Gilgit [PoGB], May 25 : Human rights activist Baba Jan has condemned the recent wave of repression in Pakistan-occupied Gilgit-Baltistan, warning that the region is witnessing an "unlawful and systematic" assault on civic rights, land ownership, and democratic process.
Baba Jan stated, "First of all, the incidents that have occurred here are deeply concerning. People who were advocating for civic rights, human rights, access to water and electricity, and better education have been arrested and subjected to torture."
He said that these acts were illegally recorded in Sikar, outside the jurisdiction of the local assembly, highlighting not only administrative overreach but also the disregard for legal boundaries in a region recognized even by state officials as disputed. Baba Jan pointed to the involvement of the Pakistani military, the Prime Minister, and the Supreme Court in suppressing local voices.
Activists across PoGB are reportedly facing harassment, torture, and arbitrary arrests. According to Baba Jan, the state has resorted to victim blaming in an attempt to cover up its own failures. "The Public Action Committee, which once stood with the people, has tragically endorsed this narrative," he added.
Adding to local anger is the sudden passing of a controversial land reform bill. Baba Jan emphasized that the bill was neither scheduled nor discussed with the public. "Our leaders were jailed, and the bill was pushed through illegally," he said. "The assembly was already defunct. No critical legislation can be passed at that stage."
The bill threatens centuries-old customary laws that protected communal lands. "From the mountain tops to the riverbanks, this land belongs to the people," Baba Jan asserted. "Now, even as our valleys fill, they deny us the right to build on the mountains. Are we supposed to live in the sky?"
He criticized the bill's passage in the absence of key opposition figures like Qazim-e-Sahab and Nawaz Khanna, calling any laws enacted under such conditions illegitimate.
Baba Jan and others have vowed to resist this encroachment, demanding the restoration of the State Subject Rule and the protection of ancestral lands from forced transfer or sale.
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