CJP asks PTI to settle boundary dispute between K-P, GB

Dispute resolution significant as it relates to area where Diamer-Bhasha dam will be built

ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar told the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Friday to find an out-of-court resolution of the boundary dispute between Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) because the same party was ruling at the Centre as well as in the province.

Likewise, a three-member bench of the apex court also sought afresh the viewpoint of K-P Chief Minister Mehmood Khan about the adjudication of the boundary dispute between GB and K-P under Article 184(1) of the Constitution.

The dispute resolution is very significant as it relates to the area where Diamer-Bhasha dam will be built. Under Article 184 (1), the Supreme Court has the jurisdiction to decide on the disputes between the provinces and the Centre.

The bench, headed by Chief Justice Nisar, took up the two-year-old constitutional petition of K-P for the settlement of boundary dispute. Additional Attorney General Sajid Ilyas Bhatti informed the bench that most issues had been sorted out but the people of GB had concern over two spots of the disputed area.



The chief justice noted that on August 15, the advocate generals of K-P and GB sought time to resolve the matter. Additional Advocate General K-P Waqar Ahmed stated that the Council of Common Interest (CCI) could resolve this issue under Article 157 of Constitution.

Sitting on the bench, Justice Ijazul Ahsan asked, “Will the CCI resolve the boundary dispute?”

The chief justice observed that the PTI was the ruling party in K-P and at the Centre; therefore, both the Federation and K-P should find an out-of-court settlement of the dispute.

When Waqar Ahmed requested the court to decide the matter under Article 184(1), the chief justice asked him to submit within 10 days written instructions from the K-P chief minister, requesting the Supreme Court to resolve the dispute.

The boundary dispute at the site of Diamer-Bhasha dam between the residents of Diamer district of GB and Kohistan district of K-P has deepened with tribes on both sides refusing to budge from their positions.



The Harban tribe of Kohistan and the Thor tribe of Diamer claim ownership of a piece of land spanning over eight kilometres in Gandlo Nala area, where the dam’s power plant has to be installed. The dispute turned violent in February 2014, when seven people died in a clash between the two sides.

Earlier, the K-P assembly passed a resolution claiming that the eight kilometres of land on the right side of the Diamer-Bhasha dam was part of K-P. The move infuriated the political leadership of G-B, who constituted a committee of all the sitting lawmakers from the Diamer Valley. The committee traced documents signed between the representatives of Kohistan and Diamer in 1947, which had declared the land as part of Diamer.

On October 8, Justice Nisar asked the deputy attorney general of GB to clarify that the GB government had no objections to the construction of the dam; but due to the constitutional limitation, the issue of royalties also rose. Justice Nisar then said that GB could challenge the matter of royalties in the Supreme Cout.

During a hearing on October 8, Justice Ahsan said that the main issue at the moment was that of the royalties. He added that one of the turbines of the dam would be installed in GB and another in KP

A senior law officer told The Express Tribune that the matter would be resolved amicably soon. The chief justice was giving priority to the construction of Diamer-Bhasha dam. Due to his campaign, Rs8.7325 billion has been collected so far.