GILGIT: A major road in Phandar valley, Ghizer District – submerged during recent floods in the area – has left some 20,000 people stranded in the remote valley since a week.

The road sank on June 10 when flood water from Gilgit River inundated Sosat area, a few kilometres from Phandar valley, cutting off locals from the rest of Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B).

“About half a kilometre of the road is under water and vehicles are unable to cross it,” said Barkat, a resident of the valley. “As an alternative, people have to climb up a hill to reach the other side,” he said, adding a small bridge in Sosat was also destroyed by the flood water.

“It seems unlikely that water will recede in the coming days or an alternative road will be made by next month,” Barkat lamented.

The suspension of traffic in the area has not only cut off residents of Phandar valley, but has also jeopardized the fate of the renowned Shandur Polo Tournament held between teams from Gilgit and Chitral in July every year.

Although Phandar valley is also accessible from Chitral via Shandur, it is not feasible for people to take such a long route on a daily basis. If an alternative arrangement is not made immediately, people could suffer from a shortage of food and medicines.

Deputy Commissioner Ghizer, Sibtain Ahmed said he along with engineers visited the disaster site to make a firsthand assessment.

“A major road, about 1,200-feet long, has been submerged. We have reported the matter to the government,” he told The Express Tribune via phone, acknowledging immediate action is required to restore traffic flow in the area.

In July last year, a massive landslide swept away part of the same road. As a result, those returning from Shandur Polo Tournament were stuck for days before the government finally repaired the road.

Similarly, in 2010, rising water level in a lake forced the people of Attabad, Hunza to use boats as a means of transport after a 25-kilometre stretch of road was submerged in water.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 18^th, 2013.

In Baseen, at least 30 families have been living in tents since their houses were inundated by floodwater. “There are problems everywhere. There is no drinking water, food or medicines,” said Ziaullah, one of the displaced people, adding that they want to return to their homes as soon as possible.

The displaced residents have appealed to non-governmental organisations to extend further help.

Meanwhile, almost 72 families were shifted to tents and other makeshift accommodation arrangements in Dalnati village of Ghizer Valley after houses were swept away this week.

In a bid to restore routine life in the village, Minister of Education and Law Ali Madad Sher and Deputy Commissioner Sibtain Ahmed supervised the relief activities themselves.

Apart from food and other necessities provided by the Red Crescent Society, the district administration also set up 90 tents, provided food packs, hygiene sets and kitchen utensils to the victims. A doctor is also available for free medical treatment round the clock.

“On humanitarian grounds, we are doing whatever it is possible for us to do,” Ahmed said.

“It’s our duty to be with the villagers in this time of distress.”

Ahmed added 60 families have been shifted to safer places to avoid any loss in light of the surging water, whereas 12 families, whose houses have been completely swept away, will be rehabilitated.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 17^th, 2013.

“On the instructions of Mehdi Shah, G-B chief secretary has issued directives to concerned officials to restore the allowance,” stated a press release issued by the chief minister’s office on Friday night. “We will not allow injustice to be done to anybody,” Shah was quoted as saying in the handout.

The much welcome announcement spread jubilation, as employees congratulated each other and offered sweets to celebrate. “We are thankful the government took the case of poor employees seriously and on humanitarian grounds,” All Employees Association President Bahadur Khan said on Saturday.

Upon the directives of the federal ministry of finance, the G-B finance department issued a notification in the first week of June stating special allowances given to G-B’s government employees would be declared null and void from 2011. The notification also asked authorities to recover the amount paid under the allowance since the said year.

This stirred outrage as employees lashed out at the government’s decision, saying they could not possibly return the thousands of rupees they had received.

On Wednesday, G-B All Employees Association, a representative body of 37,000 local employees in the region’s seven districts, announced a boycott of their duties. As a result, doctors and teachers also remained absent from schools and hospitals.

