Tension continued to grip the city for the second consecutive day. Earlier a ban on motorcycles was imposed, however in an effort to control the deteriorating law and order situation, a ban on pick-ups has also been imposed in the city.

According to the Gilgit Baltistan Home Secretary Dr Faisal Zahoor, two passenger pick-up vehicles were attacked during the violence in Gilgit on Tuesday. A high level meeting decided that a ban should be imposed on pick-ups.

Traffic remained thin on the roads due to the law and order situation; however schools and offices remained open on Wednesday.On Tuesday, two people were killed during firing incidents in Gilgit.

Published in TheNews

Trader shot dead in Gilgit unrest

Unidentified miscreants gunned down a trader on Hospital Road in Gilgit Tuesday in the backlash of the demise of the man got injured during sectarian clashes on December 12. Aman, who got injured during clashes on December 12 in Gilgit, succumbed to injuries, pushing the death toll of the sectarian violence to three.Following the death of the man at the District Hospital, incidents of aerial firing in various areas of the city was reported while unidentified miscreants gunned down a trader on Hospital Road near District Hospital. The incident spurred tension across the city and all the markets of the city were closed.The security has been put on high alert to avert any untoward incident. Tension prevailed in the city in the wake of the clashes between the Karakoram International Universitystudents and police in which two people died. The city administration had imposed a ban on motorcycle riding since then.

Published in Nation

Police have arrested ten persons over violating Section 144 in Gilgit as the situation in the city is still tense following the clashes between two student groups on Wednesday. The government has imposed Section 144 for indefinite period and ban on motorcycle riding, Geo News reported Thursday.

On Wednesday, two student groups of Karakoram International University clashed with each other. When the situation deteriorated, the police was called in to control the situation during which two persons including a policeman were killed and six others were injured.

The government of Gilgit-Baltistan has imposed Section 144 for indefinite period prohibiting the gathering of five people at a place, display of weapons and use of loudspeakers. Motorcycle riding in the province has also been banned from today while the authorities have warned of strict action against violation.

On the other hand, the Karakoram International University will be closed till Monday.

Geo News Reported

Lawmakers criticised the government for failing to maintain law and order in the violence-hit capital city of Gilgit-Baltistan. Chief Minister Mehdi Shah, however, expressed his resolve that the government’s writ would be established at all costs.

Responding to comments by Didar Ali, an independent member of the assembly from the Gilgit city, who criticised the government for mishandling the situation and arresting clerics that led to violent protests in Nomal valley, at the Gilgit-Baltistan legislative Assembly (GBLA) session on Monday, the CM asked the lawmaker to take up the issue with the Masjid Board and Parliamentary Committee.

He said that the clerics were arrested on the recommendations of the committees being represented by notables from both Shia and Sunni sects.

Leader of the opposition in the house Janbaz Khan of the PML-N said that a jirga in Diamer valley voluntarily handed over the accused in Kohistan bus carnage incident to police but regretted the people in Nomal held a police chief hostage instead of cooperating with the law enforcers in arresting the wanted men.

Speaker Wazir Baig said that the assembly had already passed a law against terrorism, adding that the legislators should condemn the acts of terrorism instead of criticising the government.

Sarwar Shah, a Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazal (JUI-F) member asked the government to compensate all those injured or killed in acts of terrorism in the past on equal footing.

The regional police chief, who was negotiating with the protesters, got stranded in the valley for over 10 hours as the road from the valley to the city was blocked by the protesters demanding release of a cleric. The official was later flown to Gilgit via helicopter.

A Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid legislator, Mirza Hussain, said the federal government collected Rs150 billion from G-B on account of general sales tax every year. However, he lamented only a small portion is given to the region.

He urged the CM to be assertive in seeking more powers in respect of legislation on minerals, tourism and hydel power sectors.

CM Shah said that all the non-customs paid vehicles in G-B would be taxed and a committee should be formed to keep in contact with Central Board of Revenue in this regard. The issues of health, education, construction of roads were also discussed in the house.

Published in Express Tribune

Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf, while expressing the government’s commitment to socio-economic development of Gilgit Baltistan on Friday, announced a Rs 2 billion grant to address the financial problems of the region. Addressing the first joint session of the Gilgit-Baltistan Council and Legislative Assembly here, he also directed the Ministry of Finance to immediately release the amount. He said that with improvement in the financial position of the Federal Government, more resources would be provided to Gilgit-Baltistan.

Published in APP

Detained youth activist Baba Jan Hunzai was granted bail by an anti-terrorism court on Saturday.

