While inaugurating the Jaglot-Skardu Road and Skardu International Airport, the former Prime Minister held out his chest saying that the country can earn $30-$40 billion from tourism in GB alone. With this claimed figure an outsider would probably think of the place as a flourishing destination with the best infrastructure, industry system, and welcoming and prosperous population. Sadly when the subject is Pakistan, one should believe precisely the opposite of the situation presented.

Families will enjoy Instagram-worthy stays in luxurious properties built by Punjabis on the corpses of locals. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has released nauseating reports on the ground realities of the miserable people of GB. All key indicators of development such as the availability of drinkable water, electricity, hospitals, schools, the safety of women, employment opportunities, etc. are pointing south. The region is still reeling through the aftermath of the 2022 floods. The flash floods have displaced thousands who await rehabilitation.

It’s mighty clever of the government to drive the already oppressed population to the edge of the cliff during this vulnerable time. Human lives do not matter in GB. Citizens are only namesakes; the rights of their lands have been slowly handed to mainland Pakistanis, either through unfair laws or legitimizing land grabbing by not having laws against it.

Recently, government circles have claimed that land disputes will be dealt with once and for all. This has led to a lot of confusion and ambiguity. The current setup of Gilgit-Baltistan has no constitutional protection. The GB Assembly had been constituted only under an Executive Order; it’s not a Constituent Assembly and has limited legislative powers. In the scheme of things the most significant stakeholders of the lands, the local people, are not even being formally consulted. They are agitated because the government and the assembly do not have the power to carry out land reforms in this illegally occupied region.

Several protests took place through 2022 against land grabbing and dozens of protesters were booked on anti-terrorism charges.

The people of GB do not enjoy any rights as citizens of Pakistan, nor are they represented in national and international bodies including National Assembly and Senate. They are treated like a colony and an ATM owing to their rich resources. The CPEC is ruthlessly using their land and resources while the Pakistani government is banking money and quietly watching the show.

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In the process, the non-polar glaciers of the region are melting due to the enormous pressure on the environment and causing glacial lake outburst floods. Climate change has uprooted their livelihood.

Journalists who have tried to report have faced severe ramifications from the state authorities. All communications to the outside world that show the accurate picture of GB’s ordeals are banned, and going against this can mean anything ranging from physical assault to abductions of family members, and even murder.

Since the military has the majority of the powers in the country, and the region of GB is of paramount interest for national security and the country's economy, the military establishment is deeply involved in its matters. They operate as autonomous bodies and no one can question them. For example, the ISI on commands of the Pak Army tortures and threatens locals to suppress dissenting voices.

Lawlessness is a design to keep justice in the hands of the federal government. Last year “the bar council demanded the permanent appointment of the current chief court judges to avoid a future crisis, but the supreme appellate court remained vacant from May to November with an acting chief judge.”

Religious minorities live in daily fear of being persecuted. During Muharram processions last year (August), clashes between communities led to several deaths and injuries. The tightening of the blasphemy laws has led to their misuse by the Sunni community. Now more than ever, there is an apparent religious divide and people have authority over the court and police in the absence of them.

Women are the most affected group amidst this chaos. Honor killings, domestic violence, and harassment at the workplace or by migrated Pakistanis living in GB are common and often underreported. Shelter homes for destitute women have been under construction for five years and are still not complete.

The suicide rate has been steadily increasing in light of these atrocities. It's not a situation that cannot be remedied. But with time, it’s clear that the democratic aspirations of the local population hold no meaning to the government. Pakistan has crossed all limits and tested the patience of the GB natives for more than seven decades. In the modern day, the human rights violations against these innocent people cannot go unchecked.