'Roof of the World' rebels against Pakistan

[American Pakistani]

Atleast you can your own constitution , article 257

This is what article 257 states

Article: 257 Provision relating to the State of Jammu and Kashmir
257. Provision relating to the State of Jammu and Kashmir.-When the people of the State of Jammu and Kashmir decide to accede to Pakistan, the relationship between Pakistan and that State shall be determined in accordance with the wishes of the people of that State.

 

[Screambowl]

This is what article 257 states

Provision relating to the State of Jammu and Kashmir.-When the people of the State of Jammu and Kashmir decide to accede to Pakistan, the relationship between Pakistan and that State shall be determined in accordance with the wishes of the people of that State.

they have NOT decided yet, how come Pakistani Military is deployed in Azad Kashmir making military relations with Kashmir? This is Illegal!

 

[American Pakistani]

they have NOT decided yet, how come Pakistani Military is deployed in Azad Kashmir making military relations with Kashmir? This is Illegal!

Pakistan Owns Kashmir or Azad Kashmir people have already decided...some formal referendum has yet to take place though. BTW that article is referring to the people of IOK/Maqbooza Kashmir.

 

[Screambowl]

Pakistan Owns Kashmir or Azad Kashmir people have already decided...some formal referendum has yet to take place though. BTW that article is referring to the people of IOK/Maqbooza Kashmir.

First of all as per the Simla pact, article 257 is not applicable for total J&K. Secondly if Pakistan had owned Kashmir, article 257, referring the referendum would have been abolished. jammu and Kashmir is one, including Azad Kashmir(Azad kashmir, Gilgit B)

Article 2 clause (D) of Azad Jammu and Kashmir interim constitutional act 1974, clearly states that Azad Jammu and Kashmir is a part of greater Jammu and Kashmir.

under section 21 of the AJK Interim Constitution Act, 1974 with clearly defined executive, legislative and judicial sphere enumerated in the third schedule of the Act. Which contradicts Article 2 clause (D) of AJK constitutional act of 1974.

Still your Military is there, which contradicts article 257 of Pakistani constitution through section 21 and Article 2 clause D. Which is illegal. This is one reason.

Other reason is:
By diving a vanilla cake into 4 parts, it won't become a chocolate cake.


Jammu and Kashmir is an integral Part of India and Pakistan illegally holds its Part, and tries to change the demography of the Azad Kashmir, through illegal formation of acts in Azad Kashmir:

 

[Donatello]

Do you even know what Joe Shearer and I were disusing?

We in Pakistan refers to Military to my knowledge as it is Military which does not change but over rule the constitution, like article 257.


Atleast you can your own constitution , article 257

We can do whatever we want without having to hear from you. So mind it, don't try to wing the argument by posting this constitution and that constitution.

 

[Screambowl]

We can do whatever we want without having to hear from you. So mind it, don't try to wing the argument by posting this constitution and that constitution.

it is the same constitution which Pakistanis follow, and I am quoting from there. To keep AJK autonomous you need to compromise a lot things. Because the contradictions arise, with Gb, Siachen, Ladhak, and Lolss.

 

[Donatello]

it is the same constitution which Pakistanis follow, and I am quoting from there. To keep AJK autonomous you need to compromise a lot things. Because the contradictions arise, with Gb, Siachen, Ladhak, and Lolss.

The land Pakistan administers, is Pakistan's land. People living there are Pakistanis. Now if Pakistan were to make them provinces, it wouldn't matter, because in any case, Pakistan is not giving up control over these territories.

 

[Screambowl]

The land Pakistan administers, is Pakistan's land. People living there are Pakistanis. Now if Pakistan were to make them provinces, it wouldn't matter, because in any case, Pakistan is not giving up control over these territories.

Not in the case of Kashmir, as it is a disputed territory according to Pakistan lolss . And due to Simla agreement, the solution is only through bilateral talks. Lols.

 

[Panther 57]

Pakistan Owns Kashmir or Azad Kashmir people have already decided...some formal referendum has yet to take place though. BTW that article is referring to the people of IOK/Maqbooza Kashmir.

My dear friend, Pakistan does not own Kashmir or Azad Kashmir. Pakistan supports Kashmir. Pakistan endorses Kashmiris' right to independence and as rightly referred by

Article 2 clause (D) of Azad Jammu and Kashmir interim constitutional act 1974, clearly states that Azad Jammu and Kashmir is a part of greater Jammu and Kashmir.

