People’s woes: Leaders absent as Gilgit-Baltistan heads towards chaos

GILGIT:

With public representatives living in reprieve, people of Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) have been left at the mercy of target killers, inept bureaucracy in harsh weather.

The G-B chief minister has spent about 70% of his time in Islamabad in the past year, according to sources close to him.

Moreover, since the beginning of the winter season most lawmakers, including G-B Governor Pir Karam Ali Shah, Deputy Speaker Jamil Ahmed, Senior Minister Wazir Jaffer, adviser to chief minister and several other officials have stayed in Islamabad and other cities.

“The capital city is bleeding while the chief minister and his cabinet members are living in luxury in Islamabad,” said Imtiaz Khan, a local resident while referring to the recent attack on JUI-F information secretary.

In addition to that, the capital city of G-B has also witnessed the worst power crisis in its history, bringing life to a complete standstill.

Jehanzeb Hussain, a resident of Jutial, said, “With every case of target killing, the feeling of alienation gets multiplied among residents, who blame the government for ignoring the gravity of the issue.”

Taking note of the growing criticism from the people, the chief minister recently ordered the lawmakers to ensure their presence in the region and play their part in addressing people’s issues.

“If lawmakers have to go out of town for personal reasons, they should avail their leaves,” he said. Even though Gilgit has a long history of target killings, the situation has aggravated since 2005, when a religious scholar was targeted.

Most of the residents believe the situation has become out of control for the government, which has simply failed to arrest the culprits behind the violence.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 13^th, 2012.