Emancipate 2 million people of Gilgit Baltistan
from the slavery of Pakistan, Hamid Khan, Chairman BNF
Date: 30th June 2015
His Excellency Secretary General United
Nations, New York
Gilgit Baltistan (Pakistan China Occupied
Gilgit Baltistan) which comprises of 72000 Sq KMs of disputed territory
sandwiched between China, Afghanistan, India and Pakistan, is currently
under the occupation of Pakistan in violation of UNCIP resolutions adopted on
13th August 1948, 5th January 1949 and 28th April 1949. Pakistan has kept its
occupation of the area on the pretext of a fraudulent agreement between
Pakistan and two of its stooges (Sardar Ibrahim, and Choudhary Gholam Abbas)
from Pakistan occupied Jammu & Kashmir, without the knowledge and due
consent of the people of Gilgit Baltistan. Pakistan hatched up this so-called
agreement on 28th April 1949 - the same day when UNCIP had asked Pakistan to
withdraw its forces from this disputed territory. In 1963 Pakistan illegally
conceded 7000 Sq. KMs area of Shimshal, part of Hunza (Occupied Gilgit
Baltistan) to China for the construction of Karakorum Highway (KKH) which is
being used extensively by both China and Pakistan for economic as well as for
military purposes.
Pakistan is using KKH for importing nuclear and
missile accessories from China without the knowledge and consent of the local
residents who are the actual ancient inhabitants of the land. In addition, a
large number of hideouts, bunkers, tunnels and small Air strips have been
constructed along this highway to deploy/stock their nuclear arsenal. This
poses a serious threat to the life of human beings, animals, plants and even
the long-surviving heritage of the region.
It is not out of place to mention that in the
same year i.e.1963, China had assured UN that it accepts the disputed nature of
Gilgit Baltistan pending in the UN and that its acceptance and occupation of
Shimshal from Pakistan is temporary and conditional, and also that a final agreement
will be struck with the legitimate sovereign authority after the settlement of
Jammu & Kashmir dispute.
I would like to highlight that, instead of
withdrawing its forces and civilians from Gilgit Baltistan as well as from its
occupied part of J&K within a period of 3 months, as mandated under the
UNCIP resolution of 28th April 1949, Pakistan has, on the contrary, increased
the quanta of its forces in Gilgit Baltistan to manifolds and has also settled
hundreds and thousands of foreigners including Pathan fundamentalists from its
own territory and other foreign nationals of China and Afghanistan to
deliberately change the demography of this disputed land.
Pakistan has been perpetually violating the
fundamental rights of the people of Gilgit Baltistan, including political
rights, right of vote to choose their own representatives for the parliament,
right of free expression, right to have a share in the revenue from the natural
resources (including Uranium, Gold, Copper, and Molybdenum which is used in space
technology by China), and right of access to Justice (indigenous people are
given death sentences without legal and constitutional High Court and Supreme
Court and without the right to appeal with the President of Pakistan or
elsewhere) for the 2 million local inhabitants, in violation of both UNCIP
resolutions as well as Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
While Pakistan has no right to establish its
own political and religious parties in this disputed part, on the very contrary
it encourages, promotes and supports its own political and religious parties
and discourages indigenous nationalist political parties with its full state
power.
I would like to draw your Excellency’s
attention to an event preceding the so called elections illegally conducted by
Pakistan in the disputed Gilgit Baltistan on June 8, 2015. A mere four days
prior to these sham elections, in a yet another open violation of UNCIP
resolutions, its forces stationed at Gilgit tortured and arrested several local
nationalist political leaders to pave their way for completing the
"selection" process of its own stooges in the name of elections. Some
prominent names among those who were arrested are:
Safdar Ali, leader Balawaristan National Front
(BNF), Col. (Retd.) Nadir Hassan of Blor Thinkers Forum, Iftikhar Hussain,
Akbar Hussain, Muddasar, Wasim, Faqeer Hussain. These leaders alongwith them
many supporters were arrested in front of the UN Military Observer’s Office at
Jutial Gilgit, on 4th June 2015 just 4 days before the so-called elections/selection..
These nationalist political leaders were simply planning to present their
memorandum to the UN observers, stating their grievances against the Pakistan
China Economic Corridor conspiracy (a secret sale deed of Gilgit-Baltistan) and
against the fraud elections. The nationalist leaders were stopped and many of
them were tortured on the orders of Pakistani Military by its Punjabi Police
officer. Moreover, they have been framed under Sedition and anti-terrorist laws
of Pakistan. The occupation regime has set up JIT (Joint Investigation Team,
consisting of ISI, MI, Police and several other expert torturing bodies)
to send a message to the whole local population, so that nobody may dare raise
his voice to challenge orders from the Pakistani occupation regime. They were
allowed to torture physically by anti-terrorist Court judge for 9 days in the
ISI headquarters at Helipad near Gilgit Airport. This is the same judge who has
already given life imprisonment to the political people of Hunza including Baba
Jan, who were protesting for justice against the Police who had killed 2
protestors in Hunza, Gilgit.
