Gilgit-Baltistan: Paradise turned bloody
The bloodbath in Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) has started yet again, as a severe wave of sectarianism has revisited the landlocked, but strategically key, part of the country. It began on February 28 when masked miscreants forced passengers travelling in four buses out at gunpoint and shot dead 16 of them in Hurban area of Kohistan. Since then, the law and order situation in G-B has worsened. On the morning of April 10, violence erupted again in the tense city of Gilgit when masked men riding on a motorcycle hurled a hand grenade on Sunni activists who were trying to force shopkeepers ...
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Gilgit is to blame for this bloodshed
‘Paradise on earth’ might be a cliché, but it is the only locution that describes the beauty of Gilgit. Its elegance is matchless, but the sectarian violence that has plagued this area has reduced this city to a mere shadow of the beauty it once boasted. Spring had always filled Gilgit with a rosy fragrance, but this spring, all anyone can smell is the unmistakable stench of blood. It is truly baffling how the gardener has lit his own garden on fire. People from different sects are killing each other ruthlessly, and one doesn’t dare to venture out on the streets unless ...
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Typing with frozen hands in Gilgit-Baltistan
To be a journalist in Gilgit-Baltistan, one requires extraordinary patience not because of the many security threats in the region, but also because of the unfavorable working conditions, especially in winter. Access to information is not a challenge in Gilgit. It can be gathered under all circumstances be it times of peace or turbulence provided one has sufficient sources willing to cooperate. In fact, the G-B Supreme Court had recently ruled that access to official information is the right of a journalist, making it easier for journalists. As far as the threats are concerned, a journalist working for an ...
Read Full PostFighting over Rs130
On a recent visit to a market in Gilgit, I witnessed two men beating up a vendor. When I inquired about the cause of the fight, I was told it was a result of bitter haggling over the price of a jacket. The two men had offered Rs100 for a jacket while the vendor insisted that he couldn’t give it for less than Rs230. The mere difference of Rs130 triggered a verbal debate, which then culminated in violence. While many may find this shocking, I thought the incident wasn’t unusual. We have come across similar cases of a much more serious ...
Read Full PostThe ‘Great Game’ in Gilgit Baltistan
The latest allegation by India about the presence of Chinese troops in Gilgit-Baltistan has sparked a new debate in the region. Some accuse India of attempting to malign Pakistan and say that it is time-tested friend China through ‘baseless’ propaganda; while others construe it as the beginning of a new “Great Game.” The term “great game” is not new to the region of Gilgit-Baltistan, as the mountain-locked area has suffered a history of invasions. The British captured Gilgit-Baltistan during the 19th century and ruled over it for years, in order to keep a check on the increasing ...
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Floods make victims vulnerable to Taliban risk
As the country is waking up to one of the most devastating floods of its history the response of the rescue and relief agencies has been slow to say the least. The death toll has crossed the 1,000 figure and the number is still rising. According to the UN, almost one million people have been affected. Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, the province already facing the brunt of war against militancy and terrorism, has suffered the most from these floods. Areas as far as the tribal agencies in the west have been inundated and with the poor structure of governance prevailing there rescue and ...
Read Full PostOne man’s wrong
Jamshed Dasti is perhaps the most hated person by politicians. Not because he featured in a controversy involving Mukhtaran Mai or because he was involved in a recent attack on doctors at a hospital. Not even because he got reelected through an official campaign after disqualification by the Supreme Court because of his fake degree. He is disliked by his colleagues because his fake degree paved the way for humiliation for many ‘honourable’ politicians in Pakistan. If Jamshed Dasti has committed a wrong by obtaining a fake degree, his fault has at the same time done ‘right’ for Pakistan. Had his ...
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