SC word on G-B status

Powers of the Supreme Court have been extended to Gilgit-Baltistan under a ruling by a seven-judge larger bench of the top court on the constitutional status of the region and the grant of fundamental rights to its citizens. Taking up a set of petitions challenging the Gilgit-Baltistan Order 2018, the Gilgit-Baltistan Empowerment and Self Governance Order 2009 and demanding the right of the citizens of the region to be governed through their elected representatives, the court makes it clear that no part of the 1973 Constitution of Pakistan can be abolished or amended without proper legislation. And that means that the region will — until an amendment to the Constitution — continue to be administered through presidential orders as against the demand of the residents to declare the region a part of Pakistan.

The federal government’s stance managed to gain acceptance in the top court. The Attorney General of Pakistan presented before the court a draft of the Gilgit-Baltistan Governance Reforms 2018 which has been prepared by the federal government for political empowerment and good governance in the region. The proposed reforms draft says that the federal government intends to grant G-B the status of a provisional province, “subject to the decision of the plebiscite to be conducted under the UN resolutions”, with all privileges provided by the Constitution. But the grant of such a status, the federal government argues, requires an amendment to the Constitution by a two-thirds majority in parliament which is time consuming. Therefore, as an interim measure, the government plans to give such fundamental rights to G-B residents as enjoyed by the people of any other province.

The top court order clearly means that there will be no change in the current state of Gilgit-Baltistan, as well as Kashmir, and that the constitutional status of these areas shall be determined through a referendum. The judgment also makes it clear that the Gilgit-Baltistan Order 2018 cannot be amended, and “if parliament makes any changes to this order, they can be examined on the touchstone of the Constitution”.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 20^th, 2019.

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