17 women, girls killed in ‘honor-related cases during 2014 in Gilgit-Baltistan, HRCP report
Lahore, April 24: Human Rights Commission of Pakistan’s regional coordinator Israruddin Israr revealed in his presentation during a meeting in Lahore that during the last year at least 17 women and girls had been killed in so-called ‘honor’ related cases. He also said that during the last five months 51 cases of treason had been registered in the Gilgit-Baltistan region. He further said that two cases of rape, 20 suicides, 22 cases of kidnappings, 91 cases of murders were reported. He added that more than 219 people were injured in various criminal incidents during the last year.
Highlighting the region’s issues, Israr said that Gilgit-Baltistan is still in the clutches of the Minister of Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan. He said that the current caretaker setup is powerless, and enjoying only protocol without any power. He added that the sectarian schism in Gigit-Baltistan has not been addressed and schools, hospitals and several other public institutions remain divided on sectarian lines.
Israr also talked about the Attabad IDPs’ sufferings and the activists from Hunza who were imprisoned by an ATA court. He also said that six journalists were either attacked or threatened during the last year in the region.
Speaking at the occasion, Senator Afrasiab Khan Khattak said that tt is time to develop the region into a constitutional province and end the deepening sense of deprivation in the region. He further said that the region has been neglected by successive governments, adding that the majority of the people of GB want to become constitutional citizens of Pakistan. He said that there’s no impediment to giving them citizenship rights.
Former SCBA Chairperson Asma Jahangir said that the status of Human Rights in the Gilgit-Baltistan region is not satisfactory. She said that the ‘bewildered authorities’ are registering cases of treason against people who come out to seek their basic rights. She said that recently cases were registered against 9 people who were protesting against Pakistan’s role in the Yemen conflict. She said that later the parliament also decided against intervention in Yemen, but the authorities in GB had the audacity to register cases against activists and political workers.
The HRCP’s annual meeting was attended by a large group of people, including representatives from the Gilgit-Baltistan region.