This is the plight of the UN-declared disputed
Gilgit Baltistan under Pakistani illegal occupation, where political leaders
are being treated as terrorists and real terrorists are actually free to
torture and even kill political and religious opponents who dare to simply not
obey the enslaving orders of the occupying forces and their intelligence
agencies. Military proxy Talibaan have been declared brothers (statement of
Sartaj Aziz, in charge of foreign affairs). This is Pakistan’s worst colonial
rule where infamous terrorist laws are being imposed to deprive the innocent 2
million people of their due basic and political rights, awarded to them over
six decades ago by UNCIP resolutions as well as by the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights. The people of Gilgit-Baltistan, particularly the nationalist
political leaders are always charged under Pakistani sedition sections, despite
the fact that Gilgit Baltistan is disputed under UNCIP, and its status has
been accepted as disputed by the very constitution and Supreme Court of
Pakistan itself. Pakistani laws cannot be legitimately applied to those who are
not even Pakistani citizens by international law and by Pakistan's own
constitution.
It may be recalled that Pakistanis had also arrested BNF and other nationalist leaders just a week before the so called elections even in 2009. Is this not a farcical election under the Military then, who just want to select their own puppets in the name of elections?
It may be recalled that Pakistanis had also arrested BNF and other nationalist leaders just a week before the so called elections even in 2009. Is this not a farcical election under the Military then, who just want to select their own puppets in the name of elections?
All Pakistani Political parties like Imran
Khan’s Tehriq-e-Insaf, Sajid Naqvi’s Tehrik-e-Islami, Majlise Wahadat Muslimeen
and other Pakistani parties like PPP, PML(N), JUI, MQM and JI are acting like
2nd wives of Pakistan Army. They never dare to challenge army’s foreign and
security policies, behaving just like dumb and obedient wives for Pakistan
army. Military had been deployed in Gilgit Baltistan on the request of these
Pakistani parties, just to get them selected by the show of force, instead of
the count of free vote. Balawaristan National Front (BNF) had rejected and
condemned this type of fraud and pre-rigged election drama. We also fear that
the deployment of Pakistan Army is an exercise to force the people and its
so-called Selected body of Gilgit Baltistan Legislative Assembly (GBLA) not to
challenge its design, by which they conspire to hand over this area to China to
implement its illegal economic Corridor agreement in violation of UNCIP
resolutions.
Your excellency, if this Pakistan-China
Economic Corridor conspiracy is not checked in time, South Asia and rest of the
civilized world, eventually, will have to face serious environmental and
geopolitical consequences, besides human catastrophe. In this project of 46
billion dollars it is proposed to construct 6 Mega Dams (including Diamar
Bhasha Dam, Bonji, Henzel Gilgit, Skardu and other parts of Baltistan). As a
result of this a large area of the Gilgit Baltistan region will be submerged
due to the construction of unusually large water reservoirs in the world’s
highest barren mountain ranges. Besides dams, China and Pakistan also plan to
construct Railways under these high mountains, to make the movement of their
forces easier and quicker, to be able to suppress the people of this region,
and very likely, to be able to advance beyond it. Pakistan also plans to
further deploy large numbers of security forces and members of their secret
agencies to provide security to keep their control over the area and to
coerce the local population into submission.
The extent of geographical and human
destruction that will be brought about due to the realization of these illegal
construction projects can neither be fully estimated nor imagined. I would also
like to mention here that after the construction of the KKH in early 1980s,
mass killings of local people was perpetrated on the basis of their religious
and political beliefs in the towns and homes of Gilgit under the command of
Pakistan Army during 1988. The sole purpose of this genocide was to create a
sectarian division among the indigenous people, so that nobody would dare to
raise their voice against Pakistani occupation and its unhampered illegal use
of the land for terrorist activities inside as well as across the borders.
Pakistani regime is perpetrating a similar approach against the protesters of
this illegal Economic Corridor agreement once again, by declaring them as
Indian agents.
There is no legal/constitutional judicial
mechanism in place to protect the people against mass human rights violations.
Many indigenous people are facing death sentences in Gilgit Baltistan Jails for
their petty crimes without giving them access to any legal/constitutional
recourses like High Court and Supreme Court.
