For Karachi’s students from Gilgit, journeys home aren’t always completed

When people from G-B come to Karachi, they are not sure if they will survive the journey.

KARACHI:

Thousands of people from Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B), who settled in Karachi, are stuck between their homeland and the city which they still struggle to be a part of.

The route to and from G-B is no less than a land mine. When people come to Karachi or Peshawar, it’s the same as passing through a war zone. When people from either sect pass through areas dominated by the other, they are often targeted and killed. The bus massacres like the one in Kohistan and grenade attacks like that in Gilgit serve as proof.

For Hussain, who hails from Astore in G-B and is a Shia, this means that he cannot bring his sick father to Karachi for treatment. To come here by road they have to pass through Battagram, Kohistan, and Chilas – areas dominated by the other sect. Air travel from Skardu is too expensive.

Muzahir Hussain, 25, who also belongs to Astore, says that it took 48 hours to reach Karachi from Gilgit by road. “But now it takes much longer because security forces stop us at every check point. The route is also dangerous.”

The Ismailis are also stuck in a difficult place. According to Bulbul Jan, 52, who hails from Hunza Nagar, they are less vulnerable to sectarian attacks but they do suffer when there are strikes from either side. “A few days back I came to Karachi by road. We had to wait for at least four hours at Jaglot where the passenger buses gather and make a convoy with two police mobiles for protection till Kohistan,” he says. “We had to stop at seven police stations and check posts where we changed vehicles and police escorts. All the way I was afraid of being killed.”  Travelling is not the only problem. The people who live as far as Karachi fear for their life too.

Thirty-two-year-old Abdul Quddoos says that the people from one sect in G-B knew about all the migrants from the other sect in Karachi. “Recently two [names sect] students from G-B were killed in Gulshan-e-Iqbal 13/D,” he said.

One sect from GB mostly resides in Karachi’s Abbas Town and Mughal Hazara Goth in Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Jaffar Tayyar Society and Ghazi Town and Malir, and Shah Faisal Colony. The people from the other sect mostly live in Korangi, Ayesha Manzil, SITE and an area of Gulshan-e-Iqbal. A huge chunk of the migrants are all young men who come here to study. During their stay they take up small jobs to be able to pay rent or have a little cash on hand.  G-B was not always full of hate, argues the Karakuram National Movement (KNM). According to one of its leaders who met journalists at the Karachi Press Club on Thursday, people from the different sects in G-B actually had blood ties. The seeds of hatred were sown by political parties, he argued. He recommended three solutions to the problem: deployment of the armed forces along the Shahrae Karakorum, the restoration of the G-B route via Kashmir and for hostages to be rescued.

With additional input from Sameer Mandhro

Published in The Express Tribune, April 7^th, 2012.

Correction: In an earlier version of the story, the place of the grenade attack was incorrectly mentioned as 'Chilas' instead of 'Gilgit'. The correction has been made.