Only thing which needs elaboration in this clause is that when greater Jammu and Kashmir gets independence from India, through plebiscite, as declared in UN resolution. Pakistan is providing assistance to AJK in shape of defence, finances, administration, etc. They have their own elections & own government. Most of Pakistani's misinterpret the phrase "Kashmir Pakistan ki Seh Rag hai" and considers it to be something similar to what Indians claim of ATOOT ANG. Whereas, it is incorrect. Indians want to own and hold Kashmir against their will. Pakistan want to have Kashmir by its side and provide full support as an independent country. Proof is existence of AJK flag, government, constitution, etc etc. Yes our support is for Kashmiris & their cause and because of this relationship it is our juggler vain.

 

[Screambowl]

Only thing which needs elaboration in this clause is that when greater Jammu and Kashmir gets independence from India, through plebiscite, as declared in UN resolution. Pakistan is providing assistance to AJK in shape of defence, finances, administration, etc. They have their own elections & own government. Most of Pakistani's misinterpret the phrase "Kashmir Pakistan ki Seh Rag hai" and considers it to be something similar to what Indians claim of ATOOT ANG. Whereas, it is incorrect. Indians want to own and hold Kashmir against their will. Pakistan want to have Kashmir by its side and provide full support as an independent country. Proof is existence of AJK flag, government, constitution, etc etc. Yes our support is for Kashmiris & their cause and because of this relationship it is our juggler vain.

after simla agreement of 1972, both India and Pakistan have agreed to resolve the issue through bilateral talks, and no third party will have any
role in the talks. So the plebiscite is no more valid. It is the fancy dream of Kashmiris on both sides, who are still hoping for a plebiscite, Pakistan supports this movement because of strategic importance of Kashmir to them.

 

[GURU DUTT]

'Roof of the World' rebels against Pakistan​

Protests over poor public services have escalated into challenges to Islamabad's rule in rugged northern territory.

By Umar Farooq Last updated:02 Jul 2014 14:10

Attabad Lake, formed in 2010 mudslides, destroyed three villages provoking riots [Umar Farooq/Al Jazeera]
​

Gilgit, Pakistan - Escalating protests in villages perched on the "Roof of the World" - a mountainous territory disputed between Pakistan and India - have exposed deep animosity towards Islamabad.

After 67 years of control by the Pakistani government, many local people want the country to either accept them as a new province - or grant them independence.

Pakistan's authorities have responded to the unrest - sparked by poor public services and anger at corruption - with a brutal crackdown.

"The problem is in the system - it's a colonial system. The laws come from Islamabad and we have to live under them," Nazir Ahmed, a local lawyer who helped organise the protests, told Al Jazeera.

'Massive corruption'
The two hundred thousand residents of Ghizer district now have an ambulance, a crucial service in a region where the nearest hospital is a precarious five hour drive along narrow roads hugging cliff faces thousands of feet above fast-moving rivers.

Two weeks ago, hundreds of residents converged to besiege government offices, demanding that officials provide an ambulance and basic medical facilities.
Ghizer has no surgeon or gynaecologist, and just one female health worker.

Similar unrest has erupted in villages across Gilgit-Baltistan in protests that began with calls for an end to government corruption.

"There is massive corruption, and no one here is answerable," said Ahmed, who adds that the struggle for better medical facilities is just the beginning.

The protests have been met with a brutal crackdown by authorities, who are using special courts to prosecute 'terrorists' and who have jailed hundreds on charges of sedition and 'terrorism'.

In April, hundreds of thousands of protesters held an 11-day sit-in in Gilgit's legislative assembly after Islamabad threatened to end a wheat subsidy established in 1972 to match a similar package in India-administered Kashmir.

The protesters won back the subsidy but their other demands, including self-rule for Gilgit-Baltistan, have yet to be met.

"Pakistan is seeking that the United Nations solve the Kashmir dispute, and is unwilling to officially integrate Gilgit-Baltistan into its political system," said Ahsan Ali, the head of the Gilgit-Baltistan High Court Bar Association, and an expert on constitutional law in the region.

