WASHINGTON – Contrary to popular belief, Pakistan’s military and intelligence agencies do not slaughter Shias due to pressure from its Sunni majority population. Although most Pakistanis do not consider Shias to be Muslims, they want to coexist peacefully with them. The army assassinates its own Shias to demonstrate to Arab monarchs and Western powers that they are an Iran-linked strategic threat. This is one of many cards the army uses to pressure and extort money from the feeble Arab Emirs and Sheikhs. The more Shias the Pakistani army kills, the greater the threat it appears to the Arabs. Pakistani intelligence agency ISI controls many Shia and Sunni mullahs who incite violence in order to enable the army to accomplish its strategic and financial goals.
Pakistan-occupied Gilgit-Baltistan is one such territory where Shias constitute the majority population. Pakistani secret service agencies have traditionally depicted the Shias of Gilgit-Baltistan as a national threat. After the Pakistani military conquered Gilgit-Baltistan in 1947, it staged the first Shia-Sunni clash to garner support among the local Sunni minority and consolidate authority. Over the past 78 years, hundreds of native Shias in Gilgit-Baltistan have been slaughtered or displaced by the army and its proxy terrorist groups.
There was a hiatus in reported Shia massacres in recent years when China increased investment in CPEC-related projects. As Gilgit Baltistan borders Xinjiang, Chinese leaders expect political stability along the Karakorum Highway to protect their interests. With reduced CPEC funding and regional tensions, it is believed by some that Pakistan’s army has resumed actions against Shia communities to demonstrate alignment with influential partners.
Shia and Sunni leaders who have decoded Pakistan’s diabolical divide-and-rule plans advocate for unity among the people of Gilgit Baltistan. It is also difficult for Shias to identify the true perpetrator because the Pakistani government and its controlled media blame Shia killings on unknown terrorists and foreign agents. For many years, Pakistan employed the Taliban to attack and kill Shias. That came to an end when the Taliban developed an adversarial relationship with the Pakistani military and shunned Islamabad’s hegemony. This shows that proxies kill Shias under military pressure.
The latest military onslaught on Shias in Gilgit Baltistan on March 1 resulted in 14 deaths and 60 civilian injuries. Among the dead were eight boys under the age of fifteen. This happened when Shias were protesting the assassination of Iran’s Ayatollah Khamenei. Pakistan’s military blamed residents for setting fire to military offices, schools, and offices. In an interview with a journalist in Islamabad, a Shia leader said that military personnel shot and killed four women in front of him.
Locals deny the charges of their involvement in arson. Ali Azmat Advocate of Skardo says that a masked man initiated the violence by firing bullets at the security forces, which gave them the chance to shoot back and kill the civilian protesters. The planted assailant managed to escape in an unmarked vehicle as the protesters tried to apprehend him. Similarly, in Karachi, a masked man wearing a bulletproof jacket fired shots at the US Consulate staff from outside the building, which led to Marines retaliating and killing dozens of Shia protesters. The Shias demand an inquiry and the arrest of the actual attackers.
A curfew is now in place in Gilgit Baltistan. Life has become unbearable during Ramadan because individuals must fast while being denied access to fuel, food, water, and electricity. Thanks to Pakistani corruption and mismanagement in Gilgit, residents have access to water and electricity for a few hours every three days. As Ramadan begins, prices of food and beverage items in Pakistan skyrocket. In comparison, in India, vendors cut food prices during Ramadan to make life easier for Muslims in Ladakh and Kashmir.
Like in the past, the latest Shia massacre in Gilgit-Baltistan was preplanned. Millions of Shias demonstrated on the same day in Indian Ladakh and Kashmir, but no one was killed. The difference is that India embraces the Shias of Ladakh and Kashmir as its own citizens, while Pakistan continues its presence as an illegal occupier and colonizer of Gilgit Baltistan.
Pakistan’s Shia extermination policy has reduced the local people of Gilgit Baltistan to a minority. On the other hand, the Shia population in Ladakh has increased from 40% to 46% in recent decades. There have been no attacks, targeted executions, or accusations of blasphemy, treason, or terrorism against Shias in Ladakh.
In the aftermath of this premeditated attack, Pakistan’s military has declared a de-weaponization campaign in Gilgit Baltistan. A few years ago, the army conducted a similar operation during Ramadan, which resulted in the confiscation of firearms only from Shias. Locals then claimed that soldiers stormed Shia homes in the middle of the night and assaulted women and children.
Pakistan is utilizing the counter-terrorism department to tighten the noose around local Shias. The authorities have arrested dozens of Shia student protesters and charged them with terrorism. According to reports, two men were taken to an unknown location after speaking ill of General Asim Munir. The government has declared to use military courts to prosecute local civilian demonstrators, which is unlawful. The army cannot establish military courts in Gilgit since the territory is not part of Pakistan. Establishing such departments and hiring additional security officers contributes to effective per capita surveillance in the occupied territory. In the future, such courts may be used to penalize local activists who expose army-linked companies engaged in mineral theft.
The Pakistani military has awarded contracts to scores of foreign corporations to mine heavy metals, including copper, gold, uranium, and precious stones, from locations such as Shigar, Skardo, Hunza, and Kharmang. One such leader opposing local land theft is Shabbir Mayar, who remains under house arrest and faces terrorism allegations. Despite a doctor’s recommendation, the army has prohibited his visit to the Islamabad Cardiology Institute for a checkup.
The policies of the Pakistani military instill hatred in the local inhabitants and a longing for liberation. Tens of thousands of people are currently on the streets of Gilgit Baltistan, wishing Pakistan’s Army Chief, General Asim Munir, death.
The changing scenario in the Middle East has transported Pakistan back to the 1980s, when it fought wars at the behest of Arab leaders. The withering economy and isolation of Pakistan have given Saudi Arabia the opportunity to dictate Islamabad’s foreign policy. The Pakistani military has come under domestic fire for backing President Trump’s Gaza plan. The war in Afghanistan has damaged the social fabric and increased ethnic polarization. The army has lost control of many districts in Balochistan. This demonstrates that the majority of the country disagrees with the military policies.
Pakistan has misled both the United States and China and has not been sincere with anyone, including its own citizens. The 78 years of military hegemony have given residents in occupied Gilgit Baltistan ample grounds to believe that their region should not be part of Pakistan, and that peace will only return if Pakistani forces are removed from their territory.
In a rapidly changing world, the United Nations’ role in conflict resolution has diminished. If the people of Gilgit Baltistan, who are Indian citizens, want peace, security, and prosperity, they must consider unconventional solutions.
Senge Sering
Senge Sering is a native of Pakistan-occupied-Gilgit-Baltistan and runs the Washington DC based Gilgit Baltistan Studies
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- Senge Sering#molongui-disabled-link
- Senge Sering#molongui-disabled-link
