At a time when Gilgit-Baltistan is in the news in the backdrop of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remark on the “plight” of its people made during his Independence Day speech and the strong reaction it
At a time when Gilgit-Baltistan is in the news in the backdrop of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remark on the “plight” of its people made during his Independence Day speech and the strong reaction it evoked in Pakistan, a woman from the region has been reunited with her family in Ladakh after 45 years.
Zaiba, who is now 61, lived in Chulunkha villa-ge of Turtuk valley in Ladakh’s Leh district bef-ore the 1971 war. Turtuk, a predominantly Muslim area and located on the banks of the Shyok river and about 205 km from the Leh town, was under Pak-istan’s control until 1971 when India gained control of this strategic area.
Also, being one of the gateways to the Siachen Glacier, Turtuk is the last outpost in India after which the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Jammu and Kashmir, occupied by Pakistan, begins.
Zaiba was a teenager when she was separated from her mother in December 1971 after the Indian Army captured their village which was then a part of the Chulunkha area of Gnagchey district of Pakistan-controlled Baltistan region. She lives in Manthal area in Skardu city where most of the refugees from Kargil and Leh are putting up since the division of Jammu and Kashmir or after their crossing over to the other side during later years.
She came to meet her mother Khatija, who is called Api Khati by her neighbours and relatives to show reverence and is now 92 years old, after travelling all the way from Skurdu to Turtuk on visa obtained after making effort for years. “It was a real and poignant reunion as both mother and daughter were in tears when they embraced each other after a long, long time,” said Sajjad Kargili, a local reporter.
“Though the chances of meeting my mother again were not any bright, I never lost hope,” said Zaiba.
She added that she would keep herself sanguine by listening to the voice of her mother recorded on audio cassettes, seeing her photographs and reading letters written on her behalf which would be sent across from time-to-time during the past 47 years.
Zaiba and her mother termed the separation as a “tragedy” which has struck not only the mother-daughter duo, but also many other families in the region because of the division of Jammu and Kashmir.
Zaiba spoke about her cousin Ghulam Rasool who migrated to the Pakistani side in 1971 as a 12-year-old boy. He is now 57 and says he is “becoming frustrated with the wait”. The demand of the people living on the two sides of the Line of Control (LoC) in the hilly region is growing that the Kargil-Skurdu route too should be reopened as was done several years ago in the Kashmir Valley (Uri-Chakoti) and in Jammu region (Poonch-Rawlakot) enabling the divided families to visit each other on specially issued travel permits. The ruling Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) and opposition National Conference (NC) are on the same page when it comes to asking New Delhi and Islamabad to give a serious thought to reopening the Kargil-Skurdu for the travel by divided families and trade. Several other political and social groups on both sides endorse the entreaty.
“Even the people of Neelum valley (PoK) are allowed to cross the LoC and meet their families on the Indian side of the de facto border (Kupwara district). We thought it would be the same for us in Gilgit-Baltistan but neither government seems to be keen on it,” she said.
Kargili said that people from every corner of Turtuk valley are, meanwhile, visiting Chulunkha to meet Zainb and others from her family accompanying her. “The visitors, however, complain that there are a lot of issues which make the travel difficult and in some cases even impossible. These include visa complexities for the people who want to visit this side,” he said after speaking to Zaiba and others. Ghulam Hussain Gullu, a resident of Turtuk’s Tyakshi village, corroborated it saying “This is one aspect of the sufferings of divided families. There is need to think over it and to open these routes as soon as possible”.
There are more than 15,000 divided families living on the two sides of the LoC in Kargil-Leh and Gilgit-Baltistan regions of the State and the issue remains unaddressed for decades now. Many families have lost their first generation without seeing their family members across the LoC. Those who are desperate to see one another have demanded that not only Kargil-Skardu but also Turtuk- Khapulu and Gultari-Drass routes should be opened for trade and travel on humanitarian ground. “Most of the people in this region think that they don’t have such influential political voice that could force India and Pakistan to address this issue on priority basis. They feel it is because of their being a neglected lot that this humanitarian issue is brushed under the carpet,” Kargili said.
Meanwhile, Gilgit-Baltistan Chief Minister Hafizur Rehman has criticised Prime Minister Mr. Modi, over his remarks on human rights situation in the region. While speaking at a conference on China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), he said Mr. Modi’s remarks were a “manifestation of growing Indian frustration over cooperation between China and Pakistan.” He added, “India feels isolated in the region after the CPEC as part of greater One-Belt One-Road (OBOR) was launched to link 3 billion people of South Asia, Central Asia and China.”
Mr. Modi had while addressing an all-party meet on Kashmir situation in Delhi on August 12 said that Pakistan bombs its own citizens using fighter planes. He said, “The time has come when Pakistan shall have to answer to the world for the atrocities committed by it against the people in Balochistan and PoK”. Later in his Independence Day speech from the ramparts of the Red Fort, he said, “I want to speak a bit about the people of Balochistan, Gilgit-Baltistan and Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir”. He claimed that people of these regions have thanked him a lot for speaking for them in the earlier occasion.
