With the continued ceasefire violations along the Line of Control (LoC) and the international Border in Jammu and Kashmir and the invitation extended to Kashmiri separatist leaders Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umer Farooq and Abbas Ansari for talks with Pakistan's National Security Advisor Sartaj Aziz in Delhi during his stay for scheduled NSA talks clearly shows that Pakistan is ready for full confrontation.But ,it is needless to say that Pakistan is facing disintegration over Shia-Sunni conflict.
Upset over the Iran Nuclear deal,Saudi Arabia has been prompting Pakistan to accelerate sectarian violence against Shia population in Pakistan. The deobandi Wahabi culture exported by Saudi Arabia had already unleashed sectarian violence against Shia population in Quetta and other Northern parts of Pakistan. With the passage of time,it has assumed the proportions of sectarian cleansing and even genocide of Shias .At the centre of this Shia genocide lies the fact that Saudi Arabia is concerned about capturing its leadership role in the middle East. With this purpose Saudi Arabia had already been pouring petro dollars in a cash starved Pakistan.
Paradoxically, it were the Shias who had played a major role in formation of Pakistan. Muhammad Ali Jinnah,the founder of Pakistan was Ismaili Khoja---a Shia branch. He contemplated that after the establishment of Pakistan an enlightened Shia culture will emerge and prevail in the country,as they were already controlling the administration of the areas under British rule. But the major bulk of Muslim population was uneducated and drove the Pakistan society towards radical Sunni Islam through Mullahs. Now,in the confrontation between Shia- Sunni sects ,the Shia population is actually at the receiving end.
Pakistan faces disintegration by virtue of its own policies
Even the Nawaz Sharif government in Pakistan is silently ignoring to control this phenomenon this phenomenon .Eventually,judiciary and law enforcement agencies have also failed to put an end to the these killings of Shias though attributed to internal and external forces that may lead to disintegration of Pakistan,which is being branded as a religious intolerant nation..The atrocities against Shias have risen to such a level that UNO and United States commission on international religious freedom (USCIRF) released the 2015 Annual report according to which, “Pakistan represents one of the worst situations in the world for Shias “.Annual Report even expresses concern that, the Pakistani government “failed to protect Shias from sectarian and religiously-motivated violence, and Pakistani authorities have not consistently brought the perpetrators to justice or taken action against societal actors who incite violence”.
Basically ,shias constitute 20% of the Pakistan total population and inhabit the territory of Gilgit-Baltistan,Balochistan mainly around Quetta and are also dispersed in Sindh and some parts of Punjab.Violence against such a bulk of population is bound to exacerbate problems for this country.
Gilgit-Baltistan elections and strategic importance to Pakistan
Gilgit-Baltistan territory emerged as a prominent problem when Sunni terrorists killed 10 tourists in the year 2012 subsequently followed by attacks on Shia population. This resulted in collapse of tourism industry which is the main source of revenue. Eventually economic condition of the people of this territory suffered badly.Strangely Pakistan government also withdrew all types of subsidiaries and does not provide even the basic needs like education and healthcare.
Gilgit-Baltistan is of extreme strategic importance to Pakistan as it contains 30 highest peaks including K2 and Nanga Parbat with this territory providing the only land route between Pakistan and China, that claims to be its all weather friend for its own reasons. China eyes this region with the purpose of securing its economic corridor from Gwader to Xinjiang (Baltistan falls in very close vicinity of Xinjiang ) .
Pakistan intends to use this territory for tourism, as this territory’s unique scenic and breathtaking features can provide revenue enough to fulfill the needs of the entire country of Pakistan . But there is an anomalous situation in the sense that Sunni population of POK has been conducting terrorists activities against Shia population of Gilgit-Baltistan badly effecting revenues from this industry . Even otherwise Pakistan is not desirous of providing basic rights of education and healthcare and other administration facilities to this Shia population whereas the people of this area are vigorously seeking development works.
Recently,Pakistan conducted elections in the disputed Gilgit- Baltistan region to choose a new legislative assembly, soon after India alleged that this exercise amounted to covering up the “forcible and illegal occupation”of the area.This was the second time Pakistan has held polls to elect an assembly in Gilgit Baltistan also known as the Northern Areas since the region was given near-provincial status in 2009. G-B is disputed territory with India because it was a part of the erstwhile princely state of Jammu and Kashmir ,ruled by the Dogras. While Islamabad considers it separate from the Kashmir under its control,New Delhi sees the region-which is about a third of the size of Jammu and Kashmir as part and parcel of the overall dispute and deems any Chinese activity there wholly unacceptable. There is also a vibrant homegrown movement within Gilgit-Baltistan that is demanding absolute autonomy,and even independence from Pakistan..
Considering the strategic importance of G-B, Nawaz Sharif is planning to give Gilgit-Baltistan the status of Pakistan's fifth province. It will thus be a gateway to the natural resources of the Central Asian states and China that is a major source of economic stability for Pakistan. The region is even otherwise rich in gold, uranium and gems.
Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) Prime Minister Chaudhry Abdul Majeed howver warned Islamabad against any attempt to convert Gilgit-Baltistan into a federal province, saying "Gilgit-Baltistan is part and parcel of the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Any attempt to merge it into Pakistan will deal a fatal blow to their stand in the light of UN resolutions envisaging right to self-determination for the Kashmiris."
Considering its potential for an energy corridor through Pakistan to the Arabian Sea,China contemplates to build a colossal network of roads,railways with industrial corridors linking kashgar withGwader. The region, straddled to the north by China’s restive Xinjiang Autonomous Region (XAR) on the one side and Afghanistan on the other, forms a central part to the recent agreement for the China Pakistan Economic Corridor, running from Gwadar port in Balochistan to Kashgar.This corridor will provide China access to Arabian sea and onwards to strategic Indian Ocean.
The Gwader Baltistan corridor through Karakorum highway holds great importance for China as it provides alternative land route for transporting energy resource from Middle East to China. This arrangement will dispense with the Malacca strait route which is entirely controlled by United States and can disrupt energy supplies to China at any time..There is speculation that the PLAAF may seek air bases at Gilgit, Chilas, Skardu etc..Pakistan has now deployed 12000 troops to protect this corridor for the China workers engaged in the construction work and in return for this facility China undertakes to make immense investments in Pakistan and also provide submarines to this country..
But this agreement has the potential of reducing Pakistan to a subsidiary status which may not be in Pakistan’s interests.
Pakistan government is working to eliminate Shia militias that targeted sunnis to facilitate the export of Balochistan resources to China . presently, Lahkar e Janghvi is mainly instrumental in killings of Shias in Punjab while Sipah-e-Sahaba a former political party, established in the early 1980s is engaged in similar activities in Pakhtunkhwa area.
Thus Pakistan policies run counter to its national interests being at odds with creating sectarian harmony among Shia-sunni groups . Thus Sooner or later Pakistan faces disintegration by virtue of its own policies .
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