The special allowance was first awarded to G-B employees by former military dictator General Ziaul Haq, in view of the hard conditions prevailing in the mountainous region. Although the allowance was temporarily suspended in 2011, it resumed after the G-B Supreme Appellate Court ruled in its favour.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 16^th, 2013.

According to an official of the Pakistan Red Crescent Society (PRCS) Gilgit office, Safdar Khan, a government middle school is among the infrastructure damaged in the disaster.

“With help from the Disaster Management Authority Gilgit-Baltistan (G-BDMA), PRCS has reached out to the site to provide rescue and relief support in the village,” said Khan, adding that no loss of life has been reported yet.

Giving details of the relief activities, he said the G-BDMA will deliver food and non-food items to those affected by Saturday, adding his organisation has provided tents and food items to 35 families on an emergency basis.

Water level has increased to an alarming level in rivers and lakes, threatening inundation of low-lying areas.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 15^th, 2013.

GILGIT: Threatening to inundate low-lying areas, water levels have risen to alarming levels in rivers and lakes of Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B).

In Gilgit, water entered houses in Chamogarh Colony and other residential areas downstream as Gilgit River’s embankments gave way on Thursday.

“We constantly fear inundation,” said Itman, a resident of Chamogarh Colony, an area alongside the river. “We stay on duty at night so we can order evacuations if a flood comes.” Additionally, there have also been reports of rivers in Skardu and Astore flooding.

In G-B, increasing temperatures have caused glaciers to melt which in turn increases water levels, triggering flash floods. Water levels in several lakes and rivers have been increasing since May due to this causality, threatening lives and property throughout the region. In response, the disaster management authority has been directed to take steps to counter any potential state of emergency.

Meanwhile, traffic was suspended on Basin Road as the RCC Bridge over Kargah Nullah, which was damaged by a flash flood recently, remained unrepaired.

“The bridge has been saved from total collapse by engineers from the Frontier Works Organisation, who are working on it day in and day out,” stated a press note issued by the organisation’s information cell. The water also swept away electricity polls, disconnecting power to several areas.

Environmentalists claim floods similar to the ones in 2010 may hit G-B once again if the volume of monsoon rain increases. “The level of water has already increased to an alarming height and if monsoon rains come at this moment it may cause considerable damage in G-B once again,” said Nafees Ahmad, a professor at Gilgit’s Karakoram University.

In 2010, severe flooding devastated infrastructure in G-B, washing away more than 300 small bridges and roads in addition to claiming nearly 200 lives.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 14^th, 2013.

On the directives of the Ministry of Finance in Islamabad, the G-B finance department issued a notification on June 4, 2013 stating the special allowances given to G-B government employees were declared seized from 2011 onwards.  The notification further asked concerned authorities to recover the amount paid after 2011 to employees belonging to the region. The decision is also applicable to pensioners.

“This is sheer injustice and we will resist it at all levels,” said G-B All Employees Association President Bahadur Khan. The association, a representative body of local employees, gave the call for a strike which was simultaneously observed by 37,000 employees in the region’s seven districts.

“The allowance is recognition of the conditions G-B employees have been working in,” said Khan, adding the 25% allowance was no different than the 50% allowance given to federal government employees posted in the area. “These federal government employees are also entitled to double the salary,” he argued.

The special allowance was first awarded to G-B employees by former military dictator General Ziaul Haq in view of the hard conditions prevailing in the mountainous region. Although the allowance was stopped temporarily in 2011, it resumed after the G-B Supreme Appellate Court ruled in its favour. However, if employees are forced to repay the accumulated allowance amount, they will have to return thousands of rupees to the government.

“How is this possible for an ordinary employee? It is a considerable amount given that price hikes take place on a daily basis,” said Khan.

The strike coincided with the federal government’s presentation of its first budget in the National Assembly. Government hospitals were also affected with doctors refusing to entertain patients other than those requiring emergency care. Similarly, teachers remained absent from classes causing middle and primary class examinations to be suspended.

Chief Minister Mehdi Shah’s office told The Express Tribune that a report on the matter has been sought from the finance secretary.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 13^th, 2013.

