Balawaristan - Political Status Movements

Political Status Movements

In more recent times, the name Balawaristan initially found favour with nationalists of the Gilgit region, such as the Balawaristan National Front, who are seeking independence from Pakistan. These groups state that they are geographically, ethnically, linguistically and culturally distinct from Pakistan and Kashmir, and that the region is incorrectly associated with the dilemma facing the disputed region of Jammu and Kashmir. The Balawaristan National Front, for instance, has explicitly defined its goal as "freedom from Pakistan's illegal occupation." According to the chairman of the Balawaristan National Front, in May 1999, the Supreme Court of Pakistan ruled that Balawaristan "is a disputed territory and the government of Pakistan has no claim over it". The Bolor Thinker Forum, in a public seminar in Rawalpindi in 2005, also called for "an independent Bolor state," and asserted that "it was their legitimate right to demand an independent Bolor state".

Some Balawar leaders argue that since the people of the region do not have proportional representation in the Pakistani parliament as the local people have been demanding for years, therefore Pakistan should not apply its laws. In recent years, many Pakistanis have also voiced support for greater political representation for the people of the region and for giving them federal representation and civic amenities. Some leaders have requested UN intervention in settling the North West provinces constitutional dilemma as they seek full rights, amenities and integration within the Pakistani federation.

However, some leaders of Balawaristan reject increased representation or economic packages as an alternative to independence and separation from Pakistani control, often specifically deriding the various economic and political "packages" that are designed by the Pakistani government for the area. Pakistani critics argue that an independent Balawaristan will not be able to function as a separate state with a small population (about 2 million), lack of subsidies provided by the Pakistani government, and landlocked status.

Some Balawar groups, such as the Gilgit-Baltistan United Movement, have limited their demands to total autonomy and a respect for their distinctiveness, asking the Pakistani government to end what they describe as its "colonial attitude." The group opposes the appointment of Pakistanis as officials or judges in the region and, although not officially dedicated to seeking independence, had nevertheless issued an appeal to Barack Obama upon his election as president of the United States to use "his influences to restore the sovereignty of small nations of the world such as Palestine, Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan." The Balawaristan National Students Organisation, in April 2008, raised a demand for Balawaristan to be constituted into the fifth province of Pakistan (the other four are Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa).