SC’s decision on Gilgit Baltistan has merits and demerits

Local authority should be given six months, says GB Supreme Council Chairman

LAHORE:  

The Supreme Court’s decision regarding the status of Gilgit Baltistan (GB) has both merits and demerits, said GB Supreme Council Chairperson Dr Abbass Astori. He expressed these views while speaking at a seminar organised by the GB Youth Alliance on Thursday.

Awami Action Committee Chairperson Sultan Rae, political activist Shafqat Inqilabi and Awami Jamhoori Mahaz Chairman Shujat Ali were also present at the occasion.

Astori maintained that the court made the decision based on the resolutions of the United Nations. He said that the local authority should be given six months. He added that the resolution also called for internal autonomy and called for the withdrawal of the forces.

He maintained that they were not opposed to the state and were not against the people of Pakistan. “Everyone is a nationalist by birth,” he expressed.  He clarified that they were talking about the rights promised in the past not about revolting. He urged the youth to focus on their rights. If these are guaranteed, our grievances can be addressed, he said.

On the other hand, Shafqat Inqilabi briefed the participants on the history of the region. He stressed on the need for establishing a local authority. Meanwhile, Sultan Rae said that GB has been rife with sectarian warfare since 1947. The streets of GB have witnessed a lot of bloodshed in all these years, he said. Whoever benefitted from this, the people of the region became used to it. In 2013, they decided to unite on one front; to solve public issues. He emphasised that the GB Action Committee did not bow down to a particular nationality or sect; they worked for the benefit of the people.