“Jan’s bail plea has been accepted in all cases against him,” the defence counsel, Ehsan Ali, told The Express Tribune. He said that Jan was set to be released on Saturday; however, he alleged that the jail administration, in connivance with security agencies, has intentionally delayed his release to frustrate preparations made by his sympathisers for his return. Ali said it is possible that Jan will be released late on Saturday or in the small hours of Sunday, or as late as Monday morning.

Comrade Wajidullah, a spokesperson of the Progress Youth Front (PYF), said that Jan will be released provided that no other charges are cropped up against him at the last minute. “However, we are hopeful that will not happen this time around,” he added.

Jan, who is the chief organiser of PYF, was among the nearly 100 people arrested for allegedly ransacking a police station and torching government offices in August last year after a clash with the police, which claimed the lives of two internally displaced persons in Hunza last year. Jan was accused of fuelling the riots and then of treason – charges that he still denies.

Jan was granted bail by the same anti-terrorism court on June 27 in the Hunza riots case; however, he was remanded yet again on charges of inciting sectarian hatred and promoting anti-government sentiments among prisoners at the jail he was detained.

The youth activist’s second remand spurred protests by people at home and abroad. At his hometown, over 500 people took to the streets and laid siege to local government offices for around four hours demanding his release.

They chanted slogans against the Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) Chief Minister Mehdi Shah and G-B Speaker Wazir Baig, accusing them of remanding the youth activist on false charges and torturing him while in custody.

Published in The Express Tribune

PMLN chief Mian Nawaz Sharif visited Gilgit today. He was received by party leaders at the Gilgit airport. He said that those who spread sectarianism in the country have no connection with Islam.Sharif urged for peace in the city and surroundings saying all schools of thought should be respected. Blaming anyone must be avoided, he said.The PML-N chief also distributed cheques of worth Rs.5 million among the martyrs of Gyari.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Sunday urged the Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry to take suo moto notice of Shia killings in Balochistan and Gilgit-Baltistan.

Speaking at a press conference with a prominent Shia leader of the region Sheikh Jaffery and noted Sunni leader Maulana Khalil during a visit to Skardu, Imran emphasised that the government had completely failed to maintain law and order, says a statement issued by PTI Central Information Secretary Shafqat Mehmood.

The killing of 21 Shia passengers in a bus at Babusar Pass was horrific tragedy, he said, and also a manifestation of complete failure of the incumbent government. Imran said that the chief justice of Pakistan was taking suo moto of matters that were relatively trivial but not doing the same for sectarian killings. He said it was good that the Supreme Court was taking notice of the government failures in other spheres but the matter of Shia killings required its special consideration.

Imran made a special effort to promote sectarian harmony by contacting leaders of all sects and visiting them. He promised that the PTI would continue raising its voice against terrorist organisations that were deliberately trying to create conflict in the country through sectarian murders.

Monitoring Desk: Imran Khan PTI chief received by party leaders and workers at Sakrdu airport on this Saturday.
Speaking to media Khan said that the government has failed to secure the lives of the people and the situation is fast running out of control. He blamed the security agencies that they were not functioning the way they should function.
Talking to a media question, Khan said that the Chief Minister Syed Mehdi Shah is powerless and the package given to Gilgit Balistan is temporary.
Imran Khan asked question “If the Chief Minister has any powers, why should he attend Islamabad everyday on petty matters?”
He also said that PTI is gaining fast popularity in the region and promised efforts to give a representation in the Parliament of Pakistan to the people of Gilgit-Baltistan.

Two men including a policeman were killed and another was injured in shootings in the restive town of Gilgit on Saturday.

Deputy Inspector General of Police Ali Sher said two motorcyclists shot dead a policeman, identified as Raja Shah Jamaluddin, and injured another after they were stopped for violating a recently imposed ban on movement of motorcycles. The incident occurred at around 5am near Rax Chowk. Police and other security agencies cordoned off the area but the assailants could not be arrested till the filing of this report. The injured policeman was taken to the District Headquarter Hospital where his condition is stated to be critical.

“This is a sheer act of terrorism which is not acceptable at any cost,” said Sher.

In the second incident, a local, identified as Karamat was fatally wounded in Baseen locality. He was taken to City Hospital Kashrite where he was pronounced dead.

Following the Naran bus carnage in which 19 people, mostly Shias, travelling from Rawalpindi to Gilgit-Baltistan were executed, at least five people have so  far been killed and three others injured in apparent reprisal attacks.

In a high-level law and order meeting held in Gilgit on Friday, government officials had decide against lifting the recently imposed ban on travelling on motorcycles.

Meanwhile, travellers remained stranded in Gilgit as public transport to and from the town remained suspended on the fifth day. An official of a private bus company told The Express Tribune that the bus service is expected to resume tomorrow.

Published in The Express Tribune