GBLA roundup: To maintain law and order, why widen the sectarian divide?

Lawmakers discuss law and order, jobs, new sports act.

GILGIT:

A ruling party legislator from Baltistan raised eyebrows in Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly on Wednesday when he suggested that the provincial capital city, already infested with sectarian scourge should be divided administratively on sectarian lines.

“Predominantly Shia areas should be handed over to Shia police and Sunni majority areas to ‘Sunni police’ for maintaining durable peace in Gilgit”, said Shiekh Nisar Hussain Sarbaz of Pakistan Peoples Party from Skardu.

“Then punish officials who fail to maintain peace in their areas,” he said.

He said that transferring policemen from other districts will not be enough to maintain peace in Gilgit. The lawmaker flayed the government for posting Baltistan police to Gilgit without giving them any facilities for room and board. “How can you give sticks to the police from Skardu and then suspend them for failing to control law and order?” he asked.

Rehmat Khaliq, a member of the JUI-F, came down hard on senior police officials including the Inspector General Police (IGP) for suspending dozens of policemen who protested last year for a raise in the salary. “Senior police officials sparked the protests, but low grade constables have to pay the price,” he said, adding that the salary of the IGP increased to Rs80,000 owing to the protests. Others also participated in the debate, including Didar Ali, Raja Azam, and Raziuddin.

Some members expressed anger over the illegal land allotments by the revenue department, holding the department responsible for creating law and order problems in the region.

“Allotments were banned for the past over two decades then why such things (allotments) are taking place even today in Gilgit,” Mohamamd Jaffer told the house while speaking on a point of order. He said the revenue department was responsible for creating such a situation where conflict arises due to fake allotments.

Earlier, an independent lawmaker, Didar Ali, raised the issue in the house, saying that disputes in Gilgit are not sectarian but are the acts of the land mafia.

Amina Ansari, a PML-Q lawmaker, questioned the posting of the administrator of Zakat, saying that he was posted away to protect the corrupt people involved in the scam. The speaker said that since the issue was subjudice, therefore they should refrain from commenting on it.

Abdul Hamid Khan, a legislator from Astor, also complained of seeing fewer vacancies allotted to his district and demanded that distribution be revisited and rationalized. Rehmat Khaliq said that some 1,700 vacancies were created in the annual budget and 1,250 additional vacancies were also created, but only Baltistan was a beneficiary.

Parliamentary Secretary on Law Yasmin Nazar presented the proposed Gilgit-Baltistan Sports (Development and Control) Act 2011 before the house, which was handed over to a select committee for deliberation on it.

Mirza Hussain, a PML-Q member, tabled a resolution against the People’s Primary Healthcare Initiative, accusing the NGO of providing spurious medicines to patients. The speaker accepted the resolution for debate in the next proceedings.



Published in The Express Tribune, April 14^th, 2011.