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| View from Gilgit-Baltistan | | |
Neha
JAMMU, Apr 1: Senge H Sering, who got his masters in Development Studies from the University of East Anglia and who has been living in the United States ever since years, is originally from the Pakistan-occupied Gilgit-Baltistan region, an integral part of India. He is also a visiting fellow at the Delhi-based Institute of Defence Studies and Analysis (IDSA). He is a known political activist from Gilgit. He left his original habitat years ago fearing threat to his life from the Pakistani authorities. He was an unwanted person there because of his views on Pakistan and its agents in Kashmir.
He has come out with a scathing attack on Pakistan and its supporters in Kashmir and what he has said explains everything. What he said the other day during his interview to a news agency needs verbatim reproduction. For, such an exercise will go a long way in putting things in perspective.
What did he say? He said: "Kashmiri leaders should stop taking 'blood money' from Pakistan and its intelligence agencies and realize that Islamabad is using the disputed strategic Himalayan region to secure its economic gains…It is high time they (Kashmiri leaders) realized that Kashmir is being used like a prostitute and some of its parts are being sold to China…There is an impasse in resolving the Kashmir dispute (between India and Pakistan). The stalemate favours Pakistan more than India and is dangerously occupying the mindset of another Kashmiri generation…The main reason for the unending deadlock over the Kashmir issue is because Islamabad is playing up in its favour a pro-Pakistan sentiment in the Sunni-Muslim dominated Kashmir Valley. The Kashmir issue is not about the Valley only. 'The Valley is only 11 per cent of the geographic area of the disputed region' (read Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir). Only 25 per cent of people from the undivided state live in the Valley…The strategically vital and resource-rich Gilgit-Baltistan are being deliberately neglected".
He did not stop here. He made several other startling revelations. He told the new agency "can you imagine how much Chinese investment Pakistan has silently invited in Gilgit-Baltistan? Enormous. On one hand, Pakistan has kept India and Kashmiris busy with the unending issue and, on the other, has strengthened its illegitimate rule in Gilgit-Baltistan…Beijing is investing in infrastructure building, including up-gradation of the Karakoram Highway that connects China and Pakistan and opens a strategically vital trade route to Central Asia. The four-way Karakoram Highway that is going to open a trade corridor to energy- and mineral-rich Central Asia. The region is set to become China's gateway to the waters off Pakistan's coast. Don't you see a link there? The Valley leaders need to tell Pakistan 'thank you for your support' and let's now talk to India to resolve the issue…It is surprising that nobody in India talks about Gilgit-Baltistan and Chinese illegal investment there. I wonder, has India stopped claiming the region?"
Sering's interview is very significant for five reasons. On is that Islamabad is interested in grabbing the state's natural resources for enriching its own already crumbled economy. The second is that Islamabad has enslaved the people of Gilgit-Baltistan. The third reason is that the Kashmiri leaders are blissfully ignorant about the Pakistani intentions and that they should turn to New Delhi to discuss the Kashmir issue. The fourth reason is that India has virtually abandoned its 1994 resolve that required New Delhi to reintegrate Gilgit-Baltistan and the so-called Azad Kashmir into India. The fifth reason is the indifferent attitude of India to what Beijing and Pakistan have been doing in Gilgit-Baltistan.
Sering is right when he urges the Kashmiri separatists to review their controversial stand on Pakistan, which has only helped Islamabad, and the Indian leadership to take a clear stand on Gilgit-Baltistan taking into consideration the plight of the people there as well as the Chinese' illegal activities in the region. Kashmiri separatists and New Delhi must appreciate Sering, who has simply hit the nail on the head and exposed Pakistan and its evil designs.'
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