Package Protects Pakistan and China’s Military and Economic Interest

On 29^th Aug. 2009,  Mr. Syed Yousuf Reza Gilani, Prime Minister of Pakistan announced a package for Balawaristan (Pakistan Occupied Gilgit Baltistan) by terming it as self-governance and Internal Autonomy. The so-called package has been finalized by a high powered Committee under the Chairmanship of Mr. Qamar Zaman Kaira,  (A Pakistani National and not elected from Gilgit Baltistan)  Minister of KANA Islamabad. Gilani said that major political parties including President of Pakistan Occupied Kashmiri (PoK) were taken on board. Pakistani Occupied Kashmir (PoK) puppet leaders have also been taken in to confidence after the package but not the local people of Gilgit Baltistan.

Despite of high claims of granting SELF-GOVERNANCE or INTERNAL  AUTONOMY, Governor  Rule in the manner of Martial Law administrator has been introduced. The head of the Package Committee has declared  himself as a governor is indication that the 2 Million people of Balawaristan (Pakistan Occupied Gilgit Baltistan) have been betrayed 5^th time by the so-called package drama since 1971. All the powers rest with the Pakistani President (a Pakistan national as approving Authority and not elected by the vote of Gilgit Baltistan), Prime Minister (Chairman of the Council, who is Pakistan national  and not elected by the people of Gilgit Baltistan) and Minister of KANA (Governor and Vice Chairman of the Council, is Pakistan national and not elected by the people of Gilgit Baltistan) who have now been declared themselves as “Approving Authority, Chairman and governor” respectively.

 The governor and Chairman of the Council are the Supreme Authority in this package. The Gilgit  Baltistan Council would be chaired by the prime minister of Pakistan, who will not be elected by votes of the people of Gilgit  Baltistan, while an un-elected governor, to be appointed by the president of Pakistan, would act as vice – chairman of the council. This arrangement is being seen as a major ploy to control the elected representatives of Gilgit  Baltistan, so to use the new political setup as rubber stamp to get stamp for the construction of 6 Mega Dams including Diamar/ Bhasha Dam, Bonji Dam and to merge Gilgit Baltistan in to Pakistan  by ignoring the will of the 2 Million people as well as the UNCIP resolutions.

It is for the very first time, in history of Pakistan, that a serving federal minister has been appointed governor of a disputed region which is beyond the constitution of Pakistan.

A new designation given to the local puppet Chief Executive as Chief Minister, but the CM would not be authorized to form his cabinet. The governor would form a cabinet, albeit with “advise (which is not legally bound)” of the chief minister. The elected legislative assembly would not be able to elect the chief minister. The newly introduced Gilgit Baltistan Council like in PoK will be  selected which has the power to select Ministers and make some futile laws (headed by Chairman and Vice Chairman, both are Pakistani national and do not belong to Gilgit Baltistan).  This power mechanism  is a clear indicative of future plan of Pakistan to exploit the resources of this region of Jammu & Kashmir dispute. We strongly believe  that in the presence of huge number of Pakistani forces and its Intelligence agency  the definition of autonomy or Self-Rule is an eyewash to the world community and trick of gaining time to strength it occupation with the full fledge help of government of China.

The Gilgit  Baltistan Legislative Assembly and Council are  not authorized to discuss security and internal matters besides foreign and defence matters, because this is a war zone for launching terrorist activities of Pakistani forces across the borders.

 The real power is given to Gilgit Baltistan Council (whose head will be Pakistani Prime Minister as Chairman) which will not be elected but selected like Pok (Pakistan Occupied Kashmir).

Some pro-Pakistan political leaders will be elected in this Council and many others will be given personal benefits as bribe as its past practice of Pakistan in return of huge exploitation. The elected people have no legal and constitutional protection like what has been given to PoK by its interim constitution of 1974.

The increase of  the number of judges of the Supreme Appellate Court from 3 to 5 without giving a High Court and Supreme Court is meaningless. The 2 million indigenous people will now be more deprived than ever  after the implementation of this package. The people are still deprived of fundamental rights and the right to appeal in the court against Human Rights violation. Any person can be kidnapped and killed by the forces, intelligent agencies and even by the kangaroo courts without giving them the right to appeal in High Court and Supreme Courts. Nevertheless, this so-called package  will be of no real significance in the presence of Pakistani forces without giving the right to self-determination or even like “Local Authority, which had been promised by UNCIP on 13^th Aug 1948.

