have been ruling over these people arbitrarily. Now by way of eyewash, authorities in Islamabad have announced that elections will be held in Gilgit-Baltistan on June 8 to install what they call “democratic dispensation” in the area.
New Delhi is within her right to lodge a complaint against the election stunt in Gilgit and Baltistan. She has many reasons. First reason is that this is not Pakistan’s territory so that she can announce to hold elections. Pakistan has no legal right to do so because she has no sovereignty over the area. It has to be reminded that in a landmark court verdict, the High Court of PoK has, in its earlier judgment, declared that “Northern Areas” meaning Gilgit and Baltistan are part of the original State of Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan has appealed against this verdict before its Supreme Court where the application of the Pakistan Government remains in a state of pendency since so many decades.
Secondly, Pakistan has wrecked all democratic institutions in the area. It has turned it into a colony. All top ranking civilian officers are imported from Pakistan. Police is headed by Pakistanis and local people have no representation in key positions of the administration. In these circumstances, nobody can expect fair and free election to take place in these areas. The result of the election in Gilgit and Baltistan on June 8 under the so called ‘Gilgit Baltistan Empowerment and Self Government Order’ is an attempt by Pakistan to camouflage its forcible and illegal occupation of the regions. Its result is already known to us. This election is to camouflage the designs of Islamabad to grab the area and impose its rule over it by seeking integration of the area to Pakistan federation through fake election. Pakistan has changed the demographic complexion of the area, imposed its administrative and police authority, forced the exile of nationalist leadership, stifled the voice of dissent, created its stooges who would be facilitated to become candidates to fight election, destroyed local culture and tradition and replaced it by the culture of religious extremism or better jihadism. How can be free and fair elections held in these conditions?
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