Protests against ‘historic’ loadshedding in Gilgit-Baltistan’s Ghizerr district defied subzero temperatures for the fourth day, Geo News reported.

Disgruntled ‘powerless’ residents have been flooding the streets to shout slogans against the rolling blackouts despite freezing cold for the last four days.

Ghazar’s ishkoman Tehsil has turned into a hub for these protestations.

Talking to Geo News, angry protestors said why they were being deprived of the power which was their own as it was produced by indigenous projects using indigenous resources.

Hundreds of people from all walks of life were out there under the sky to give their anger a vent, but to no avail.

Published in TheNews

Despite freezing temperature, thousands of people continued protests against power load shedding here on Sunday.

Due to refusal by the local administration for dialogue with the protestors to resolve their problem, resentment among the people increased. The enraged protestors attacked a Magistrate and a police van was set on fire on Sunday.

They said that their land and water was being used for generation of hydel electricity while their houses were still being kept in darkness. According to reports, thousands of people took part in the demonstration including students of public and private schools.

Load Shedding Ghizer (Daily K2)

A rape victim has been sentenced to six months in prison for ‘concealing’ the incident involving her own son-in-law in a remote village of northern Gilgit-Baltistan region.

The district and sessions court in Ghakuch Valley, the headquarters for Ghizer district and about 80 kilometres from Gilgit, also handed down a 15-year imprisonment to the rapist.

Local police has confirmed that the man is in their custody.

The case came to the police knowledge after the victim gave birth to a baby in a local hospital. She revealed during the course of investigation that she had been raped by her son-in-law Liaqat Ali, a businessman from Mansehra district in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

She said that the rapist had bullied her into silence. “He had threatened to kill my family if I disclosed the incident.

“I had no option but to keep my mouth shut,” a source quoted her as telling the investigators.

Following her statement, the police registered the case and proceeded with legal action.

Published in The Express Tribune

Captain Natasha Sultan Belongs to Ghizer district of Gilgit Baltistan. she is the First Female Commercial Pilot of Gilgit Baltistan

Captain Natasha Sultan is currently instructor at AYLA Aviation Academy Jordan, She is originally from Hassan Abad, District Hunza-Nagar, currently her family is living in Gahkuch, Ghizer. She was born in Ghizer and trained at a flying School in Lahore, she  explains the experience at Ayla Pricless as“It is a fantastic place with everbody committed to learning and doing it properly.” She admitted that there had been some cultural issues with some students having reservations about taking instruction from a woman,but these were quickly resolved.

Ayla had been committed to the first ever conference on the role of women in aviation in the middle East. Students are helped with accommodation at the ground school with modern classrroms with the latest teaching aids.

Natasha Sultan wished to join PIA in the future but her biggest dream is to fly His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan’s private jet. She is a fully qualified pilot exemplifying as first female commercial pilot from the Gilgit-Baltistan and deserves it the most .

Published in Theoeconline.org

The dead bodies of two students have been recovered from the Hanisara River that flows through Gilgit city. The two students, Masoom and Shahid, had drowned in the river while trying to cross it after school hours, ‘to be able to reach their homes earlier’.

The bodies had been missing for almost three weeks despite of several efforts.

On Friday evening the body of Masoom Shah was found near the river bed and shifted to his native village in the Yasin Valley for final rituals. The next morning, Saturday, the body of Shahid was also found. The final rituals were performed at Zulfiqarabad Jamatkhana and his body was laid to rest at Zulfiqarabad graveyard. Shahid also belonged to Yasin Valley of Ghizar District.

News Source Pamir Times

Source (Express Tribune) The inhabitants of Gilgit-Baltistan’s (G-B) Ghizer District were gripped by fear after receiving news that half a dozen suspicious people entered the peaceful district from Chitral to carry out terrorist acts during Eid. The attacks never came, and the reports appear to have been exaggerated at the very least.

According to local media reports, at least six terrorists entered Ghizer from Chitral via the Shandur Pass. This instilled a sense of apprehension among locals as about 40 personnel of the Chitral force were killed by recent militant attacks at check posts on the Afghan border.

Ghizer District is one of the peaceful areas of Gilgit Division and has a population of 200,000, 95 per cent of whom are members of the Shia Ismaili community.

However, top district administration officials had ruled out any such report from the intelligence agencies. Ghizer Deputy Comissioner Shozaib Saeed informed The Express Tribune that there was no credible information from any intelligence agency. However, all necessary measures were taken to deal with any untoward incidence and all religious congregations were provided with foolproof security during Eid prayers.