GILGIT: Shia cleric Agha Rahat Hussaini and 200 adherents set an unforeseen precedent for religious tolerance as they attended a Deobandi scholar’s lecture in a Sunni congregation.

The Tablighi Ijtima, which started on June 9 in Gilgit, is attended by hundreds of thousands from across the country and is held under the banner of the Tablighi Jamaat, a Sunni organisation. The sermon was delivered by Deobandi preacher Maulana Tariq Jamil.

Hussaini, who is a top Shia cleric in Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B), was also accompanied by the general secretary of Majlis Wahdatul Muslimeen. The invitation to attend the Ijtima had been extended by Jamil after he addressed a congregation at the Central Imamia mosque on the request of Shia clerics.

The initiative to promote peace in a region clearly divided along bloody sectarian lines is being widely appreciated by all and is termed as a breakthrough to promote tolerance.

The Shia delegation reached the Ijtima at approximately 9:30pm on Monday and remained seated there alongside thousands of Sunnis till Jamil ended his speech at about 12:15am.

“Hats off to Agha Rahat, his team and Tariq Jamil for making the impossible possible,” said Amjad Hussain, a member of the G-B Council. “We couldn’t have imagined such a gesture from either side. This is real change that we are talking about.”

Earlier in the sermon at the Central Imamia mosque on Monday, Jamil asked people to shun sectarian hatred, pointing out Islam does not allow killing each other over religious differences.

He continued on similar themes as he addressed the audience at the Ijtimia on Tuesday. “I also request the people of G-B to become role models for the rest of the world.

At least 70 people died in 2012 in G-B in sectarian violence. Sectarian rifts in Gilgit extend all the way to the upper echelons of religious ranks, where until quite recently clerics were issuing decrees against each other. The government ended up temporarily shutting down the central Sunni and Shia mosques and introduced a code of conduct for the nature and delivery of sermons.

In May 2012, the G-B Assembly became the first assembly of Pakistan to enact such a code of conduct into a law; violating the code is a punishable offence for clerics.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 12^th, 2013.

On Monday, Maulana Tariq Jamil delivered a sermon in the central Shia mosque, preaching peace, tolerance and respect for each other’s beliefs. Jamil is a well-known Deobandi preacher whose religious activities took root in Raiwind, Lahore.

He is one of the few hundred scholars who reached Gilgit from various parts of Pakistan to participate in the Ijtima being held in Gilgit from June 9 to 11. Ijtima is a Sunni religious congregation held over a couple of days, where often hundreds of thousands gather to hear sermons. The one in Gilgit was organised under the banner of the Tablighi Jamaat.

“Differences in beliefs don’t mean people should kill each other, Islam doesn’t allow this,” said Jamil in a speech delivered at the Central Imamia Mosque in Gilgit. He had been invited there by Shia clerics in a move clearly intended to reflect tolerance at some level.

Members of the Masjid Board were also present at the occasion.

The board is a representative body of Shias and Sunnis which was formed after violence on the fractious lines of religion led to imposition of curfew in Gilgit during 2012.

“We are all Muslims therefore we will have to accept this reality (of religious differences). We are here to preach love and respect, and not hatred.” Jamil’s sermon lasted over 30 minutes and urged adherents of each sect to follow the golden principles laid down in the Quran and ahadith.

Top Shia scholar in G-B, Agha Rahat Hussaini reciprocated in a similar fashion, thanking Jamil for accepting his invitation and addressing the congregation at the imambargah.

“We are lucky to have you here among us and it’s a great pleasure listening to you,” said Rahat Hussaini. He hoped the Ijtima would promote peace and love among the residents of G-B.

In turn, Hussaini accepted Tariq Jamil’s invitation to participate in the Ijtima, saying he would be pleased to attend it.

If Hussaini makes it to the Ijtima, it would be the first time in the history of G-B that a Shia intellectual would have participated in a predominantly Sunni congregation.

