Nanga Parbat Tragedy: Implications for Pakistan

Pakistan’s newly-installed government has inherited the country engulfed in grave problems. Apart from the economic and energy woes, there is the monster of terrorism that is thwarting all efforts to make a peaceful and prosperous Pakistan. On June 23, in yet another blow to the nascent government, gunmen shot dead foreign trekkers who were resting during a climb up the Nanga Parbat.

With Karachi situation almost out of control and continued drone attacks despite the loud-mouthed pledges to stop them, the killing of foreign mountaineers at the base camp of Nanga Parbat has become yet another daunting challenge for the new government. According to media reports, on the fateful night of June 23, militants dressed in the uniforms of Gilgit Scouts kidnapped two guides and made them show the way to the base camp of Nanga Parbat where they assassinated ten foreigners and one of their guides. In Pakistan, this is not a big deal for people who are not entitled to get hold of uniforms of all kinds e.g. Pakistan army, police, Gilgit Scouts, etc. This fact has been highlighted and criticized time and again but nothing has changed.

Showing reaction, the federal government has suspended the Chief Secretary and IGP of Gilgit-Baltistan. Vowing to bring culprits to the book, many people were arrested but these haphazard arrests might not be helpful. Nawaz Sharif’s willingness to deliver and perform better than the previous regime is not manifested by these steps.

Let’s try to comprehend that who were the killers and where did they come from. There are two possibilities: one is the confession of TTP that this was the act of their killing squad. They want to show people that they were ready for peace talks but the killing of their leader Waliur Rehman in a drone strike has doused their wishes. Drone strikes are not only violating Pakistani sovereignty, they are also against international law. Though the present new government has vowed to fight against drone strikes, the moves they have made so far seem not to be suitable to solve this problem. This was the message which TTP wanted to give to the international community through this brutal act.

The second possibility, which some analysts support, links these killings to the Doha peace talks. It is a known fact that the Taliban already have contacts with China and some other countries and now their office namely ‘Political Office of Islamic Emirates of Afghanistan’ has been established at Doha, Qatar. Now US could be contemplating to share parts of Afghanistan with Taliban, Karzai and National Alliance to bring India factor into Afghanistan. These killings may be a tool to put pressure on Afghan Taliban to compromise. But this seems too unrealistic to believe.

The third one that has been discussed in the media also is that the killers, dressed in scout uniforms, might have come from Indian side to pressurize Afghan Taliban into the Doha talks. But India is much wary about the Doha talks because they are afraid that something unfavourable to them will be decided. Given this situation, this possibility also seems not so likely.

Now, the most logical explanation may, therefore, be the connection to TTP, and may be to draw attention to the plight of the people of Gilgit-Baltistan. Though Gilgit-Baltistan is a territory of Pakistan since 1947 when the people of the area opted to join Pakistan but, ironically, the State has never accepted them as full citizens. The people of Gilgit-Baltistan have been deprived of development, constitutional status and self-rule rather the territory has become a colony of Islamabad. The steps taken by the previous regime have not been fruitful as expected. Gilgit-Baltistan is an autonomous region, not a province of Pakistan. The latest killing spree may just be showing that if Gilgit-Baltistan is not given provincial status and self-rule as provided in the constitution, it might be the next candidate for a Balochistan-like situation.

The rulers of Pakistan have miserably failed to take advantage of its geo-political and geostrategic location. This should have been a leverage fully used for national progress and prosperity but the rulers have been and are playing havoc with the country by becoming a US ally. Owing to this recklessness on part of our rulers, the fabric of our society is torn and, resultantly, we are divided into ethnic and linguistic groups and result of 2013 election is a sufficient proof of this fact.