FOR two months now, the areas of Gilgit-Baltistan have been convulsed with large protests against a bevy of new taxes that the government has been trying to impose on the residents. The most recent of the protests has seen a 10-day shutter-down strike in all districts of the region. Considering that GB has been left dangling in terms of its constitutional status — it is not recognised as a province, and was only belatedly given ‘provincial status’ by the last PPP government at the centre — the measures amount to taxation without representation. The revenue hunger of the government is palpable, and the argument that the federation is funding large-scale development projects in the area under the CPEC umbrella cuts little ice with the residents, since there is little local input in the design of the projects or recruitment. It is sad to see such a wide cross section of civil society from the region having to come out on the roads in such large numbers, for a prolonged period of time, to make a very simple point.

The government should make every effort to live up to the terms of the agreement under which the last of these rallies was broken up. The local administration agreed to withdraw the GB Adaptation Act of 2012, under which the taxes in question had been imposed, and the federal government must ensure this agreement is not violated. Before considering the imposition of any taxes in the region, including those that have an incidental effect on the residents of GB such as the withholding tax on bank transactions by non-filers (GB residents are not in the jurisdiction of the FBR and cannot file returns with the federal tax authority), the federal government must first resolve the constitutional status of the region. Until that is done, no attempts should be made to make the residents of the area share any part of the burden of federal expenditure in the region.

Published in Dawn, December 29th, 2017