—— Insists there is absolute normalcy in GB
—— Maintains business as usual in GB
—— Clarifies Army deployed for Chehlum of Imam Hussain
—— Dismisses reports regarding Army deployment ‘completely baseless’
By Anzal Amin
Islamabad: Information Minister Murtaza Solangi said on Sunday that Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) was “experiencing peace and stability”, adding that the law and order situation was calm.
The statement came a day after the GB government, which has been dealing with a tense situation for over a week, had dismissed reports of army deployment as baseless, saying it had requisitioned the services of Pakistan Army and civil armed forces to maintain law and order only for the chehlum of Imam Hussain falling next week. However, mobile int¬er¬net service had been sus¬pended across the region by the authorities till further orders. The decision came after two clerics from different schools of thought made insensitive remarks over the past few days, hurting the feelings of the respective communities.
In a message, Solangi quoted the statement released by the GB home department which clarified that reports regarding the deployment of Pakistan Army were “completely baseless”.
“All roads, trade centres, business activities and educational institutions in GB are open as usual,” he said.
The minister said that services of the Pakistan Army and the civil armed forces had been requisitioned “only to maintain law and order” on the eve of the chehlum.
“Moreover, special measures have been taken for the security of the procession routes and imambargahs as per past practice,” he said.
The minister said that the GB home department had also stated that Section 144 had been imposed across the region to maintain law and order, protect lives and property of the people and avoid any untoward incident.
In a subsequent post, he said GB was experiencing “peace and stability”.
“Schools, colleges, markets, and roads are open, displaying a sense of normalcy. Peaceful protests do occur at times in reaction to some religious and sectarian concerns but the law and order situation is calm,” Solangi said. He termed that reports of unrest were “baseless”, adding that no shots were fired and there was no damage to public and property.
“The protests are a natural political democratic response to local issues, which were managed peacefully in GB. GB remains a heaven of peace and harmony,” he said. The minister also shared what he said were visuals from GB from today.
Separately, the Gilgit-Baltistan government wrote a letter to the provincial transport authority secretary which stated that all public and private transport on Karakoram Highway which were headed to Rawalpindi/Islamabad should leave their stations so as to reach Raikot bridge by 11am.
“Besides, all public and private transport companies shall also arrange private trained security guards with [a] licensed weapon in their respective bus/van for security of passengers with immediate effect till further orders,” the letter, dated September 2, said.
Unrest
The situation turned te¬nse on Sept 1, when dem¬onstrations were held in the Gilgit city and surrou¬nding areas on the call of Anjuman-i-Imamia, hours after prominent cleric Ma¬u¬lana Qazi Nisar Ahmed allegedly made derogatory remarks during a protest in Gilgit. The protesters were demanding action against the cleric.
Talking to media, an official said a first information report (FIR) had been registered against Mau¬lana Qazi Nisar Ahmed at the City Police Station Gilgit, while another FIR against Agha Baqir Al-Hussaini had already been registered in Skardu.
Unrest spread in the region after protesters in Chilas in Diamer blocked the Karakoram Highway and the Babusar Pass road for three days, demanding Agha Baqir’s arrest. Soon, demonstrations also engulfed the regions of Astore and Gilgit and were only called off after a case was registered against Agha Baqir.
However, the action did not go down well with his supporters and a shutter-down and wheel-jam strike was observed in Skardu, with the protesters also blocking Juglot-Skardu Road and other thoroughfares on Aug 25.
The government suspended two police personnel and a schoolteacher on allegations of sharing sectarian posts on social media and over 12 persons were picked up for posting controversial posts.
On Saturday, the United Kingdom joined Canada and the US in advising its citizens to avoid visiting the northern areas.
The US embassy’s statement said that American citizens should exercise heightened caution in GB due to recent protests in Skardu and Diamer and the potential for additional demonstrations, road closures, and associated disruptions to local mobile and internet networks in the region.
Meanwhile, Endorsing the GB home department statement, Caretaker Information Minister Murtaza Solangi rejected the “misleading social media narratives and fake news” setting the “record straight”.
Taking to X, the interim minister wrote: “Gilgit-Baltistan is experiencing peace and stability. Schools, colleges, markets, and roads are open, displaying a sense of normalcy.”
He maintained “no army deployment” has taken place, but the military personnel are prepared to protect the community during the chehlum of Hazrat Imam Hussain (RA) in the coming week.
Refuted all reports of tensions in the region, the minister said: “The reports of unrest are baseless; no shots were fired, no damage to public and private property did occur.”
“Gilgit Baltistan remains a heaven of peace and harmony,” he claimed.
A day earlier, reports emerged regarding the GB government’s decision to call in the army for the maintenance of the law and order situation in the region.
The decision, as reported, was made during a meeting of the Parliamentary Peace Committee headed by GB Chief Minister Gulbar Khan. In view of the alleged worsening state of peace in the region, the meeting reportedly decided to deploy Rangers, scouts and Frontier Corps personnel in big cities.
Meanwhile, the GB administration imposed a ban on “illegal gatherings” and blockage of streets with heavy contingents of Rangers, scouts and law enforcers scheduled to be deployed in all major cities to ensure peace in the area.
The GB chief minister warned of strict action against spreading hatred on social media platforms and via other sources.
