Objectionable contents of the GOP order-2018 - Requiring wide consultation with populations and Intellectuals in GB

UPDATE, JUDGMENT
3. Elimination of exploitation.- The Government shall ensure the elimination of all forms of exploitation and the gradual fulfilment of the fundamental principle, from each according to his ability to each according to his work.

5. Obedience to this Order.- Obedience to this Order and law is the inviolable obligation of every citizen, wherever he may be, and of every other person for the time being within Gilgit-Baltistan.

7 Laws inconsistent with or in derogation of Fundamental Rights to be void.-(1) Any law, or any custom or usage having the force of law, in so far as it is inconsistent with the rights conferred by this Chapter, shall, to the extent of such inconsistency, be void.

(2) The Government shall not make any law which takes away or abridges the rights so conferred and any law made in contravention of this clause shall,to the extent of such contravention, be void.

(3) The Provisions of this section shall not apply to any law relating to members of the Armed Forces, or of the Police or of such other forces as are charged with the maintenance of public order, for the purpose of ensuring the proper discharge of their duties or the maintenance of discipline among them and no such law nor any provision thereof shall be void on the ground that such law or provision is inconsistent with, or repugnant to, any provision of this Chapter.

(4) The rights conferred by this Chapter shall not be suspended except as expressly provided by this Order.

33. The Governor.- (1) There shall be a Governor of the Gilgit-Baltistan who shall be appointed by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister.

43. Conduct of business of Government. (1) All executive actions of the Government shall be expressed to be taken in the name of the Governor.

46. Exer cise of Powers by the Prime Minister.- The Prime Minister shall perform his functions and exercise his powers in such manner as may be prescribed by rules made by the President

60. Legislative Powers.- (1) Subject to this Order, both the Prime Minister and the Assembly shall have the power to make laws,-

(3) The Prime Minister shall have the powers to adopt any amendment in the existing laws or any new law in force in Pakistan subject to the legislative competence under sub-section (2).

61. Obligation of the Prime Minister and the Government.- (1) The executive authority of the Government shall be so exercised as to secure compliance with the laws made by the Prime Minister which apply thereon.

62. Directions to Government in certain cas es. (1) The executive authority of the Government shall be so exercised as not to impede or prejudice the exercise of the executive authority of the Prime Minister, and the executive authority of the Prime Minister shall extend to the giving of such directions to the Government as may appear to the Prime Minister to be necessary for that purpose.

(2) The executive authority of the Prime Minister shall also extend to the giving of directions to the Government as to the construction and maintenance of means of communication declared in the direction to be of national or strategic importance.

(3) The executive authority of the Prime Minister shall also extend to the giving of directions to the Government as to the manner in which the executive authority thereof is to be exercised for the purpose of preventing any grave menace to the peace or tranquility or economic life of Gilgit-Baltistan or any part there

64. Acquisition of land.- The Government of Pakistan may, if it deems necessary to acquire any land situate in Gilgit-Baltistan for any purpose, require the Government to acquire the land on behalf, and at the expense, of the Government of Pakistan or, if the land belongs to the Government, to transfer it to the Government of Pakistan on such terms as may be agreed mutually.

102. Power to issue proclamation.- (1) If the Prime Minister, on receipt of a report fromGovernor or otherwise, is satisfiedthat grave emergency exists in whichthe security of Gilgit -Baltistan is threatened by war or external aggression or by internal disturbances, in which the Government cannot be carried on in accordance with the provisions of this Order, the Prime Minister shall issue Proclamation of Emergency, hereinafter referredto as the Proclamation.

(2) On the issuance of the Proclamation the Prime Minister may assume to himself, or direct the Governor to assume on behalf of the Prime Minister, all or any of the functions of the Government, and all or any of the powers vested in, or exercisable by, any body or authority in the Gilgit-Baltistan, other than the Assembly
GOP order 2018 on GB
IMPORTANT MESSAGE TO THE POLICY and DECISION MAKERS: GB is not a captured territory to be treated as a colony. We acceded to Pakistan and as such we have the legal option to REVOKE if we are not integrated constitutionally through democratic dispensation.

