Ludicrous elections

By Bahram

Echoes are once again booming while singing the same ear-piercing tedious song by using the same trumpet with new fabrications. The new generation of unfortunate region will once again fix their emotions in the name of so-called election campaign while becoming conduit in the hands of their acrobatic electioneering lords that resultantly pits their all fantasies against the wall in the end.

On one side, the young blood is tempted in the name of politics; one the other side, the generation over generation has been experiencing the acute deprivation of political rights for decades is vivid enough to reject the upcoming elections in Gilgit Baltistan without guaranteed of full-fledged political rights in the constitution of Pakistan.

In private matters, every one discourages to deceit others but, professionally it is acceptable, how strange this is, which compels one to ponder over that a society bases on such parameters of discrepancy always become a part of maximizing human pains. Since the inception of Pakistan, the federation has been overlooking the genuine demands of the destitute-region palpably in the name of crippling reforms packages imposed in different phases. Every new incumbent government in federation tries its best to give hocus-pocus ordinance written in an office which does has neither constitutional protection nor any matches with the consent of general masses decreed upon them as divinely which becomes acquiescent to puppet political nobility in the region who only serve their personal lives at the cost of wretched populace, practicing for many decades.

The under discussion elections in Gilgit Baltistan is a big clout on the face of those who eulogize democracy in Pakistan. It is commonsense that elections must be held in a democratic country at the same time. The story is different in Gilgit Baltistan, where elections are held probably one-year gap after holding first general elections in federation. The sole purpose behind this imbalance of timing is to manipulate elections in Gilgit Baltistan under the claws of federal government to make conditions conducive for itself to ascertain its political hegemony in the region without any opposition. In this connection, when PPP’s government came into power in federation following the general elections of Pakistan held in 2008. After year of gap in 2009,at the eleventh hours of the upcoming election of the then Legislative Council, at that time PPP’s leadership stole the show of election campaign by playing with the sentiments of mountain people in the form of special visit of the then Prime Minister, Yousuf Raza Gellani heading his election propaganda cell to influence the voters in the upcoming election of Legislative council of Northern Areas by making sky-rocketing promises but later on, when PPP won the majority seats of Legislative Council, all promises ended in smoke. So, to compensate its empty slogans, PPP leadership cunningly imposed one man written document on the people of GB in the name of “self government and empowerment ordinance 2009”. This new development in the form of words forged heated debate among the people of GB. Following the implementations of this ordinance, as a result, the legislative council changed into Legislative Assembly GB, in short, a kind of so-called provincial setup came into existence.  Nationalists of the region severely rejected the new federal ordinance as considering the old things with new coloring. On the contrary, both local and national PPP leaderships promulgated their Aiyni Aslahaat as they could they did while creating hype of their self-styled championship in the realm of GB political rights. The privileged nobility and beneficiaries acclaimed and defended the package but the masses drained to the lowest level of despondency throughout the period of five years without any drastic change to their socio-economic life and their polity. The nonsensical Legislative Assembly could not pass a resolution in five years whereas to comment on enacting any laws is a far cry. It is irony that the people of GB had no any political power to envisage their fate decades earlier and after spending many decades the things are at the same place…where the constitutional reforms and political rights stand. The most pathetic thing is that we stick to the mainstream political parties in the pursuance of our political rights, but no any mainstream political party mistakenly has put the name of Gilgit Baltistan in the party’s manifesto. Although, frivolously cherish us to raise empty slogans, is another matter to weigh the things.

The recent visit of PM is a chain of that historical series without any slight change that I briefly mentioned above.  With all absurdity, Prime Minister Nawaz shrif half-heartedly mentioned the most pressing and long-lasting demand of full-fledged political rights of the people. In his speech, PM announced a committee to contemplate over GB’s political identity. How oblivious our mainstream politics in its nature towards Gilgit Baltistan. If it is a matter of committee to sort out an applicable solution then why it has been lingering on for decades. If it is beyond the committee‘s range then please stop to beat about the bush and say openly that your fate is affixed with the Kashmir issue which have to be solved according to the UN resolutions, perhaps, it might take centuries over centuries. In the scenario of current structural world, the Kashmir issue seems unpromising to settle down peacefully which lies between two overarching rivals with their extreme stances on Kashmir Cause, tending us to wait for unstipulated time in the pursuit of our political rights.

The contributor can be reached at bahramrajput@gmail.com