Earlier on Sunday, two Shia lawmakers – Raziuddin Rizvi and Didar Ali – called on Tariq Jamil at the congregation and asked him to play a role in spreading peace in the region.

The Tablighi Ijtama kicked off in Gilgit on Sunday. According to rough estimates, more than 300,000 people from all over the country are participating in it.

“It’s a rare opportunity for top Sunni and Shia scholars to have demonstrated equally rare respect for each others’ beliefs,” said former advisor to the prime minister Maulana Attaullah Shahab. Shahab is also a senior Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl leader.

In an attempt to avert any untoward incidents, law enforcement agencies stepped up security in the city. However, the gesture of peace from both sects eased the otherwise tense atmosphere of the city in matters related to religion.

Gilgit straddles religious fault lines; back-to-back incidents of sectarian violence marred the region last year.  At least 70 people were killed and many more were injured in different parts of G-B.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 11^th, 2013.

“The crisis hits the town every year but the government fails to find a solution to the problem,” said Nizamuddin, a senior Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) leader.

On Thursday, flashfloods swept away the main water channel and pipelines in Kargah valley, suspending water supply to the city. Authorities had said alternative arrangements were being made to temporarily restore the water supply, but nothing has been done as yet.

Nizamuddin accused officials of the public works department of corruption and said they awarded tenders to corrupt and inept contractors. “There is not a single drop of water to drink in the town but the authorities refuse to do anything about it.”

Nasir Ali, a resident, questioned the recruitment of hundreds of employees in the Water and Sanitation Authority (Wasa) and demanded the government to restore the supply. “There are hundreds of employees who draw salaries but disappear when they are needed,” he said.

Public works secretary Faisal Zahoor acknowledged Wasa officials were partially responsible for worsening the problem. “The issue of flashfloods occurs every year in Kargah valley but Wasa didn’t make any serious efforts to avert the crisis,” said Zahoor, who was recently transferred to the department. He also agreed Wasa was overstaffed and vowed to downsize it soon.

Owners of water tankers have also taken advantage of the ensuing crisis by jacking up the price to Rs2,000 per trip. Those who cannot afford these tankers are seen wandering around town with jerrycans in search of water.

The shortage has also affected the tourism industry, especially hotels. “It’s very difficult to ensure uninterrupted water supply to guests staying in the hotel,” said a hotel owner.

In Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B), glaciers begin to melt as temperatures rise, triggering flashfloods. The water level in lakes and rivers also increases May onwards as the summer heat sets in.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 10^th, 2013.

A resident of Gilgit, Saeed runs a small construction and supply business in Rawalpindi. Amid perpetual load-shedding in the region and temperatures of 44 degrees Celsius, Saeed decided to take a break and spend some time with his family in his hometown.

However, when Saeed reached Gilgit on Thursday, he found flashfloods had swept away the main water channel along with water pipes in Kargah Valley, suspending water supply throughout Gilgit Town.

The crisis is the second this week, making things difficult for residents when coupled with scorching summer temperatures.

“In Pindi, we had a power shortage. When I came here, there was a water shortage,” complained Saeed, adding the only activity he had done on vacation was fetching water from the river every day. “There is no water to drink, let alone for washing.”

Saeed is not the only one facing the crisis as at least half of Gilgit’s population has been subjected to the same situation for the past three days.

As the shortage escalates, people look for other options to store water. Those who can afford it purchase water tankers, while those who cannot bring contaminated water from river or channels.

“We cannot afford Rs2,000 per tanker,” said Afaq Khan, a resident.

Fazal Haq, a supervisor at the Water and Sanitation Agency, said a temporary supply of water had been stored in Barmas after the initial flashflood. “That was washed away in the second spell.”

Haq said another arrangement had been made to supply water to the affected areas. He added work was in progress and maintained the water supply would be restored soon.

In Gilgit–Baltistan (G-B), intense heat has begun to melt glaciers, which in turn is causing floods. The water level in lakes and rivers has also increased since May due to glaciers melting.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 9^th, 2013.