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| Talibization of Gigit-Baltistan | | |
M.M.Khajooria
The notorious Afghan Taliban descecrated and destroyed the Buddhist carving and statues of the Lord Buddah in Bamyan valley of Afghanistan in 2001. The Wahabbi goons transplanted by Pakistan government in the tolerant soil of Shia doinated Gilgit Baltista resumed the sordid sacrilege the other day by vandalizing precious and ancient Buddhist rock carvings and vengefully hammering down an excavated ancient Buddha statue. As if to add insult to injury, Slogans and Pakistan flags were painted on the 800 AD Buddhist rock carvings, Th final blow will be struck when thousands of ancient artifacts and rock carvings are drowned in the water of massive Basah Dam whose construction is being jointly taken by commercial extensions of Chinese and Pakistan armies.
This irreversible damage to the heritage has undoubtedly been sponsored by the Pakistan establishment .Significantly a tweet by a local Muslim criticising damage to the ancient art read; “This grotesque vandalism is intended to engender feelings of faux patriotism in Gilgitis and to remind them who’s the boss (Paki Estab)…..”. Making a very pertinent point, Araib Ali Baig, a prominent historian of Gilgit Baltistan tweeted; “Have such slogans and paintings been made on the Gandhara civilization which is located in the Punjab province of Pakistan from the last three thousand years before Christ or is it just to militarize the civilizations of the disputed region of Gilgit-Baltistan ???”What ever may be the evil intentions of the Pakistan Jihadist deep state,the question that begs answer is; from where have this variety of fundamentalist miscreants descended the inclusive soil of Gilgit Baltistan which at the time of Pak occupation was home to Shias and Agha Kahanees to the tune of 85% ? How has the demography changed so drastically?
The first reported sectarian clash took place during Bhutto’s regime in the mid-1970s.The self proclaimed left-leaning Bhutto prohibited the Shias from setting up stages on the streets. The consequent Shia resentment resulted in firing by the Police, injuring many
The first major anti-Shia riots in Gilgit were , however engineered in May 1988 on a purely religious issue of the sighting of the moon, which ushers the end of the holy month of Ramadan. When Shias in Gilgit commenced Eid al-Fitr celebrations a group of extremist Sunnis, still fasting as their religious leaders had not yet declared the sighting of the moon, attacked them. Violent clashes between Sunnis and Shias fallowed. Thereafter a brief calm of about four days prevailed. However, the Pakistani military regime mobilized hoards of militants along with local Sunnis to ‘teach a lesson’ to Shias. The riots claimed hundreds of lives.
Later, in May 1988, military dictator General Zia-ul-Haq, in an attempted massive sectarian attack, sent a Lashkar (army) of militants, comprising ex-army men and Jihadees of Afghanistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, to mount the attackon the Shias living there. The fire of sectarianism was lit by Zia during the last days of his rule.
In the words of International Crisis Group’s (ICG) report Discord in Pakistan’s Northern Areas:
…Sunni zealots, predominantly from NWFP’s tribal areas, assisted by local Sunnis from Chilas, Darel and Tangir, [on May 17, 1988] attacked several Shia villages on the outskirts of Gilgit. For three days, they killed, looted and pillaged with impunity while the authorities sat back and watched. Although contingents of the paramilitary Frontier Constabulary (FC) were eventually sent in, they too looked the other way while Sunni attackers wreaked havoc.The authorities took their time to order Army intervention, By the time army units were sent in to quell the violence, at least 150 people were killed, several hundred injured and property worth millions of rupees destroyed.
The Herald, the monthly journal of the Dawn group of Karachi, wrote in its April 1990 issue:
“In May 1988, low-intensity political rivalry and sectarian tension ignited into full-scale carnage as thousands of armed tribesmen from outside Gilgit district invaded Gilgit along the Karakoram Highway. Nobody stopped them. They destroyed crops and houses, lynched and burnt people to death in the villages around Gilgit town. The number of dead and injured was in the hundreds. But numbers alone tell nothing of the savagery of the invading hordes and the chilling impact it has left on these peaceful valleys”
The killing f Shias-men, women and children became a routinre. But thnext massive massacre was enacted on 03 Apri, l 2012 at Chilas, about 100 Klms south of Gilgit. There can be no doubt that the carnage was pre-planned and meticulously executed.
Here is an eye witness account of Young Aslam travelling in one of the buses which were forcibly halted by the an infuriated mob bent on murder and mayhem. Aslam stated.
“About three thousand (3,000) fully armed assailants intercepted a convoy of 25 buses. They pulled all the passengers down. After confiscating the luggage, the buses were then set on fire. It appeared to be all pre-planned and even the police and administration present there were either helping the assailants directly or turned a blind eye throughout the entire episode of bloodshed . The assailants had set up a makeshift tent to host those (mostly Sunnis) who were going to be released later. The male Shia passengers were then lined up. The gunmen checked their ID cards and shot and killed many on the spot. Many bodies were riddled with bullets. Those who ran for life were then attacked by the mob with stones and bricks and brutally put them to death.. The stoning assailants were competing in target hitting and enjoying” the game .
