Pakistan Occupied Kashmir Politics, Parties and Personalities Pakistan Occupied Kashmir Politics, Parties and Personalities Surinder Kumar Sharma Yaqoob ul Hassan Ashok Behuria INSTITUTE FOR DEFENCE STUDIES & ANALYSES NEW DELHI PENTAGON PRESS LLPLLP Pakistan Occupied Kashmir: Politics, Parties and Personalities Surinder Kumar Sharma, Yaqoob ul Hassan and Ashok Behuria First Published in 2019 Copyright © Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi ISBN 978-93-86618-67-2 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without first obtaining written permission of the copyright owner. Disclaimer: The views expressed in this book are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, or the Government of India. Published by PENTAGON PRESS LLP 206, Peacock Lane, Shahpur Jat, New Delhi-110049 Phones: 011-64706243, 26491568 Telefax: 011-26490600 email: [email protected] website: www.pentagonpress.in In association with Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses No. 1, Development Enclave, New Delhi-110010 Phone: +91-11-26717983 Website: www.idsa.in Printed at Avantika Printers Private Limited. Contents Foreword ix Acknowledgements xi Abbreviations xiii About the Authors xv Introduction xvii 1. ‘AJK’ and Pakistan: A Relationship of Disenchantment 1 Politics of ‘AJK’: The Early Phase 2 The 1970s 7 Interim Constitution Act, 1974 9 Government and Politics in ‘AJK’: Post-1974 12 Politics of Representation 14 Economy and Hydro-Energy 25 Dissenting Voices 27 2. Political Parties in ‘AJK’ 33 All-Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference (AJKMC) 34 Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) 48 Jammu and Kashmir Liberation League (JKLL) 52 Jammu and Kashmir People’s Muslim League (JKPML) 59 United Kashmir People’s National Party (UKPNP) 61 Jammu and Kashmir National Awami Party (JKNAP) 65 All-Parties National Alliance (APNA) 66 AJK Pakistan People’s Party (AJKPPP) 70 AJK Pakistan People’s Party Shaheed Bhutto (AJKPPPSB) 76 AJK Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (AJKPML-N) 77 AJK Muttahida Quami Movement (AJKMQM) 84 Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) 93 Jamaat-e-Islami AJK (JIAJK) 98 Kashmir Voice International (KVI) 104 3. Gilgit-Baltistan: A Historical Perspective 116 Introduction 116 Area and Population 116 vi Pakistan Occupied Kashmir: Politics, Parties and Personalities Demography and Religion 116 Economic Conditions 118 Karakoram Highway 120 Tourism Industry 121 Political History 122 Political Structure of GBESGO 130 November 2009 Elections after the Promulgation of GBESGO 131 Legislative Assembly Elections June 2015 132 Reactions to GBESGO, 2009 135 India’s Response 136 Political Developments 137 Local Government Act 2014 139 Sectarianism in Gilgit-Baltistan 139 The Diamer Bhasha Dam 141 Challenges 144 Land Scam 145 Threat to Buddhist Heritage 146 4. Political Parties in Gilgit-Baltistan 153 Pakistan People’s Party Gilgit-Baltistan (PPP-GB) 153 Pakistan People’s Party Shaheed Bhutto 156 Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz-GB (PMLN-GB) 156 Pakistan Muslim League Quaid-i-Azam-GB (PMLQ-GB) 160 All-Pakistan Muslim League-GB (APML-GB) 161 Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf-GB (PTI-GB) 162 Islami Tehreek Pakistan (ITP) 164 Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazlur Rehman-GB (JUIF-GB) 164 Jamaat-e-Islami-GB (JI-GB) 165 Muttahida Quami Movement-GB (MQM-GB) 166 Majlis-e-Wahadat Muslimeen Gilgit Baltistan (MWM-GB) 166 Tanzeem Ahl-e-Sunnat Wal Jamaat (TASWJ) 167 Nationalist/Pressure Groups 168 Balawaristan National Front (BNF) 168 Balawaristan Students’ National Organisation (BSNO) 171 Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) 173 Karakorum National Movement (KNM) 174 Gilgit-Baltistan Democratic Alliance (GBDA) 175 Gilgit-Baltistan United Movement (GBUM) 176 Gilgit-Baltistan United Alliance (GBUA) 177 Gilgit-Baltistan National Alliance (GBNA) 178 Awami Workers Party (AWP) 178 Gilgit-Baltistan National Movement (GBNM) 180 Gilgit-Baltistan National Congress (GBNC) 180 Gilgit-Baltistan Thinker’s Forum (GBTF) 181 Gilgit-Baltistan Bar Council (GBBC) 182 Gharib Qaumi Movement (GQM) 184 Contents vii 5. Demand for Provincial Status in Gilgit-Baltistan: Dilemmas of the Pakistan State 190 Earlier debates on inclusion of ‘AJK’ 190 The demand for representation in G-B 191 Self-Governance Act of 2009 192 The Debate (2009-2017) 194 GB Reforms Order 2018 197 6. China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and Gilgit-Baltistan 202 CPEC and Kashmir Issue 207 7. Profiles of Prominent Leaders of ‘AJK’ and Gilgit-Baltistan 211 (A) Prominent Leaders of ‘AJK’ 211 (B) Prominent Leaders of Gilgit-Baltistan 222 (C) Some other Leaders and the current Cabinet of Gilgit-Baltistan 227 Conclusion 230 Chronology of Developments in PoK with Special Focus on Gilgit-Baltistan