The main objection of this non-democratic Package is all the stakeholders in Pakistan have been consulted but nobody from Balawaristan (Pakistan Occupied Gilgit Baltistan) has been taken in to confidence. What is the justification of these Pakistani self-claimed Stake holders, where all these have no legal or constitutional authority to impose their own branded laws against the wishes of the people of such an area which is not part of Pakistan according to its own constitution and Court verdicts besides UNCIP Resolutions. While Pakistani did not take the actual stake holders (owners of this land) in to confidence. The so-called Northern Areas Legislative Assembly (NALA) as Pakistani term it, was not taken in to confidence. Even the so-called powerless local Chief Executive of NALA Meer Ghazanfar was not aware of this package before the announcement.

To settle these boundary disputes between Balawaristan and Pakistan, Pakistani PM has announced to establish a Boundary Commission during his package announcement. According to the source, a Pakistani Judge from NWFP and another Judge from Gilgit Baltistan (who gets salary from Islamabad ) have been deputed to decide the boundary dispute in favour of Pakistan.

Though this is world recognized phenomenon and  law that a Judge should always be impartial.  How a party of a dispute can deliver a judgement against its own interest. Pakistani national whether a serving or retired Judge or any person or a Pakistani employee  from Gilgit Baltistan who gets salary or other benefit or interest from Pakistan cannot be trusted as impartial.

Besides this China has constructed 16 Airstrips on Karakorum Highway (KKH, which is mostly used for the Military purpose (Missiles and nuclear parts were being supplied to Pakistan via this Road in the past) between Pakistan and China. 

Pakistan is now hatching conspiracy to build 6 Mega Dams on this disputed land with the help of China without consulting the local indigenous people and even without the knowledge of UNO and UNSC, because the fate of this disputed land has not been decided yet with the rest of the Jammu & Kashmir according to the UNCIP resolutions.

The presence of more than 5000 Chinese well equipped forces as disguised labours and engineers and the construction of 16 Airstrips on the Road for Jet Fighters, will jeopardise the peace of the whole South Asia but the world in near future.

The engineer of the so-called Package is GHQ (Pakistan Army Headquarters Rawalpindi) not the so-called democratic government of Pakistan.

In my opinion the following are the reasons behind this new Pakistani move.

1.      To safeguard Pakistan and Chinese economical and Military interest, Pakistan wants to merge this disputed and most strategically important part of J&K with its NWFP Province in the near future  with the help of the so-called Assembly and Council by using them as RUBBER STAMP.

2.      To show the International Community and particularly European Union and USA and Donor Agencies including World Bank, IMF and Asian Development Bank, Pakistan wants to readdress its illegal occupation by making fake announcements of Self-Rule and Autonomy.

3.      The so-called Package holds its iron grip over the neck of Balawaristan 2 million people and particularly the nationalist parties if and when it’s implemented. Pakistani forces will be acting more freely and ferociously than before because the clause of this package. Because the victims (indigenous people) have no right to access to Justice in the absence of High Court and Supreme Court and their own governance.

We the people of Balawaristan reject this new Pakistani package, because this will create more deprivation, lack of Justice and snatch our freedom than ever. 

We appeal to the EU and USA  to persuade China not to involve itself in the occupation process of Balawaristan (Pakistan occupied Gilgit Baltistan) by taking lease of precious mines including copper, Gold and Uranium etc, by constructing Air Strips on the Road, Railways and Dams to change its environment, demography, geography and political dispensation.

We appeal to civilized world  usually and European Union and USA particularly to put pressure on China and Pakistan to withdraw their forces from  Gilgit Baltistan in spite of playing new Package tricks so the 2 million people of this disputed region could decide their future without China and Pakistani interference by a  free and impartial referendum/ Election for a constitutional Assembly under the supervision of the UN according to its resolution of 13^th Aug. 1948. This is the only solution to avoid any future conflict between, Pakistan, India, China, Russia, USA or Europe in the future.

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