The estimated death toll is no less than sixty (60), while at least another sixty (60) went missing. I (Aslam) was not carrying an ID card and remained associated with a Sunni family as the kind head of the famil introduced as his son .” Shujat Hussain Mesam of Gilgit Baltistan region recorded statements of three witnesses who were riding the buses attacked in Chilas. They fully endorsed the account of, Aslam
D. J Mathal Chief Editor “Bange Sahar” in his piece titled ” GB smouldering with sectarianism” put the situation in historical perspective. He states “Since 1970 arms and ammunition have been coming to the region. These are not small-scale arms but ones which are normally used by armies in wars against their enemies. At present, the situation is such that arms and ammunition worth billions of rupees have been stored in the Gilgit city and its adjoining areas.” “Where are these lethal weapons coming from?” he questions and himself answers “They are not manufactured locally rather make their way into the volatile region from the neighboring Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan.” And pertinently demands, “What are the reasons the scourge of sectarianism is not being checked in Gilgit-Baltistan when its stronghold in Jhang in the province of Punjab has been cleared of the problem”
But what use are weapons without trained personnel to use them? Many Taliban who escaped from Swat and adjoining areas found shelter among Sunni extremists in Gilgit bringing with them the expertise in bomb and suicide jacket making. Local Sunni youth under Salafi influence were being motivated to join the suicide squads. Even otherwise the fact that more than 300 “suspected terrorists” were expelled from Gilgit in October 2008 established the presence of the Taliban in Gilgit-Baltistan in significant numbers.By now Punjabi and Pushtoon ex-servicemen and Taliban on the loose imported into Gilgit- Baltistan have multiplied manifold and were in a position to call the shots.
A replay of voices raised by Jammu and Kashmir Diaspora will no doubt help in comprehending the complexity and enormity of the tragedy that has befallen the innocent people of Gilgit Baltistan
An international conference titled “India Pakistan Peace Process: The Way Forward” was held on 28th February, 2012 in the Grand Committee Room of The Houses of Parliament, London. MP Simon Danczuk ,a Member of All Party Parliamentary Group for Kashmir and MP Stephenson Chairperson of All Party Parliamentary Group on Pakistan and Member of All Party Parliamentary Group for Kashmir stated that issues of Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan were very fundamental to the interests of the British parliamentarians and called for eliminating terrorism, creating peace, encouraging cooperation and finding solutions to bring India and Pakistan closer. MP Stephenson said that India is a booming economy because of security, rule of law and democracy and Pakistan should follow India’s footsteps.
In his impassioned presentation Councillor Ali Adalat who is also the Executive Director of International Pahari Literary Society said that “Pakistan lacks inclusive policy on Kashmir and looks at the issue from a religious prism.” He condemned demographic change in Gilgit-Baltistan and termed it as absolute gross human rights violations. He condemned Pakistan for violating State Subject Rule (SSR) in Gilgit-Baltistan and ill treatment of Kashmiri refugees living in different camps in Muzaffarabad (AJK). , “State Subject Rule protects political, economic and demographic rights of residents of former State of Jammu and Kashmir, he asserted .This evidence of identity has been forcefully presented in international fora and won the day. Now that a new situation has arisen after Jammu &Kashmir and Ladakh becoming Union territories, the political class and constitutional experts must come up with an equally potent substitute.
Dr. Nazir Gilani Secretary General of Jammu and Kashmir Council of Human Rights stated that Pakistan has separated Gilgit-Baltistan from rest of Jammu and Kashmir and rules the region without constitutional cover, which exposes the legal realities.
“India” he emphasised “was invited by Government of Jammu and Kashmir (1n 1947-emphasis mine) to protect the locals and her responsibility also extends to AJK and Gilgit-Baltistan.”
Addressing a seminar on Gilgit Baltistan, Dr Shabir Choudhary referred to the prevailing political culture that “one has to overlook what Pakistani governments have done to the Kashmiris and continue to do so, but should actively and forcefully criticise India; in order to get a ‘certificate’ of being loyal to the cause of people of Jammu and Kashmir.”
“The topic of this seminar” he said ” is Gilgit Baltistan, a region which is legally part of former Princely State of Jammu and Kashmir; and which is illegally occupied by Pakistan. I don’t know how to criticise India for what Pakistan and China are doing in Gilgit Baltistan.” And went on to say “Perhaps, I can criticise India for having a contradictory policy on Gilgit Baltistan; and for remaining a silent spectator over the plight of people of this region who are oppressed and deprived of fundamental human rights.
Members of the United Gilgit-Baltistan movement recently complained that India has not been doing anything for them and they want reservation of seats in Indian educational institutions for students from their region. One can go on and on. The issue essentially boils down to the simple question. What will it take Delhi to take all necessary practical steps—diplomatic , political , and appeal to the conscience of the world community to immediately put a stop to the inhuman brutal and barbarous ongoing ethnic cleansing suppression of human igts of the original inhabitants in Gilgit Baltistan -an integral part of India.? Coming to think of it, why have not the issue been taken to the United Nations. |
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