On the other hand, Pakistani terrorists who actually commit terrorism are never brought to any of these illegal and un-constitutional courts set up in the region. Some of Pakistani terrorists, who were actually caught by local Police in defiance of the ISI, were facilitated to escape from prisons or taken back to Pakistan on one pretext or the other by Pakistani occupation regime to let them free. Local residents working in administration, Police, Education and Security Forces are not promoted for the top jobs and are always put under the ultimate control of Pakistani citizens. Indigenous people working in government service have been insulted, degraded and are never trusted. After the so-called Empowerment Package of 2009, Pakistani nationals are deputed in the region even for low ranking posts in Police and Administration in order to firmly hold their iron grip over the region.
On the other hand, Pakistani terrorists who actually commit terrorism are never brought to any of these illegal and un-constitutional courts set up in the region. Some of Pakistani terrorists, who were actually caught by local Police in defiance of the ISI, were facilitated to escape from prisons or taken back to Pakistan on one pretext or the other by Pakistani occupation regime to let them free. Local residents working in administration, Police, Education and Security Forces are not promoted for the top jobs and are always put under the ultimate control of Pakistani citizens. Indigenous people working in government service have been insulted, degraded and are never trusted. After the so-called Empowerment Package of 2009, Pakistani nationals are deputed in the region even for low ranking posts in Police and Administration in order to firmly hold their iron grip over the region.
The holding of elections in Gilgit Baltistan on
8th June 2015 is just a new drama by Pakistan to befool the international
community, UN, and specially the EU which had passed a resolution on Gilgit
Baltistan in 2007 under Baroness Emma Nicholson. The absence of free and
independent Judiciary, independent media, and human rights organizations in
Gilgit Baltistan immensely helps the Pakistani regime to openly violate the
chapter of Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Anyone who dares to protest
against the atrocities of Pakistani administration and its intelligence
agencies, is brutally tortured and eventually eliminated. It is extremely sad
to note that innocent protestors were killed in Chilas, Gilgit, when they were
just peacefully protesting against the construction of Diamar Bhasha Dam on
their land, without their consultation. Similarly, innocent protestors were
also killed in Hunza.
In addition, after these brutal killings a
large number of innocent supporters who were peacefully protesting against
these killings were arrested, declared as terrorists, and were brutally
tortured by intelligence agencies. Many of these peaceful protesters, including
Baba Jan, were awarded life imprisonment by the illegal and unconstitutional
terrorist courts in Gilgit.
According to the UN resolutions as well as
Pakistan's official stand, Pakistan has no right to change the demography of
Gilgit Baltistan by settling its own citizens in the area, it has no right to
adversely change our geography and put the lives of 2 million people into great
danger by illegally constructing 6 mega dams. Pakistan has no right to make any
agreement with any country on behalf of Gilgit-Baltistan, unless the 2 million
people of this land are granted their due rights by impartial referendum under
UN mandate.
In view of the above mentioned facts, we the 2
million indigenous people of Gilgit Baltistan (Pakistan and China occupied) and
Chitral (borders with Al-Qaida Taliban controlled area of Badakhshan, Kunar and
Nuristan provinces of Afghanistan) hereby make our appeal to the Civilized
world to put sufficient pressure on Pakistan and China to vacate the occupied
Gilgit Baltistan by simply committing to their obligation under UN resolutions.
Furthermore, we also seek support from the UN in urging Pakistan to end its
illegal occupation of Chitral (which was tributary to Muharaja of Jammu &
Kashmir).
Finally, Balawaristan National Front (BNF)
appeals to the UN on behalf of the 2 million indigenous people of Gilgit
Baltistan, to ask the Pakistani regime to withdraw sedition and terrorism
charges against the innocent political leaders of disputed Gilgit Baltistan,
whom are facing double death sentences or double life imprisonments merely for
their crime of handing over memorandums against the fraudulent elections and
the so-called China-Pakistan Economic Corridor to the UN Military observers
stationed at Gilgit. We also appeal to you excellency to take necessary
measures to emancipate the 2 million people of Gilgit Baltistan from the
forceful clutches of Pakistan by implementing UNCIP resolutions regarding
Pakistan Occupied Gilgit Baltistan.
Abdul Hamid Khan
Chairman, Balawaristan National Front (BNF)
Head Office Majini Mahla, Gilgit, Balawaristan
(Pakistan and China Occupied Gilgit Baltistan).
Resident in Political Asylum: Brussels, Belgium.
Resident in Political Asylum: Brussels, Belgium.
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