By Our Correspondent
SKARDU: Chairman Gilgit-Baltistan United Movement Manzoor Hussain Parwana has said closing the doors of economic development on the people of Gilgit-Baltistan is tantamount to their economic murder.
He said the government of Pakistan should take immediate measures to open the old trade routes from Skardu to Kargil, Ishkoman to Tajikistan and Astor to Srinagar. He said at present Karakoram Highway was the only route of economic activity between China and Pakistan but areas near to this vital highway have been hit by the wave of terrorism and there was a danger that the KKH may also be hit by terrorists.
He said if an operation is launched against terrorists near the KKH the highway would remain closed bringing the wheel of economic activity in the whole region to a complete halt. Besides, the closure of the highway will cut off Gilgit-Baltistan from the outside world. Therefore, the government should open all other routes connecting the region with the neighbouring countries.
Parwana also said that the current ban on import of edible items from China should be lifted so that wheat and other essential items could be imported from China to end the shortage of the commodity in Gilgit-Baltistan.
Opposition To Taxation Proposals: Survey
GILGIT: The establishment of the department of excise and taxation in Gilgit-Baltistan is a conspiracy hatched by the government of Pakistan to levy tax on the people of the region, a survey shows. The government of Pakistan could fulfil its ambition of the tax regime in the area but first of all it has to determine the constitutional status of the region. The government of Pakistan should also do an introspection on what it has done in terms of providing basic amenities of life to the people of this region since 1947 before it can talk of levying tax on the poverty-stricken masses of the region. Otherwise the sense of deprivation among the people would further increase. These observations were made by people belonging to different walks of life during a survey conducted by a local newspaper.
Mureed Hussain, Shahid Ali, M. Salim, Sifat Shah, Ijlal Hussain and other local biggies said the federal government particularly its bureaucracy iss trying to create further dissension and a sense of deprivation among the residents by snatching everything from them instead of providing them basic facilities of life. They said under the UN resolutions, the area is disputed and the government of Pakistan cannot levy any type of tax on the local people.
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