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Empowering Gilgit-Baltistan or the Chinese bulwark

By Mazhar Iqbal

What necessitated Pakistan to give greater political autonomy to Northern Areas, when

such a move was urgently needed in Balochistan, where normal life is almost paralyzedafter recent surge in violence and instability?Islamabads recent maneuver to give greater political autonomy to the Northern Areasmay aptly be considered a strategic move as it has been mentioned by daily Dawn in itsrecent publication.The Gilgit-Baltistan Empowerment and Self-Governance Order-2009 is aimed atintroducing administrative, political, economic and judicial reforms in the NorthernAreas. According to this order, the Northern Areas would now have an elected legislativeassembly, which would elect a chief minister, while a governor would be there to ensurethe federal governments control over the area. Gilgit-Baltistan would also have its ownpublic service commission, a chief election commissioner and an auditor general. The

chief minister would be assisted by six ministers and two advisers. The legislativeassembly of Gilgit-Baltistan would have a total of 33 members, including six reservedseats for women and three for technocrats.

The package also validates a legislative council. The council shall enjoy the legislativepowers over 60 odd subjects identified with municipal powers. The council shall have 15members which shall be presided over by the prime minister of Pakistan. The actinggovernor is a sitting minister in the federal government. There would be a consolidatedfund and the annual budget would be presented to the assembly and voted upon.Interestingly, the Gilgit-Baltistan empowerment package has no constitutional orparliamentary backing.

Without mentioning the Constitution of Pakistan, which is the foremost authority to dealwith the political and administrative changes in the map of the country, the Gilgit-Baltistan package says the chief judge of the supreme appellate court would be appointedby the chairman of the council on the governors advice and other judges would also beappointed on the governors advice in consultation with the chief judge. The number ofjudges would be increased to five.

Until recent, judicial activism was not active in the case of Gilgit-Baltistan. Similarly,there is also a very competent parliament working in the country, which is all set todiscuss matters like Kerry-Lugar Bill or Musharrafs treason case, because these are thehot-selling issues to knock out political rivals. But almost all of the political partiesrepresenting 17 crore population of Pakistan have shown no significant concern overhastily passed Gilgit-Baltistan empowerment order.

For mainstream political parties of Pakistan the Northern Areas, now called Gilgit-Baltistan, is no more than another pitch to prove their political muscles. The rulingPakistan Peoples Party and Muslim League-Quaid, which is the brainchild of formerpresident Pervez Musharraf, have already announced their candidates for polls to be held

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under Gilgit-Baltistan empowerment order. It means they have no concern about its legaland constitutional status.

The Muslim League of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and Muttahida QuamiMovement (MQM) have also announced to take part in polls, giving mandate to the legal

status of the newly adopted position of the Northern Areas. Ismail Khan, one of the well-informed journalists of a well-regarded English daily of Pakistan, who hails from Skarduin Northern Areas, has said in a recent article that there was no Karakoram Highway in1947 and the water and power crises in Pakistan had never been so acute as now. Thus,he says, policy circles in Pakistan realise that in a region beset with conflict and intensecompetition, Gilgit-Baltistan is crucial as a trade, water and oil corridor for South, Westand Central Asia.Similarly, a number of political and strategic analysts have indicated that China hasstarted exploring options for energy supplies from all over the world through easilyaccessible transportation routes. The historic Silk Route could yet again be the easiestaccessible route for trade and energy supplies to and fro China. So, one of the options

being considered by China is to move energy supplies from Central Asia and Middle Eastto Xinjiang through Pakistan.

In the meantime, President Zardaris foreign tours have been widely criticized by hispolitical rivals, but his supporters say he is actually exploring ways and means forPakistans survival in the next century. He is particularly interested in energy supplies toPakistan from some permanent sources. Recently, Italy's ENI has expanded its operationsin Pakistan with a new onshore gas concession and is in longer-term talks to bring gasfrom the Caspian Sea region to Pakistan, India and China. The ENI currently holds 22exploration and production licenses in Pakistan including 15 exploration licences, 3offshore and 12 onshore. President Asif Ali Zardari recently met with the management ofthe ENI in Italy to finalise the details of the joint venture.Pakistan expects that the ENI would double its investment in the country to around $3billion by as early as next year. The ENI is looking for gas and possibly oil off Karachi'sshores, and longer term aimed to bring gas from Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and possiblyIran to Pakistan, India and China.

In a recent interview with Guangming Daily, one of the largely circulated newspapers inChina, President Zardari, who is also co-chairman of ruling Pakistan Peoples Party, hassaid that during last one year Pakistan and China have identified more than 50 newinitiatives for joint collaboration and signed more than three dozen MoUs. Of lately,President Zardari while addressing a business forum in Zhejiang, offered transit facilityto Chinese companies, saying Pakistans ports would benefit Chinese firms by givingthem easy access.Pakistan-China cooperation in hydel power generation has been onagenda of two countries since last many years. Chinese companies are already workingon a number of hydel projects in Pakistan, including Neelum-Jhelum, Gomal Zam andMangla dam raising project.President Zardari also addressed representatives of Zhejiangs 16 top business houseswho earn a combined annual turnover of billions of dollars. He said it is his dream thatPakistan should become a gateway for Chinese exports to world markets because his

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countrys ports are nearer than Chinas own water fronts. He was also quoted as sayingthat from some of the Chinese cities it took about three weeks for the export material toreach the nearest port. The latest developments on world energy scene are veryinteresting.

According to fresh estimates, landlocked Turkmenistan, holder of the worlds fourth-largest gas reserves, may become a key supplier to Europe. Similarly, a pipeline to Chinais nearly complete and a link to India through Pakistan and Afghanistan isplanned.Turkmenistan now produces 40 billion cubic meters of gas a year. Yet, anotherinteresting turn of the twenty first century global economy is placing China on forefrontof the world economic matters. The future links of consumer markets and energyproducing countries are now hot topics of defense and economic strategists of the world.Peter Tertzakian, in Calgary Herald says that growth of natural gas in emergingtransportation markets is intriguing and should even make oil guys wake up. Forexample, the growth rate of natural gas vehicles (NGVs) in Asia is quite remarkable andon an exponential up trend. Also consider Pakistan where two million NGVs now

compose a third of that countrys vehicle fleet. Of course, few are interested in Pakistan,because its ONLY 175 million people. Sure, China and India are the big markets towatch. The growth of NGVs is far faster than petroleum power, and is accelerating. Itshows that not only the Chinese economy is eying the world markets, but also the worldmarkets are lying face down to benefit from Chinese wealth.The pace at which China is locking in energy supply deals seems to only be increasing.And it is effectively doing it without a single handshake taking place on US soil andwithout US oil, says 24/7 Wall St, which keeps a vigilant eye on internationalinvestment horizon. After reviewing some of the public deals that China has beenmaking, it is rather obvious that its appetite to buy and secure more sources of oil and gasis not ending whether China is technically in the 2007 to 2009 recession or not. Thewebsite, which gives updates on world economy on twenty four hours basis, further saysthat China has done all of this without launching a single air strike and without the use ofmilitary force.(The writer is associated with Press For Peace (PFP) as Researcher. He could be

reached at: mazharimazhar@gmail.com)

mailto:mazharimazhar@gmail.commailto:mazharimazhar@gmail.com