Shoot-on-sight orders issued in Gilgit

PT Report

Gilgit, January 7: Police and other law enforcing agencies in Gilgit have been authorized to shoot terrorists at sight. The decision was taken in view of the dangerous violence that has gripped the region in fear, as dead bodies keep falling almost every day.

Chief Minister Syed Mehdi Shah, who has been accused by opposition parties of taking the issue of law and order in Gilgit city very lightly, took the decision today while chairing a specially convened meeting. He also asked all ministers and advisers to stay in Giglit. According to CM Secretariat sources, Mehdi Shah has also cancelled his normal schedules to personally oversee the situation on daily basis.

Critics believe that the government takes too much time in responding to the volatile peace situation in Gilgit, which has severe ramifications for security across the region. The inability of government and administration to come up with a viable peace solution has left the residents of Gilgit, specifically, and the whole region, generally, at the mercy of gun-totting terrorists who kill with impunity.

Government sources accuse segments of the public of sheltering criminals and making it hard for the law enforcing agencies to establish rule of law.

The killings are widely believed to be sectarian, tit-for-tat, but some quarters believe that a large number of murders may not necessarily be caused by sectarian hatred.