Disputed territory

The Roof of the World is part of a pre-1947 Kashmir, claimed by Pakistan and India and home to the only land route to the Indian Ocean for Pakistan's closest ally in the region, China.

The territory is home to 12 of the 30 highest peaks on Earth, and its massive glaciers are the source of water for most of the Indian subcontinent.

Since independence from Britain in 1947, Pakistan and India have fought several wars over the status of Gilgit-Baltistan - part of the Pakistan-administered Kashmir - and the rest of disputed Kashmir to its east.

According to binding resolutions from the UN, a plebiscite is to be held to determine whether the region is to join India or Pakistan, or become an independent state, but this has yet to happen, leaving millions in legal limbo.

Pakistan has not constitutionally integrated Gilgit-Baltistan into its political system because it believes the area could one day prejudice the plebiscitevote to settle the Kashmir dispute with India.

This legislative assembly...we feel is powerless. All the power is in Islamabad. Until this [Advisory] Council in Islamabad, which has all the power... until their power is transferred to the [Legislative] Assembly here, we feel the problems here cannot be solved.

Afrasiab Khan Khattak,Senator and head of Senatorial committee on Human Rights

No taxation without representation
Ghizer district is an unlikely place to find such animosity towards Islamabad as it is the home to 12,000 soldiers in an elite division that specialises in high-altitude warfare.

Nearly 500 have died fighting India since 1999, manning border posts in the highest battlefield on earth.

Islamabad has also spent billions of dollars building infrastructure in the area like the Karakoram highway, which links remote mountain communities and provides a reliable land route to China.

Yet locals receive no revenue from customs duties with China, or the sales tax collected by Pakistan, which generates up to $550m in annual revenue and is destined entirely for Islamabad.

The Awami Action Committee (AAC), a coalition of 23 religious and political groups behind the current protests, is demanding that there be "no taxation without representation".

Stretching 28,000 square miles, and home to 2 million people, the region is not even mentioned in Pakistan's constitution, a fact that irks young activists like Sajjid Rana, 19, who says textbooks only refer to it as "the land of glaciers".

If Gilgit-Baltistan gained self-rule, Rana would like to see it become a crossroads for trade between India and Central Asia, as it was for thousands of years before its western and eastern borders were closed under Islamabad's foreign policy priorities.

"A lot of people care about the region, but no one cares about the people," Shabbir Hakimi, a Shia-cleric who helped mobilise thousands for the April sit-ins, told Al Jazeera."As Muslims, we care about Kashmir, but give us our rights, make us like Kashmir, or let us go altogether."Unlike the rest of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, which has its own constitution, democratically-elected legislature, and independent judiciary, Gilgit-Baltistan was long governed by a federally-appointed civil servant who could impose collective punishment on local tribes.

In 2009, Islamabad granted the territory largely symbolic autonomy under a Legislative Assembly whose members are elected, and an Advisory Council, most of whose members are selected by the federal government.

"Islamabad is basically running the show," said Nawaz Khan Naji, an elected member of the 33-seat Legislative Assembly. "We have stacks of resolutions we have passed that have not been acted upon."

In 2012, the Legislative Assembly passed a resolution asking for Gilgit-Baltistan to be turned into a province, but the Advisory Council, headed by the Pakistani prime minister, ignored it.

Likewise key powers over trade, tourism and natural resources remain effectively under Islamabad's control and judges in Gilgit-Baltistan are appointed and dismissed at the discretion of a federal minister.

"We call it a 21st-century colony," said Israr-ud-Din Israr of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan.

"All powers are with Pakistan, and we cannot make laws ourselves, for our own interests."

"This legislative assembly...we feel is powerless," Senator Afrasiab Khan Khattak, who heads a Senatorial committee on Human Rights, told reporters after a fact-finding trip to Gilgit-Baltistan in April.

"All the power is in Islamabad. Until this [Advisory] Council in Islamabad, which has all the power... until their power is transferred to the [Legislative] Assembly here, we feel the problems here cannot be solved.
Harsh crackdown
The narrow roads throughout Gilgit-Baltistan are littered with checkpoints, manned by paramilitary soldiers and police who question all travellers.

In April, police climbed the cliffs overlooking the narrow highway near the village of Sikandarabad to drop giant boulders on to the roadway in an unsuccessful attempt to keep protesters from reaching the Gilgit sit in.

