The writer teaches at Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad. DESPITE the virtual media blackout of Gilgit-Baltistan it is becoming increasingly clear that sectarian violence in the entire region is spiralling out of control. Meanwhile, the systematic attacks on the Hazaras of Quetta continue unabated. It is hardly surprising then that Shias everywhere are talking conspiracy even as militant Sunnis of all varieties are doing everything in their power to prove the conspiracy theorists right. A conspiracy is…
Posts published in April 2012
By Muhammad Sadaqat in The Express Tribune, Apr 13 ABBOTABAD: The Kindi Inquiry Comm-ission, – probing riots during a demonstration in Abbottabad on April 12, 2010, has held the administration, political leadership and security forces responsible for the deaths of several protesters, The Express Tribune has learnt. According to a classified report obtained by The Express Tribune on Thursday, lack of coordination between the police and the district administration; inaction on part of the provincial…
The thriving town of Balakot was almost completely destroyed in the earthquake of 2005. Much of it still is, and the process of rehabilitation and reconstruction has become mired in bureaucratic wrangling and interagency disputes and vacillation. Most of the population are still in temporary shelters. The entire town was designated as in the ‘Red Zone’ – the area where the possibility of a future ‘quake was rated as extremely high and where it would…
THOUGH Gilgit-Baltistan has remained cut off from the rest of Pakistan since April 3 when sectarian violence engulfed different towns, the freeing of 34 hostages on Tuesday was a bit of good news to emerge from the troubled region. The hostages, which included government officials, were kidnapped in reaction to sectarian killings in Chilas. Their freedom was secured after local clerics got involved in mediation efforts. The episode shows that the region’s Shia and Sunni…
GILGIT: The educational institutes and offices on Thursday re-opened in Skardu after eight days of curfew, DawnNews reported. After Chilas tragedy, Skardu’s educational institutes and offices were closed. Tragedy of Chilas in Gilgit was happened after the explosion and firing during the protest. Curfew was imposed in Gilgit, following the incidents of ethnic killings. The curfew was lifted twice for a duration of five-hours in the past eight days. http://dawn.com/2012/04/12/institutes-and-offices-re-open-in-skardu/
GILGIT: Even as lives were lost and blood spilt during last week’s sectarian violence in Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B), the community of Chilas managed to save at least 200 Shia passengers – including women and children – and swiftly shift them to areas where they would be out of harm’s way. The passengers were travelling from Rawalpindi to Gilgit and Skardu, and had just reached the town of Chilas when sectarian violence broke out in Gilgit after…
GILGIT: A curfew imposed in Gilgit on April 3 would be relaxed for three hours on Thursday from 2pm. Meanwhile, people released by kidnappers on Tuesday left Gilgit for their native areas on Wednesday. They were seen off by Assistant Commissioner Usman Ahmed. The hostages belonged to Shangla in Hazara division and some areas of Punjab. Thirty-four people were kidnapped from Hunza after sectarian clashes claimed at least 14 lives in Gilgit and Chilas on…
ISLAMABAD: The recent barbaric killing of people belonging to the shia community in Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) is deplorable to say the least. The false promises of interior minister Rehman Malik have done nothing to assure the people of the area that a repeat incident will not occur. Previously, Mr Malik had promised to deploy a special security force along the Karakoram Highway for the safety and security of passengers using this route but nothing of the…
By Shabbir Mir in The Express Tribune, Apr 11 GILGIT: The week-long ordeal of over two dozen people taken hostage in a remote valley of the Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) region ended on Tuesday. Authorities secured the release of 31 hostages – including a district health officer from Astore, a civil judge and 29 day labourers from outside G-B – following successful negotiations with the captors. The men were taken hostage by armed men in the Shia-dominated…
GILGIT: The people of Gilgit and other districts of Gilgit-Baltistan continued to suffer due to the uncertain law and order situation there and curfew, which was imposed for the eighth consecutive day on Tuesday. During curfew relaxation hours, citizens rushed to markets to get essential commodities but had to return disappointed as stocks had been exhausted and fresh supplies were quite insufficient to meet the needs of the whole population. During the three-hour relaxation of…
ISLAMABAD: A delegation of Gilgit-Baltistan Council met Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), Mian Manzoor Wattoo here on Tuesday and sought his help for restoration of peace in the troubled region. The five-member delegation included Muhammad Ibrahim, Maulana Ataullah Shahab, Professor Ghulam Husain Saleem, Wazir Ibadat Ali and Saeed Afzal. They discussed with the minister the latest law and order situation in the GB. They underscored the need for drastic measures to bring…