Gilgit: Would an Anti-Shiite Chief Minister be any different from the current Shiite CM?
Perhaps we should question the actions and responses of the Shiite Chief Minister of Gilgit Baltistan, and when we do question his actions, we are forced to consider the fact that his reponses were unsatisfactory. Not only that, but perhaps his actions reflected those of a CM who was not Shiite at all, but belonged to the ideology of the Taliban or LeJ or SSP, a Shiite-hater.
Lets analyse:
It has been almost 4 months since the Tragedy of Chilas [Saniha-e-Chilas] but no harsh action has been taken against those involved. This lack of action has been backed by the Security Agencies, the Secret Agencies aswell as the Judiciary. The Chilas Massacre can very well be considered Gilgit Baltistan’s worst massacre and yet the government refrained from severe action. The people of Baltistan made certain demands to ensure their safety, yet most of them were refused or ignored by the Baltistan government.
The first demand was that the Karakoram Highway be handed over to the army, so they would provide sufficient security for it to ensure extremists never repeated the Chilas Massacre. There was no security on the highway and another bus full of Shiites was targeted just weeks after Saniha-e-Chilas on the same road!
The second demand was an operation against the extremist groups involved in the massacre. Here the government started an operation in Nagar instead of Gilgit Baltistan. It’s worth mentioning that the people of Nagar actually saved over 35 people from gruesome deaths at the hands of extremists in the Chilas Massacre.
The second demand was an operation against the extremist groups involved in the massacre. Here the government started an operation in Nagar instead of Gilgit Baltistan. It’s worth mentioning that the people of Nagar actually saved over 35 people from gruesome deaths at the hands of extremists in the Chilas Massacre.
The third demand was to put an end to the ongoing Shiite genocide in Pakistan but the killings have only increased as time has passed.
The fourth demand was to reduce the ticket prices of PIA from different places in Pakistan to Gilgit and to increase the number of flights. None of these demands were met either but the ticket prices increased considerably.
Saniha-e-Chilas was still fresh in people’s minds when mourners of the incident, including families of those murdered, were labelled with the ‘Anti Pakistan and Anti Government Act’ and were sent to far off places. Perhaps this was a clue to show the absolute impatience of the Pakistani government where Shiites are concerned. This was definately a sign to show that any voice raised against this unjust government would be suppressed, not only suppressed but legally silences. People who’s loved ones had been killed by being repeatedly beaten by stones, sisters who had watched their brothers be shot by Klashin Koffs and wives who had been denied the bodies of their dead husbands were now subtly being told to not say a word, because worse fate would await them if they did.
After all this, the government turned yet more anti-Shiite when several Shiite boys were arrested for stopping a lawyer’s car and protesting in Rondo Baramosh. Perhaps protesting is a crime too? Other than that, the government has not done anything to safeguard the road despite threats from the terrorists to commit a worse massacre next time.
It is therefore clear by looking at the facts that terrorists have gained support and morale from the irresponsive government and their Anti-Shiite policies. The current government also imposed a complete ban on Shiite-related news on the media. Since the Chilas Massacre no news relating Shiites, their murders or any of their recent large-scale protests is being covered by the TV News Channels. Other than that, the government also sealed a few Shiite Mosques and passed orders to arrest a Shiite Religious Leader Aga Rahat Hussain Al Hussaini. No one was arrested or convicted for the Massacre of Chilas despite the video being released which showed clear faces. If people were arrested and convicted and handed punishments, they were the ones who were against the terrorism and massacre.
The demands posed after the Chilas Massacre were officially accepted though it is a different matter that they were never acted upon. The government did an operation on the people of Nagar instead of Chilas; They took legal action against the people protesting the terrorism in Skardu instead of those actually terrorising people all over Pakistan; They sealed Mosques raising awareness about unity instead of those spreading hatred; They arrested Shiite leaders instead of SSP ones; They changed the ticket prices of PIA, increasing them instead of decreasing them; They gave compensation to petrol pump owners instead of the families of martyrs. This all happened because of the government’s Shiite-hatred.
The anti-Shiite government, their policies and their agencies are working hand in hand with terrorists of SSP and LeJ. These terrorists are not only anti-Shiite, but in many ways anti-Pakistan. They cannot stand to see a prosperous and peaceful Pakistan and therefore they must open fire on cars and buses wherever they find them. However, Shiites are strong. Their children grow up hearing the stories of Karbala, a story which includes martyrdom, arrests, hardships and jail. They never were afraid of these and will never be. They could never be perished, try as anyone might.
The Pakistani Government must realise that these Shiites are Pakistanis too and have the same rights as any other Pakistani, whether they be Sunnis or Christians. It is the government and security agencies’ job to ensure that the rights of Shiites are not over-looked. At the end we come back to the same question; Would an Anti-Shiite Chief Minister be any different from the current Shiite CM? Would his response to the Chilas Massacre have differed? The answer, surely, is no.