The commissioner also said that investigations were being carried to verify the reports, and security at check posts connecting Ghizer District with Chitral was beefed up after receiving the news.

Deputy Superintendant of Police (DSP) Farman Ali, who is also acting SP (Superintendant of Police) of the District, stated that the police and intelligence agencies are prepared to cope with any terror act. He also endorsed that there is no intelligence report about any terrorists having entered into Ghizer from Chitral.

The DSP said that the district is short of police as it only has 300 police personnel, 150 of whom have been deployed in the valleys that connect Ghizer with Chitral.

However, the local population still had reservations about the measures taken by law enforcement agencies, claiming that hashish, weapons and other illegal goods easily reach the district due to security lapses at check posts.

Chitral is a sensitive district, as its border connects with Afghanistan’s most volatile provinces, Nuristan and especially Kunar, and infiltration of criminals from Afghanistan into Chitral is a routine matter, which also cannot be ruled out in Ghizer’s case.

Source (TheNews) Ghizer defeated Laspur while Gilgit-Baltistan-D trounced Chitral-D as the famous Shandur Polo Festival got underway at the world’s highest polo ground on Thursday.

The adviser to the Gilgit-Baltistan chief minister Sadia Danish was the chief guest at the opening ceremony.

Ghizer scored eight goals against two by the rival Laspur team in the first match. The second match also remained one-sided as Gilgit-Baltistan-D outclassed Chitral-D to win the match by six goals to three. The winning team had boycotted the festival last year.

However, its participation in the festival this year has made the competition interesting.

A large number of spectators from both Chitral and Gilgit-Baltistan thronged the venue to boost the morale of their respective teams in the final.

Source (Dardistantimes) Nawaz Khan Naji, the nationalist leader of Balawaristan National Front has secured a double margin victory, defeating the PPP fed Jawahir Ali Khan. The people of Ghizar have changed the course of politics in Gilgit-Baltistan by choosing a home-grown political thought for the first time ever in the history of the region.  Nawaz Khan Naji has got 8332 votes against 4513 votes of PPP Candidate.

 

File Photo: Nawaz Khan Naji protesting against Gilgit Baltistan Governance package.

 

Source (Express Tribune) A person arrested in Gilgit for alleged blasphemy is mentally ill and was recently being treated at a hospital, The Express Tribune learnt on Sunday.

“The father of Yaqoob, the accused, had come to the police station with documents proving his mental illness,” a source said on condition of anonymity.

On Saturday evening, a young man from Yaseen, Ghizer, had allegedly uttered insulting comments against Prophet Mohammad (pbuh), triggering a protest in the town. The police arrested the man and launched a case against him under the blasphemy law.

Abdur Rauf, a resident of Kondas Gilgit had submitted an application with the city police station saying he had witnessed the incident.

The sources who are familiar with the developments said that Taifur Shah, father of the accused, approached the police to say that what his son said was unintentional as he had suffered from mental sickness in the past. “His father also showed them documents to support his claim,” sources said, adding that documents were related to his son’s admission in hospital and his treatment.

The police, however, asked him to present the documents in court when the hearing begins.

Meanwhile, Ismaili Regional Council Gilgi issued a strong condemnation on the act of alleged blasphemy and urged the government to take strong action against the accused.

In a press statement issued by the president of Ismaili Regional Council Gilgit, Manzoor Ali said that no Muslim can tolerate disrespect towards the Holy Prophet (PBUH) . Ali appreciated the law enforcing agencies’ sharp reaction in arresting the alleged blasphemer.

Source (Express Tribune) The Gilgit-Baltistan cabinet ministers on Saturday complained that they were ignored in the allocation of seats under various vacancies, accusing the bureaucracy of being behind what they say is a ‘conspiracy’.

“The education minister was particular upset over being kept in dark in the allocation of people on vacancies in the education sector in his district – Ghizer,” said a source. More than 2,500 vacancies in various Gilgit-Baltistan departments have been announced recently, the recruitment for which is likely to take place by June.

The ministers however said that they were humiliated as the bureaucracy did not consult them before making a distribution plan of the vacancies. They accused the bureaucracy of weakening the political setup in Gilgit-Baltistan. “We have to go back to our constituencies after all. What will we tell our people?” Haji Gulbar, minister Health and Zakat said.