Army and civil armed forces have been deployed to maintain law and order situation in the territory of Gilgit-Baltistan in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, after a tense situation following alleged insensitive remarks made by two clerics. The Gilgit-Baltistan administration has imposed Section 144 to avoid any untoward incidents.
However, despite media reports of unrest in the area, the Gilgit-Balistan government maintains that everything is well and peaceful. The Home Department of Gilgit-Baltistan has denied reports of deployment of Pakistani Army, calling them "baseless", reported Geo News.
Pakistan's interim Information and Broadcasting Minister Murtaza Solangi on Sunday said that Gilgit-Baltistan was “experiencing peace and stability” and situation was 'calm' in the area. Taking to X (formerly Twitter), he said that reports related to the deployment of military were "completely baseless".
"Gilgit-Baltistan is experiencing peace and stability. Schools, colleges, markets, and roads are open, displaying a sense of normalcy. Peaceful protests do occur at times in reaction to some religious and sectarian concerns but the law and order situation is calm," he said.
Solangi further alluded the deployment of Army forces to the upcoming Chehlum of Hazrat Imam Hussain. "The reports of unrest are baseless; no shots were fired, no damage to public and private property did occur. The protests are a natural political democratic response to local issues, which were managed peacefully in Gilgit-Baltistan," he added.
A day earlier, the Gilgit-Baltistan government reportedly decided to call in the army for the maintenance of the law and order situation in the region. A meeting chaired by Chief Minister Gulbar Khan reportedly decided to deploy Rangers, scouts and Frontier Corps personnel in big cities following the worsening situation in the territory.
What happened in Gilgit-Baltistan?
On September 1, demonstrations were held in the city of Gilgit and surroundings after prominent cleric Maulana Qazi Nisar Ahmed allegedly made derogatory remarks during a protest in Gilgit, reported Dawn. The protesters called for action to be taken against the cleric.
Another FIR was registered against Agha Baqir Al-Hussaini in Skardu, Gilgit-Baltistan's largest city. The unrest intensified when protesters blocked a highway and a road for three days, demanding Agha Baqir's arrest. The situation worsened when a case was registered against Agha Baqir, when his supporters staged a strike in Skardu, blocking roads and shutting down shops.
Furthermore, the government suspended two policemen and a schoolteacher for allegedly sharing sectarian posts on social media, while 12 persons were detained for posting contentious posts. The United States, Canada and the United Kingdom urged its citizens in Pakistan to avoid visiting the northern areas.
"American citizens should exercise heightened caution in Gilgit-Baltistan due to recent protests in Skardu and Diamer and the potential for additional demonstrations, road closures, and associated disruptions to local mobile and internet networks in the region," said the US Embassy in Islamabad in a travel advisory.
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