LATEST: The federal government on Monday sought time to implement Proposed Order pertaining to the status, authority and powers of Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) and the rights available to its people. “Time frame prescribed in the January 17, 2019 judgement may kindly be extended,” said the application filed by Ministry of Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit and Baltistan. A seven-member larger bench, headed by Justice Gulzar Ahmed heard the case related to implementation of the judgement. The bench issued notices to the Supreme Appellate Court GB and others.

The apex court in its judgement on January 17, 2019 had directed the federal government to promulgate the Proposed Order forthwith or within fortnight. “The Proposed Order (modified in the manner as noted in the judgement), shall be forthwith promulgated by the President on the advice of the federal government, and in any case within a fortnight.”

“No amendment shall be made to the order as so promulgated except in terms of the procedure provided in Article 124 of the same, nor shall it be repealed or substituted without the instrument amending, repealing or substituting the same being placed before this Court by the federal through an application that will be treated as a petition under Article 184(3) of Constitution. Nothing in this judgement shall be construed to limit the jurisdiction conferred on this court by the Proposed Order itself.”

“If the Order so promulgated is repealed or substituted by an Act of Parliament the validity thereof, it challenged, shall be examined on the touchstone of Constitution.” Attorney General for Pakistan, representing the ministry, submitted that the federation informed that in compliance with the apex court’s directions the Proposed Order was placed for approval before the federal cabinet. Some discontentment expressed by people and the government of GB were reported.

The people of GB demanded that instead of governing Gilgit-Baltistan through presidential orders, the areas should be governed through an Act of Parliament of Pakistan. The government of GB also raised certain observations that their viewpoints were not addressed. A meeting of the stakeholders was held on 06-02-2019, and consensus was reached that the Gilgit-Baltistan Governance Reforms, 2019 may be enacted through the Parliament as per aspiration of the people of Gilgit-Baltistan.

Accordingly, some amendments in the Proposed Order of the Gilgit-Baltistan Governance Reforms, 2019 were made in consultation with all the stakeholders including the government of Gilgit-Baltistan, Ministry of Law and Justice and the office of the Attorney General for Pakistan. It said that as per the outcome of the said meetings, it is proposed that a bill be tabled before the Parliament with the proposed amendments. The substantial compliance with the directions of the Supreme Court has been done and it would also fulfil the demands of the people of Gilgit-Baltistan.

For full and complete compliance with the directions of the apex court, time is granted for the enactment of the Gilgit-Baltistan Governance Reforms 2019 such that the federal government may table the bill before the Parliament with the amendments. In June 2018, the President of Pakistan approved the promulgation of “The Government of Gilgit-Baltistan Order, 2018,” which was challenged in Supreme Appellate Court GB. The GB Court set aside the Order 2018 on 13th July 2018 being not approved by the federal cabinet and restored the Gilgit-Baltistan (Empowerment & Self Governance) Order, 2009.

The judgement of the Supreme Appellate Court was challenged before the Supreme Court through a constitutional petition. On 8th August, 2018 the Supreme Court of Pakistan suspended the decision of the Supreme Appellate Court Gilgit-Baltistan. The apex court on 3rd December, 2018, ordered the federation to prepare a fresh draft for the governance of Gilgit-Baltistan of the amendments on the basis of the recommendations of the Sartaj Aziz Committee and a high-level committee constituted by the federal cabinet.

Legislation Proposal

NOTE:  We can use this order to evolve a law reflecting the democratic aspirations by asking GB assembly to consult populations and pass a law thus rejecting this dubious order as LAW for GB. I think this proposal as a practical strategy instead of resorting to FASAD. HisamullahHYPERLINK "https://www.facebook.com/hisamullah?fref=ufi" Beg I have shared my proposal with assembly through FB wall and telephone call to speaker and urge fellow citizens to follow in large numbers

Preamble:   After the successful rebellion of Gilgit scouts on 31^st October- 01^st November 1947, some elements of Kashmir infantry and above all strong feelings of the populations the governor sent from Kashmir in August 1947 was overthrown. Subsequent military campaigns in 1948 under express approval of the newly established government in Pakistan resulted in the total freedom of the territory initially designated as NORTHERN AREAS.

