‘Chilas blasts a ploy to sabotage Diamer-Bhasha dam’

10,000 protestors denounce Saturday night’s bomb attacks and demand speedy arrest of culprits.

GILGIT: Over 10,000 people, gathered in Chilas on Sunday, demanded the arrest of the perpetrators behind a series of bombings that damaged two girls’ schools and a jama’at khana in the town on Saturday night. Many in the area, including Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly (GBLA) opposition leader Bashir Ahmad Khan, hold the view that the bombings were aimed at sabotaging development mega-projects such as the Diamer-Bhasha dam.

“We understand the plot behind the blasts,” said Maulana Abdul Qudoos, the top cleric in Chilas, a major town of district Diamer where the mammoth Diamer-Bhasha dam is under construction.

Without specifying who “they” are, the cleric opined, “They want to create a situation like Wana and South Waziristan in Diamer to get military action extended to this area, thus, bringing the mega project to a halt.”

He added that the peaceful people of Diamer will not let such “nefarious designs” see the light of day.

He said that the area’s clerics, unlike many of their counterparts in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), were anything but opposed to girls’ education and, in fact, deemed it necessary for the backward district’s prosperity.

Activists from all major political parties, including PPP, PM L-N, PML-Q, JUI and PTI, civil society, teacher’s associations, Ahle-Sunnat and Bazaar committee participated in the enormous rally held at the town’s Golden Chowk.

PML-Q leader Muhammad Bashir Khan, who is a resident of Diamer, also demanded the arrest of the “mastermind” behind the attacks so that “the string puller could be traced.”

He also held the opinion that the blasts were aimed at sabotaging the dam.

Member of GBLA, Jan Baz Khan, thinks that terrorists wish to paint a false picture of Diamer’s people but is confident that the area’s people will not let such plots succeed.

Sartaj Khan, a resident, told The Express Tribune that the protestors demanded the arrest and interrogation of workers belonging to Sungi Foundation, a non-governmental organisation, because they had recently opposed the dam’s construction at a meeting held in Wapda College Islamabad.

The rally was also addressed by Yamin Shah of PPP, Muhammad Javed of JUI, Maulana Shafiqur Rahman, Maulana Muzzamil Shah and Maulana Muhammad Ayaz. It ended with a two-point resolution demanding the perpetrators’ arrest and public knowledge of it.

Meanwhile, according to police sources, four suspects were detained for interrogation at Chilas police station. The sources also revealed that the police had defused a locally manufactured device planted near the town’s public school on the same night as the blasts.

Diamer is the sole district of G-B where semi-tribal culture is still prevalent, largely due to its proximity to Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

Sub-divisions Tangeer, Darail and some other parts of the district have their own Jirga system and most of the locals’ issues are settled by the area’s elders. Female education in some areas remains a taboo.

‘A conspiracy hatched by enemies of Diamer’

Talking to The Express Tribune via telephone from Chilas, GBLA opposition leader Bashir Ahmad Khan said that the miscreants’ act is a conspiracy hatched by elements who do not want to see the district’s progress through education and new development projects, such as the Diamer-Bhasha dam.

“We recently held a successful conference in Islamabad on the dam and the act could be a ploy to sabotage it,” he elaborated.

He was of the opinion that all segments of society, including religious leaders, social activists, politicians and common men not only condemned the act but would also remain committed to defeat such elements in the district.

“We will force the government and the law enforcement agencies to fully investigate and expose the conspirators, who want to send us back to the stone-age,” he maintained.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 17^th, 2011.