Daily Times

Since the Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) region was established as a separate administrative unit in 1970, there has been a great deal of confusion regarding its constitutional status. In the India-Pakistan war of 1947-1948, Pakistan gained control of the region, yet it was never constitutionally amalgamated into the Pakistani state despite the fact that it was administered by the federal government. GB has made multiple bids to be officially integrated into Pakistan but the federation has denied these requests due to the region’s role in the ongoing Kashmir dispute. The leaders of the disputed territory were displeased by the separation of the Gilgit Agency, Baltistan District, Nagar and Hunza from Azad Kashmir. The High Court of Azad Jammu and Kashmir even attempted to annex GB in 1993, but the motion was quashed by the Supreme Court of Pakistan, partially due to protests by the predominantly Shia population of GB, who feared sectarian clashes with the Sunni Kashmiris. Sectarian violence has been a major problem in GB and remains so till today. Recently, GB politicians have been vying for full provincial autonomy, which they were granted, in a sense, by the Gilgit–Baltistan Empowerment and Self-Governance Order of 2009. Thus the GB region attained a de facto province status, despite not being given official provincial status. This is why the recent replacement of the acting governor of GB with the PML-N appointed Federal Minister of Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan infuriated the local politicians.

This move on the part of the government has hurled GB into a political firestorm between the incumbent and opposing political parties. PPP workers staged massive protests across the region and the oath taking ceremony had to be shifted to a different location. The unseated Governor, Pir Karam Ali Shah, commented, “It is unconstitutional and unethical to appoint a new governor without officially removing the sitting one.” The ongoing conflict of the PML-N with the PTI and to a lesser extent the PPP are also pertinent to the political strife that ensued immediately after the appointment of the new Governor. Imran Khan, who also opposed PML-N’s appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner in GB, referred to these appointments as “pre-poll rigging”. Many politicians have considered this a step towards the federal usurpation of GB’s autonomy and an “inexplicable rollback of the GB empowerment order”. However, it is unclear whether any of these allegations are true. Whatever the case may be, without complete provincial autonomy, GB (a region that is highly susceptible to terrorism and sectarian violence) will continue to be subjected to the fall out of party politics and the interests of the incumbent government. Hence the legal and constitutional clarity of the status of the region is necessary for its peace and prosperity. *