Negotiation over grievances of Gilgit-Baltistan cancelled as provincial ministers remain absent

Feb 01, 2024

Gilgit-Baltistan [PoK], February 1 : Amid several protests over grievances of the people of Gilgit Baltistan (GB), the negotiations between the public delegation of GB and the provincial ministers were not completed because several ministers belonging to the administration were absent, reported Pakistan vernacular media, the Daily K2.
The members supposed to attend this meeting included core members of the Awami Action Committee (AAC) like Hunza Sultan Madad and Ali Rehmat, the leader of the Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen, Ghulam Abbas, and the general secretary of the Markazi Anjuman, Tajran Masoodur Rahman to represent the public delegation. The other side of the meeting was to appear from GB's provincial administration.
The same report claimed that the meeting was cancelled because, all of the members of the public delegation were present, and waited at the Chief Minister's Secretariat in GB. However, 5 out of 6 members of Pakistan's provincial administration committee remained absent, after which the public delegation of the political leaders of GB including the AAC members left the venue.
According to the same news report, the Chief Coordinator of Awami Action Committee Ehsan Ali Advocate while talking to the media said that "some members of Awami Action Committee had a discussion with the government team a day ago in which the government members were not serious, yet our members went to The chief minister secretariat to discuss but five members of the government team did not come".
Advocate is further quoted in the report saying that "considering the attitude of the government, the Awami Action Committee has decided that there will be no negotiations with the government, and now the Awami Action Committee, together with the leaders of Baltistan and other districts, will give its plan and thwart the government's plan".
This meeting cancellation came at a time when the province is already witnessing massive protests by the public over several grievances. Previously, the protest sit-in of the Awami Action Committee has become more intense over the delay in the implementation of demands.
Thousands of people participated in the protests on Wednesday. Various neighbourhoods within Gilgit City, including Haiderpura Youth, Dinyur Youth, Majini Mahalla Youth, Kashrut Youth, and various others, participated.
Addressing the protest sit-in, Chief Coordinator Ehsan Ali stated that we would not go to the government. "We have issued a clear charter of demands to the administration, which should be implemented rather than negotiated," he said. People have come out to demand their basic human rights, not charity.