‘GB Order 2018 falls short of people’s expectations’

LAHORE: The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has criticised the government of Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) Order 2018, saying that it falls considerably short of the GB people’s expectation of being treated as full citizens of Pakistan.

In a statement issued Thursday, HRCP has said: ‘In claiming to grant the people of GB their fundamental freedom, the GB Order has clipped their right to freedom of association and expression. It has denied any resident of Gilgit-Baltistan the right to become a chief judge of the Supreme Appellate Court or to have any say in internal security. Above all, it has disregarded people’s needs despite continual public pressure in GB to address their problems fairly and in accordance with local aspirations.

The imprisonment of Baba Jan, a Labour Party Pakistan activist, and his comrades on raising voice for their fundamental rights is a sore case in point. There is nothing in the GB Order to protect others like Baba Jan in the future.’

‘The people of Gilgit-Baltistan deserve nothing less than to enjoy the same rights as other citizens of Pakistan. Under the country’s Constitution, the GB people’s loyalty is to the state, not to the GB Order itself or, by extension, to the head of government.