But blocked roads are not the only obstacle protesters face, with special courts set up to prosecute 'terrorism' suspects now being used against political activists.

More than 250 people have been tried in the anti-terrorism courts, alongside the 300 or so political cases that have been held in conventional criminal courts.

Iftikhar Hussain, 34, has been in a Gilgit city prison awaiting trial in an anti-terrorism court for nearly three years, even though the special courts are required to sentence convicts within 90 days of an arrest.

He is one of 36 men charged with 'terrorism' and 'sedition' stemming from a 2011 protest by locals demanding compensation promised to them by Pakistan after a massive landslide had destroyed their villages.

When police trying to clear the protest killed two men, riots erupted across the entire region and locals destroyed more than 17 government buildings including police stations.

Hussain, who says he was not involved in the riots, was one of more than 100 people arrested. Most of the other suspects arrested with Hussain have been released.

He says that for nearly a month he was tortured by investigators who included officers from Pakistan's intelligence agencies.

"We always raised our voices over local problems in our areas, simple things," says Hussain, who is a member of the Karakoram National Movement, a party advocating for self-rule.

"They don't like this, so they call it sedition."

As always authorities deny having tortured Hussain.

"[Hussain] is accused of serious violent crimes, " a senior Gilgit District police officer, who declined to be named, told Al Jazeera when asked about the allegations. "He was not tortured," he stated.

'Roof of the World' rebels against Pakistan - Features - Al Jazeera English

well one more "bangladesh in making" pehle baloochistan , fir sindhudesh aur ab ye ... ab maza ayega khel ka

 

[Gessler]

They have been demanding equal rights/opportunities as the other provinces in Pak since many decades, and they are
getting frustrated. Pak should either do what they want, or allow them to break off from Pak and form a new state,
either completely independent or later join as part of India looking at the circumstances.

But knowing Pakistan, they will neither allow GB to become an equal to other provinces, nor respect people's opinion
and cut GB loose. They will keep the issue in limbo till the point it boils over into another insurgency.

 

[Screambowl]

well one more "bangladesh in making" pehle baloochistan , fir sindhudesh aur ab ye ... ab maza ayega khel ka

Time to draft new article, supporting a new region in Kashmir, and lets support this movement. Finally, our constitution allows states to be formed and recognises whole kashmir without any referendum as a part of India. Hahaha lol.

They have been demanding equal rights/opportunities as the other provinces in Pak since many decades, and they are
getting frustrated. Pak should either do what they want, or allow them to break off from Pak and form a new state,
either completely independent or later join as part of India looking at the circumstances.

But knowing Pakistan, they will neither allow GB to become an equal to other provinces, nor respect people's opinion
and cut GB loose. They will keep the issue in limbo till the point it boils over into another insurgency.

It Is a part of India, India should recognize and do for their rights.

 

[American Pakistani]

My dear friend, Pakistan does not own Kashmir or Azad Kashmir. Pakistan supports Kashmir. Pakistan endorses Kashmiris' right to independence and as rightly referred b.

Well for me Azad Kashmir=Pakistan Owns Kashmir.

I agree with your post though, but it is trolls who bring that nonsense names just to feel good.

 

[American Pakistani]

First of all as per the Simla pact, article 257 is not applicable for total J&K. Secondly if Pakistan had owned Kashmir, article 257, referring the referendum would have been abolished. jammu and Kashmir is one, including Azad Kashmir(Azad kashmir, Gilgit B)

Article 2 clause (D) of Azad Jammu and Kashmir interim constitutional act 1974, clearly states that Azad Jammu and Kashmir is a part of greater Jammu and Kashmir.

under section 21 of the AJK Interim Constitution Act, 1974 with clearly defined executive, legislative and judicial sphere enumerated in the third schedule of the Act. Which contradicts Article 2 clause (D) of AJK constitutional act of 1974.

Article 257 is for IOK/Maqbooza Kashmir only. The liberated part of Kashmir i.e Azad Kashmir is almost an independent country with own PM's, parliament, etc. Gilgit Baltistan is different case - it was historically never a part of Kashmir & only sold to DOG ra by Britishers. People of GB fought Britishers and then DOG ra's army & Indians & merged their territory with Pakistan. Their demand is to grant them provincial status as they do not see themselves as part of dispute, Pakistan is respecting UN which is the only reason that it had not grant provincial status to GB. But IMO Pakistan should held referendum in GB under UN monitoring & annex it legally...when the final plebiscite in Kashmir will held this % will be counted too as according to UN this territory was part of dispute.

