HEAVEN ON EARTH….

DISPUTED AREA OF GILGIT-BALTISTAN

CASE OF
CONSTITUTIONAL
NEGLECT!

PRESENTED BY:
BADAR MUNEER KHAN BAIGAL
NUST BUSINESS SCHOOL
 Contents…
vIntroduction

vStruggle for Constructional Right

vNegligence of Pakistan Government

and its consequences

vConclusions and Recommendations

Official Map of Pakistan

http://www.pakistan.gov.pk/minist
 GILGIT-BALTISTAN…….
A PARADISE ON EARTH
• Blessed with
beauty of
119 Lakes
3 Mountainous
ranges
5100 Glaciers
22000 Sq.miles
snow covered area
101 Peaks(K-2 with
a height of 8,611
 Continue………..
Various kinds of
plants and animal
4 National Parks
5 Ecological zones
River Indus
Karakorum
Highway
Gate way to 3
Atomic Power
Fresh Water source
 Continue. . .
Culturally diverse
Beautiful valleys
50000 MW
Electricity potential
Various Kinds of
Fruits
Areas of 72496 km²
Population
1,800,000
Large source of
Continue. . .
BUT THIS BEATIFUL AREA HAS
NO IDENTITY……..
HOW STRANGE, ISN’T IT???
IS IT A PART OF PAKISTAN OR
INDIA????
 The Voice of Speechless
People of
• Gilgit-Baltistan….
“The plight of minorities and women in
Pakistan is known to everyone. The people
of Balochistan have become enemy
combatants in their own state. But we envy
them all. The women have the likes of Asma
Jahangir defending them on every forum.
The minorities have their moral support
from the western media. The Balochis have
their fearless leaders,

We, the people of Gilgit Baltistan, are the

political orphans without any forceful voice
 Gilgit-Baltistan of Pakistan are not even
mentioned in the Pakistan Constitution.

 The Gilgit-Baltistan are now a single

administrative unit, which was formed by the
amalgamation of the Gilgit Agency, the Baltistan
District of the Ladakh Wazarat, and the States of
Hunza and Nagar in 1970. These areas have been
specified in the Gilgit-Baltistan Electoral Rolls Act,
1975.
◦ The Parliament has exclusive power to make
laws with respect to matters for such areas in
 FREEDOM MOVEMENT
“TERRITORY IN
HISTORY
DISPUTE”
v Division of Sub- v Two “independence
continent days”

v Self freedom v Struggle for National

Identity of 1st
v Role of Gilgit Scouts November 1947

v Role of Rajhas( Dimer, v Basic Political and Civil

Nagar, Puniyal etc) Rights
 CONTINUE NEGLEGENCE…
vSECTARIANISM
People in the region had been living in peace for
centuries, with negligible or no sectarian rift. What has
suddenly changed in the region that the peaceful
people have turned into extremist sect lovers?
• As a result of Political deprivation results in Massacre of 1988
( Ethnic conflict)
• Killing of Zia Uddin in 2005 ( Shia Leader)

vNATIONALIST MOVEMENTS
§ Balawaristan National Front (BNF)
(Nawaz khan Naji, Abdul Hamid khan)
§ Gilgit-Baltistan United Movement (GBUM)
(Chairperson is Manzoor Hussain
Gilgit Baltistan:State Actors are involved in assembly speaker,s
assasination
 Non-autonomous Areas
 Furthermore, these territories are not
autonomous or semi-autonomous like
the Federally Administered Tribal Areas
and Provincially Administered Tribal
Areas. But like the Tribal areas, most of
these territories are under the
administrative control of Pakistan.
◦ Some of these territories, e.g. Gilgit and
Ladakh, fall within the jurisdiction of the
State of Azad Jammu and Kashmir. See,
Shireen Dil Khan Niazi vs. Secretary Ministry
of Defense, 1993 Pakistan Legal Decisions 1
 Administration of Gilgit-
Baltistan
 Gilgit-Baltistan are administered by Pakistan
under the Gilgit-Baltistan Council Legal
Framework Order, 1994 (LFO) and are for this
reason also referred to as the Federally
Administered Northern Areas (“FANA”).
◦ Order No. l2 (34)/93-NA-I, Government of Pakistan,
Kashmir Affairs & Gilgit-Baltistan Division,
Islamabad, 12th June 1994. This is not an enactment
like the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Interim
Constitution or a Presidential Order under Art. 258 of
the Pakistan Constitution. It is merely an executive
order by the government without any reference to
the source of its authority!

