Gilgit:With the row over the territorial boundary between Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) and Kohistan district still lingering, lawmakers from G-B have decided to seek assistance from ‘top’ lawyers to fight out their legal battle.
December 29th, 2013.
The bone of contention between the people of the two regions is a 10-kilometre stretch of land on either side of Basari check post, which separates Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) from G-B. Residents of Diamer valley and Kohistan have clashed in recent times, with each claiming the disputed area.
In wake of the unrest which also put the future of the Diamer-Bhasha Dam at risk, the federal government stepped in to mediate between the two sides and formed a commission for a resolution of the issue.
“We have decided that the best available lawyers would be engaged to defend the land before the commission,” G-B opposition leader Janbaz Khan said while chairing a meeting attended by residents of Thore in Diamer valley on Saturday. Minister for Works Bashir Ahmed, Parliamentary Secretary Ayub Shah, G-B Council member Amjad Hussain, Public Accounts Committee Chairman Raziuddin Rizvi and Minister for Water and Power Didar Ali were also present among others.
Legislators assured residents ‘all-out support’ to “end the injustice being done to them by Kohistan’s residents.”
A handout issued following the meeting stated the eight-kilometre area stretching from Basari check post to Bhasha Nullah is the property of the people of Thore valley. “Without compensating people living in the valley, the construction of Bhasha dam is impossible,” read the handout.
The meeting also termed Kohistan’s claim over the disputed land as a ‘conspiracy’ hatched by the K-P government in an attempt to oppose the Diamer-Bhasha Dam.
Earlier this month, hundreds of residents from both Kohistan and G-B blocked the Karakoram Highway for four days to lay claim over the disputed property. The protests had temporarily disrupted traffic from G-B to the rest of the country.
SC:- Express Tribune,
