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

The G-B chief minister has spent about 70% of his time in Islamabad in the past year, according to sources close to him.

Moreover, since the beginning of the winter season most lawmakers, including G-B Governor Pir Karam Ali Shah, Deputy Speaker Jamil Ahmed, Senior Minister Wazir Jaffer, adviser to chief minister and several other officials have stayed in Islamabad and other cities.

“The capital city is bleeding while the chief minister and his cabinet members are living in luxury in Islamabad,” said Imtiaz Khan, a local resident while referring to the recent attack on JUI-F information secretary.

In addition to that, the capital city of G-B has also witnessed the worst power crisis in its history, bringing life to a complete standstill.

Jehanzeb Hussain, a resident of Jutial, said, “With every case of target killing, the feeling of alienation gets multiplied among residents, who blame the government for ignoring the gravity of the issue.”

Taking note of the growing criticism from the people, the chief minister recently ordered the lawmakers to ensure their presence in the region and play their part in addressing people’s issues.

“If lawmakers have to go out of town for personal reasons, they should avail their leaves,” he said. Even though Gilgit has a long history of target killings, the situation has aggravated since 2005, when a religious scholar was targeted.

Most of the residents believe the situation has become out of control for the government, which has simply failed to arrest the culprits behind the violence.

Published in The Express Tribune

Source ((Dardistan Times)) The Chief Minister of Gilgit-Baltistan has announced to pour 100 million rupees into Ghizar-1 constituency of Gilgit-Baltistan. The announcement was made during a public address in Ishqamen 3 days before the by-election on March 30th. The CM, in his public address even did not leave it secret that there is a link between his announcements and the oncoming election.

Source(tribune) Chief Minister Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) Mehdi Shah on Friday vowed to continue a boycott of the famous Shandur Polo tournament unless the federal government resolves the controversial boundary issue between G-B and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P).

“Our boycott of the tournament continues as long as the issue stands unresolved,” Mehdi Shah told legislators in the Gilgit-Baltistan assembly during proceedings on Friday. He said that Shandur is part of G-B, a claim that is also held by K-P for the past some decades.

The event played between Chitral and Gilgit-Baltistan teams dates back to colonial times when Major Evelyn Cobb, a British Political Agent in the 1930s, initiated it in the Shandur ground that is said to be the world’s highest polo ground.

The Shandur boundary issue marred the internationally acclaimed free style polo tournament last year as the teams of Gilgit-Baltistan boycotted in compliance with the political government’s decision. Shah said that boycott is meant to register G-B’s protest over the K-P government’s continued “encroachment over G-B land”.

In 2010, some teams of Chitral played the tournament in Shandur despite the boycott.

Speaker Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly Wazir Baig asked the government to form a committee comprising members of the G-B Council and G-B Assembly to settle the issue of boundaries.

The committee should hold negotiations with the K-P government as well as the federal government to ensure that boundaries are clearly demarcated.