Since July 1947 237 Appendices I. The Boundary Agreement Between China and Pakistan, 1963 255 II. Karachi Agreement 259 III. Simla Agreement, July 2, 1972 263 IV. ‘AJK’ Interim Constitution (Thirteenth Amendment) Act, 2018 266 V. List of Political Parties in ‘AJK’ and Names of the Party Heads and General Secretaries 288 VI. Presidents/Prime Ministers of ‘AJK’ 295 VII. Members ‘AJK’ Legislative Assembly 2016 297 VIII. The Northern Areas Council Legal Frame Work Order, 1994 (With Amendments) 299 IX. Gilgit-Baltistan (Empowerment and Self-Governance) Order, 2009 325 X. Balawaristan National Front 373 XI. Registered Political Parties of Gilgit-Baltistan with Election Symbols 376 XII. Electoral Rolls of Gilgit-Baltistan Election 2015 378 XIII. Members of Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly 379 XIV Letters Exchanged Between Yasin Malik and Nawaz Sharif 381 XV Pakistan Supreme Court Order on Gilgit Baltistan on January 17, 2019 385 Map 466 Bibliography 467 Index 472 Foreword Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK), which includes both the so-called “Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK)” and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), was legally a part of the erstwhile princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, which acceded to India in October 1947. The entire state legitimately belongs to India and its disputed status has been reiterated by India for the last 70 years. The PoK is kept under tight control of the Government of Pakistan through the Ministry of Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan Affairs, while at the local level in both the units, notional representative systems have been allowed to deal with local resentments. The internal affairs of these two areas do not receive too much of media attention, and therefore, there is very little in the public domain in India on the evolution of politics in this terrain, as well as on the parties, pressure groups and personalities that struggle to voice their concerns about their neglected status over the years. The scholars at IDSA follow the events and political processes in these two regions regularly and there is a project devoted to this job in the Institute, which has been running for the last 10 years. This book is a result of research undertaken on the subject by the scholars associated with this project. It seeks to provide facts and analyses on the genesis and evolution of various political parties, interest groups, and the background and role of different personalities operating in both parts of PoK. The main aim of the publication is to help the scholars, analysts, and policy-makers to understand the dynamics of the political systems in PoK, the complex interaction of these systems with the government in Islamabad and the responses of the local leadership to their subservient status over the last 70 years. This study is a welcome effort by the three authors, Shri S.K. Sharma, Dr. Yaqoob ul Hassan and Dr Ashok Behuria, who have consulted a variety of primary and secondary sources like government documents, books and articles published in the newspapers and journals, especially those in the vernaculars, x Pakistan Occupied Kashmir: Politics, Parties and Personalities the reports of a number of international institutions, and the websites of various political parties to gather facts pertaining to the subject. I commend the efforts undertaken by the authors who, in spite of scarcity of material available on the theme, have been able to bring out a publication that will be useful for wider academic and strategic purposes. I take this opportunity to thank the two anonymous referees who added value to the publication by their comments and suggestions. I hope this publication will draw the attention it deserves from the strategic community in India. September 18, 2018 Jayant Prasad Director General, IDSA Acknowledgements We have been associated with this book project for quite some time. We have received help from a number of individuals for successful completion of this book. We owe a debt of gratitude to those individuals without whose help and contribution this book could not have been completed. First and foremost, we record our debt to Shri Jayant Prasad, former Director General, IDSA and Deputy Director Maj Gen. Alok Deb (Retd.) for their valuable support. We are also greatly indebted Dr. Arvind Gupta for conceiving the idea of this project, when he was the Director General of the Institute. This book would not have been the same without critical and constructive comments and suggestions from the anonymous referees. We thank the referees for their critical analysis and reviews. The library staff of IDSA, have been very helpful. We would like to thank all the library staff for the help they extended. Our special gratitude for Mr. Vivek Kaushik,