The Mirs and the Governors of the Political Districts exercised their option to accede to Pakistan [obviously in consonance with the wishes of the populations] their territories and communicated the same either in writing or verbally to Major William Brown, Commandant GILGIT SCOUTS - obvious authority in Gilgit at that time - who in turn communicated it through wireless messages to Khan Abdul Qayyum Khan, the Prime Minister [CM] NWFP Peshawar as well as Col Bacon PA Khyber [the last British Political Agent in Gilgit] with an additional request to post a Pakistan Government Political Agent expeditiously. Further parleys with the delegations from the region in 1950 resulted in continuation of the administrative structure of an Agency which continued till 1974. Ever since different options have been instituted by GOP. On 29 August 2009 the Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan announced the creation of Gilgit–Baltistan, a new province-like autonomous region with Gilgit city as its capital and Skardu as the largest city. The most recent being Gilgit-Baltistan Order 2018.

A sizable number of young generation activists are however not satisfied and raise their voices for a vigorous constitutional status – some even demanding cessation and independence.

CONTEXTS FOR CONSTITUTIONAL STATUS/GOVERNANCE STRUCTURES IN THE MODERN WORLD

·         Federalism, Human Rights and Peace within the State

·          The main constitutional Principles:

a.      History

b.      Rule of Law

c.       Protection of Minorities

d.      Democracy

·         Built and driven by the society and the sub-national societies.

·         Democracy and freedom are results from the French Revolution. Other people in Europe tried also to free themselves from feudal powers. The 1848 “Peoples Spring” were economically and politically - “we want to be our own masters of our life” - reasonable.

·         The way it was achieved and its societal diversity marked the political design of the new Federations.

·         Strong Decentralization and Sharing of Powers:

·         Bicameral Parliament as the U.S.A.

·         Collegial Federal Government (No strong President)

·         Double majorities for Constitutional Powers

·         Power sharing - vertical and horizontal - helps you to integrate a diverse society and produces stability by high legitimacy. Real participatory rights transform a primarily representative, indirect democracy into a direct democracy.

·         Nobody has so much power that he has the ambivalent privilege, not to have to learn. When the democratic power is really shared with the people, political progress and social change have to be understood as collective learning processes. Every citizen has the right to propose where he or she thinks progress and change are necessary!

·         Inside the infrastructure of a democracy has to be modernized in order to remake its direct democracy serve the people best.

·         The region has some natural resources such as minerals, glaciers etc. which can be utilized towards development of this region and indigenous populations as such need to be safeguarded through legislation against exploitation by other regions.

·           United Nations in its Universal Declaration (Agenda 21: Chapter 26) titled "Recognizing and Strengthening the Role of Indigenous People and their Communities" has called on Governments to recognize that the lands of indigenous people and their communities should be protected from activities that the indigenous people consider to be socially and culturally inappropriate through adoption or strengthening of appropriate policies and /or legal instruments at the national level (or intergovernmental organizations) . Government of Pakistan being a signatory to this declaration has the moral responsibility to harmonize the customary laws (and rights of indigenous people) to evolve indigenous population friendly rules.

·         Customary laws, established by communal practice and usage for generations and passed down through oral tradition, are familiar, effective and continue to be practiced to a greater or lesser extent throughout the Gilgit and Baltistan. And yet few of them have been documented so far. There are many opportunities for reforming statutory laws governing natural resources in Gilgit and Baltistan to converge with elements of customary law, thus adding greater legitimacy and efficacy to the State's efforts towards conservation of natural resources in the region. The objective of this draft law and analysis is to draw out and evolve an interface of customary laws governing the use and management of mineral resources in the Gilgit and Baltistan and modification in the statutory laws so that the spirit of UN universal declaration on the rights of indigenous people applied for the same purpose is also actualized in this field.

In view of these principles, the legislative assembly of Gilgit-Baltistan has drafted this law towards governance and constitutional affiliation with Pakistan.