 No government in Pakistan to date has ever taken any

meaningful steps to address the wider issues of
 Judicial Intervention
• This lingering neglect has evoked
judicial intervention at the highest
level.
– See, the1999 Supreme Court of Pakistan
landmark case entitled Al-Jehad Trust vs.
Federation of Pakistan (1999 Supreme
Court Monthly Review 1379).
– See also, Muhammad Riaz vs. Secretary
Ministry of Kashmir Affairs, 2001
Supreme Court Monthly Review 901.
 Al-Jehad Trust Case
 The Supreme Court in the Al-Jehad Trust case held that the
people of Gilgit-Baltistan are citizens of Pakistan for all
intents and purposes and like other citizens have the right
to invoke any of the fundamental rights, and liable to pay
taxes and other competently imposed levies. It further
observed that these people are also entitled to participate
in the governance of their area and to have an independent
judiciary to enforce, inter alia, the fundamental rights
guaranteed by the Pakistan Constitution. The Supreme
Court, therefore, directed the Federation of Pakistan to
initiate appropriate administrative and legislative measures
within a period of six months from 28 May 1999 to make
necessary amendments in the Pakistan Constitution and
relevant statutes, orders, rules, and notifications to ensure
that the people of Gilgit-Baltistan enjoy their fundamental
rights to be governed through their chosen representatives
and to have access to justice through an independent
judiciary, inter alia, for enforcement of their fundamental
rights guaranteed under the Pakistan Constitution.
◦ The Supreme Court of Azad Kashmir has likewise afforded
protection to fundamental rights of residents of the Gilgit-
 Continued Neglect
 Notwithstanding the Supreme Court judgment,
the Gilgit-Baltistan are still ruled by executive
fiat from the Federal Capital Territory,
Islamabad, through the federal ministry for
Kashmir Affairs and Northern Areas (KANA),
whose minister is its unelected chief executive.

 The Northern Areas Legislative Council (NALC),

the region’s elected legislature, is powerless,
and its affairs are run by civil and military
bureaucrats. It is this shared sense of
constitutional neglect and political deprivation
that may a major contributing factor to the
present civil strife in the Gilgit-Baltistan of
Pakistan.
◦ For details see, International Crisis Group, Discord in
Pakistan’s Gilgit-Baltistan (Asia Report No. 131, 2
 Conclusion (1/2)
• According to a 2005 Human Rights
Commission of Pakistan report: “One
way or the other, all problems are
linked to the issue of the uncertain
constitutional status of the Gilgit-
Baltistan.
– Human Rights Commission of Pakistan,
Gilgit-Baltistan of Pakistan—A Strong
Yearning for Democracy, 17 (HRCP
Mission Report, 2005).
 Conclusion (2/2)
This report also points out the glaring
dichotomy and double standard in the
treatment of Gilgit-Baltistan in
comparison to Tribal Areas:
 … on the one hand Tribal Areas are not annexed
completely to the territory of Pakistan and most of
the laws of Pakistan are not enforced there, still
the people of the Tribal Areas have been given
representation in the Federal Parliament, Provincial
Assemblies. On top of it the number of their
representatives is much higher than any other
area of Pakistan, in comparison to the ratio of
population. On the other hand, the people of Gilgit-
Baltistan who claim to be Pakistani for all intents
and purposes, are denied any constitutional status,
rights or representation in any houses of
Parliament or any Provincial Assembly. The greater
injustice is that the so-called “Legislative Council”,
though a body elected by the local people, but
Principles of Policy (1/2)
• Article 33. Parochial and
other similar prejudices to be
discouraged.--The State shall
discourage parochial, racial,
tribal, sectarian and provincial
prejudices among the citizens.
• As a result of Political deprivation
results in Massacre of 1988
( Ethnic conflict)
Principles of Policy (2/2)
Under the Pakistan Constitution, the
State is required to, inter alia, (i)
promote, with special care, the
educational and economic interests
of backward classes or areas; and (ii)
enable the people of different areas,
through education, training,
agricultural and industrial
development and other methods, to
participate fully in all forms of
national activities, including
employment in the service of
 Recommendations
Ø Administrative Reforms
Ø Political Reforms
Ø Legal reforms
Ø Economic development
Ø Social sector reforms
Ø Cultural preservation
Ø Civic responsibility
Ø Educational Reforms
 Finally …

•Thank you!