In 1869, Gilgit was annexed to Kashmir State. Gilgit Agency was re-established in 1889. In 1889 a force with the name of the Gilgit Levies was raised under the command of Colonel Algernon Durand in order to establish better writ of Government. The force, in 1891, fought the battle of Nilt against Hunza. In 1913 Major JC Bridges reorganized the force on a company basis and the force was renamedt as the Gilgit Scouts. When the Gilgit scouts were raised, its strength was 582. Recruitment in the Gilgit scouts was based on the recommendation of the Mirs and Rajas of the area. Close relatives of both Mirs and Rajas on occasion were given direct Viceroy's Commissions in the corps of Gilgit Scouts.

On partition, the Gilgit agency was handed over to the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir by the British government. Brigadier Ghansara Singh arrived at Gilgit to implement the charge, as Governor. Subsequently Major General H L Scott the chief of military staff of Kashmir joined him. The troops of the Gilgit Scouts, being 100% Muslim, were in favour of accession to Pakistan. On 31 October 1947, in the afternoon, Honorary Captain Muhammad Baber Khan called a meeting of the Junior Commissioned Officers of the Gilgit Scouts in their mess, where it was unanimously decided to over throw the Dogra rule.

The governor surrendered on 1 November 1947. The Muslim company of the 6 Jammu Kahmir Infantry battalion, coming to Gilgit from Bunji under the command of Captain Hassan Khan, also joined the Scouts. The Scouts attacked and destroyed a Dogra check post and burnt the Partab Bridge. The Sikh and Dogra elements of the Kashmiri forces deserted and were later captured. 27,000 square miles (70,000 km2) were thus liberated from the Dogra Raj. The force was then placed under the command of Major Muhammad Tufail Shaheed (Nishan-i-Haider), Honorary Captain Muhammad Baber Khan of 1st Northern Light Infantry Regiment, who played a vital role in the war of liberation (from the Dogra Raj) in 1947.

Gilgit scouts were the first battalion in 1948 to capture Kargil and Batalik, where they were awarded the motto of Victors. Honorary Captain Muhammad Baber Khan took part in liberation war 1947/48

Northern Light Infantry - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

GB Tribune: History & Dispute

These people of GB fought all three of you i.e Britishers, DOG ras & Indians & merged with Pakistan.

Still your Military is there, which contradicts article 257 of Pakistani constitution through section 21 and Article 2 clause D. Which is illegal. This is one reason.

Pakistan Military is there on the request on Azad Kashmir govt to keep 7 lakh Indian Occupier terrorists out of the liberated parts. However in Gilgit Baltistan there is only Gilgit Baltistan Army(also known as NLI[Northern Light Infantry]). These people are local of that area i.e Gilgitis, Baltis, Brushos, Wakhis, Khowars, Baltees, Shins, Yashkuns, Mughals, Kashmiris, Pathans, Ladakis and Turks.

The majority of this regiment's personnel come from native Gilgitis, Baltis, Brushos, Wakhis and Khowars. It was formed in 1971 with the amalgamation of the Northern Scouts along with its Scout wings: the Karakoram Scouts, Northern Scouts and Gilgit Scouts.

The Northern Light Infantry (NLI) Regiment is based in northern Pakistan. Today the NLI Reget consists of 15x Reg units. The unit is not dominated by major ethnic groups like the Pashtuns or Punjabs and instead is comprised by a mix of men from the small tribes of the Kashmir region. The NLI sepoys are drawn from eight major ethnic groups: the Baltees, Shins, Yashkuns, Mughals, Kashmiris, Pathans, Ladakis and Turks who speak the dialects of Balti, Shina, Brushaki, Khawer, Wakhi, Turki, Pushto, Urdu and Persian. Of the NLI sepoys, 49 per cent are Shias and 18 per cent Sunnis, while the Ismailees and Noor Bakhshis make up 23 and 10 per cent respectively.Fifty-five per cent of the sepoys come from Gilgit while 35 per cent hail from Baltistan.

Northern Light Infantry - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia