New Delhi, Nov 14: When Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan announced on November 1 that Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) would formally be absorbed as Pakistans fifth province, he put global spotlight on a region which his country had taken through bloodshed from the Maharaja of Kashmir in 1947.
On Sunday, the region will witness elections for which Pakistan’s national political parties — the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), and the opposition Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) — are canvassing furiously.
The locals are, however, not enthusiastic about the elections as they know that ultimately it is the will of Islamabad that prevails. The three national parties have promised to provide full constitutional representation to GB, a sentimental demand among the locals which they have been asking for decades.
In a wide-ranging interview to IndiaNarrative.com, Mumtaz Khan, president of the Canada-based International Centre for Peace and Democracy, said that Pakistan might be holding elections, but it has a dubious relationship with democracy.
Khan said: “There is a history of elections in Pakistan. It has been seen that whichever party is in the power in Islamabad, that party forms the government in GB. It is not the will of the people of GB as elections are largely manipulated from Islamabad.”
It is common knowledge that the parties which form government in the disputed region of GB are the main political parties from Islamabad. What is also common knowledge is that political parties cannot win the elections not just in GB but also in Pakistan unless these have the blessings of the powerful military, also called “the establishment.”
Only those parties can form a government in GB which toe the line of the establishment or pursue the narrative from Islamabad. Locals who demand free and fair elections, those who want political ownership of their resources or seek independent decision-making are not allowed to be part of the political process in GB.
Regarding the decision to make Gilgit-Baltistan the fifth province of Pakistan, the Canada-based activist said that the decision was not a political decision but an Army decision.
Khan said: “The Army chief summoned the parliamentarians to the General Headquarters (GHQ), which is the Pakistani Army headquarters, to discuss the status of GB. This was a secret meeting and he wanted to discuss whether GB should be given a provincial status…
The Prime Minister was not there but the meeting was headed by the Army chief. The intention behind holding such a meeting was to force the political parties to seek assistance from the Army.”
GB remains underdeveloped. The local authorities have few powers. (IANS)
