Daily Times

The location of Gilgit Baltistan is strategically very important as it borders Indian occupied Kashmir, China and Afghanistan. Gilgit Baltistan is as important as it was in 1880s during the great game when Russia occupied cities like Bokhara, Samarkand and Khiva and were pressing Pamirs, Oxus and Afghanistan. Russians were just short of British India by a few hundred miles, and the British were desperate to make sure that this part of their border was clear so that the Russians could not sneak down through the Pamir mountains into Chitral and Gilgit. A Russian officer, Colonel Gromchevtasky, along with Cossacks, entered Hunza through Pamir and met Mir of Hunza and his presence was taken as the start of the great game.

However, at the present, the game has changed, and is now being played between America and China, with less involvement by Russia. It revolves around China’s OBOR and CPEC projects.

Gilgit Baltistan is vital for Pakistan because of its strategic location, minerals, hydro-electric power resources, Indus river, glaciers and as a gateway to mineral rich central Asian states. Its importance initially increased due to the construction of the Karakoram Highway, and now with CPEC.

The people are prepared to fight for the rights of their children to go to schools, and their struggle over the last eight years has led to the rise of female students from 6 percent to 22 percent

Hostile agencies are trying their level best to create unrest in the region through their proxies. One issue resolves around sectarianism. Agencies can exploit the sectarian issue, which started in 1988, and even a small incident can trigger clashes in the region. However, the recent burning of schools and sudden eruption of terrorist activities in a short span of time is alarming and has brought Gilgit Baltistan and Chilas into the limelight.

Chilas has witnessed a swath of schools being burned and this is not the first incident of its kind, according to the Chief Minister. Schools were also burnt in 2004, 2009 and 2010, as a group of people consider girls’ education un-Islamic and contrary to their narrow interpretation of Islam. Terrorist incidents, like the murders of bus passengers after identifying them according to their religious sect, or the killing of multiple security forces personnel in Chilas City highlight the problematic and prevalent situation in the region. The recent burning of schools has been followed by firing at district and Session Judges, firing at the Deputy Commissioner, and attack on police check posts.

With the recent terrorist activities there should be no doubt of looming terrorist threat in the area to CPEC and Diamir-Basha Dam along Karakoram Highway. The Karakoram highway is dual carriage, all weather road, which connects Pakistan with China. Almost 150 kilometres of Karakoram Highway passes through District Chilas from Thalachi to Thor. Indian and other hostile agencies will not miss an opportunity to damage CPEC. The US too has serious concerns over the rise of China, and the US defence secretary has already raised concerns that CPEC passes through disputed territory.

The Gilgit Baltistan government needs to enhance security along Karakoram highway to thwart terrorist attacks similar to the ones carried out in the past. They need to ensure the safety of vehicles plying through KP area on the way to GB, an even though the convoy system is causing inconvenience to commuters, this can be solved by employing mobile patrols and also by establishing check posts all along Karakoram Highway

The people of Chilas are not happy with the current situation and the attack on schools triggered protests in Chilas, Darel and Tangir, where members of civil society and political parties took to the streets and shouted slogans against the burning/damage of schools. The people are prepared to fight for the rights of their children to go to schools, and their struggle over the last eight years has led to the percentage of female education to rise to 22 percent from six percent.

The people of Chilas are extremely loyal to Pakistan and are completely in support of CPEC. These terrorist incidents are not indicative of the will of the people living in this region, and those involved in such acts must be taken to task. The law enforcing agencies have already launched an operation in the area, and are being backed by the people of Chilas, with the local elders and Diamer Aman Jriga pledging to hand over all nominated miscreants.

The Gilgit Baltistan government needs to enhance security along Karakoram highway to thwart terrorist attacks similar to ones carried out in the past. They need to ensure the safety of vehicles plying through KP area on the way to Gilgit Baltistan, an even though the convoy system is causing inconvenience to commuters, this can be solved by employing mobile patrols and also by establishing check posts all along Karakoram Highway.

These moves are essential due to the recent uptick in terrorism, as evidenced by the recent attack on a police check post at Kargah, which resulted in the death of three policemen, or the attack in Singul Nala, on another police check post that was set on fire by masked militants who then escaped with all the weapons they could find.  Now it up to the provincial government to act swiftly to hunt down terrorist and their sympathizers before the area becomes another hotbed of terrorism.

The writer is a retired brigadier presently performing the duties of Commissioner Afghan Refugees Organisation, Balochistan

Published in Daily Times, August 26^th 2018.