By M. Ismail Khan THE ‘autonomy package’ introduced by the government for the people of Gilgit-Baltistan is a mix of good and bad news. The good news is that the area will now have an autonomous status with a chief minister and a governor. The bad news is that it has been given only a province-like status and has no institutional link with the four provinces or the Pakistani constitution. It is not yet clear…
Posts published in “Day: September 10, 2009”
By Asif Ezdi The Gilgit-Baltistan (Empowerment and Self-Governance) Order, 2009, approved by the cabinet on Aug 29 seeks to grant self-rule to the people of the area on the pattern of the autonomy enjoyed by Azad Jammu and Kashmir. As the government itself admits, the promulgation of this Order, which has now been signed by Zardari, implies a rejection of the demand that Gilgit-Baltistan be made a province of Pakistan and that its people be…