A FEW days ago, the Supreme Court reinstated the contentious Gilgit-Baltistan Order 2018, which was suspended by the supreme appellate court of GB in June this year.

The Order introduced by the last government claims to ‘empower’ the region by entrusting the legislative assembly of the GB with the authority of legislation over 68 subjects, including tourism, mineral resources and hydropower, which were formerly under the GB council.

However, the same Order gives exclusive power to the prime minister to make laws with respect to any matter set out in the legislative list and to overrule any law passed by the elected legislative assembly.

This draconian Order has been contested and opposed by the opposition parties and the people of GB since they are not represented in the National Assembly and cannot therefore choose the prime minister.

The popular demand is for granting the region the constitutional status of a province with appropriate representation in the upper and lower houses of Pakistan at a par with other provinces.

Owing to GB’s linkage to the Kashmir issue, the government has, for the last seven decades, given in to the appeals of the Kashmiri leaders of not changing its status fearing ramifications in the Kashmir issue.

The apathy of the federal government towards its needs and demands has resulted in a sense of deprivation among the GB people.

Without disassociating it from the Kashmir issue, an arrangement for an interim constitutional status as a province in line with the wishes of the people of GB is the need of the hour. Something similar to the provisional nature of Sino-Pakistan Frontier Agreement 1963 can be adopted till the settlement of the Kashmir issue.

This is in the larger interest of the people of GB as well as Pakistan.

M. Shahsawar

Skardu

Published in Dawn, August 19th, 2018