GB chief minister trying to fray public tempers on Shandur

ISLAMABAD: In what seems to be a calculated move to create rift amongst the people of Chitral and Ghizer districts, the dummy chief minister of Gilgit-Baltistan, Mr Mehdi Shah, has again indicated that his government will boycott the annual Shandur Festival this year too.

However, the people of Gilgit-Baltistan especially those of Ghizer district have taken exception to Mehdi Shah’s move and said he was trying to gain cheap popularity by playing to the galleries without even considering the repercussion of if in the long run.

The people were of the view that by repeating the mistake of the year 2010, when GB boycotted the festival, the puppet chief minister was strengthening the hands of KP government in consolidating its grip on Shandur. It will also pitch the people f Chitral against their brethren in Gilgit-Baltistan, they said.

It may be noted here that the people of both the Ghizer and Chitral districts have centuries-old cultural, social and economic relations and speak the Khowar language. Under a conspiracy, Ghizer was separated from Chitral’s Mastuj district but even today the masses on both sides of the border feel easy in interacting with each other due to similarities in their culture, language and traditions.

Last year, after the devastating floods, the people of Ghizer and adjoining areas remained cut-off from rest of the country when the Karakoram Highway (KKH) was blocked. But they continued supply of essential commodities through the Chitral-Shandur road. The federal government has also planned to expand the Shandur road and link GB with Peshawar through Chitral as an alternative to the KKH which frequently remains blocked.

It may also be noted that due to the poor policies of the dummy chief minister, the people of Ghizer have already rejected his party, the PPP, in the region and in the recent by-election a nationalist party leader won the seat vacated by Governor Pir Karam Ali Shah.

The people of the region said the chief minister should launch some welfare projects in the area instead of trying to win cheap popularity by pitching the people of Chitral and Gilgit-Baltistan against each other.

They said Shandur was not an issue between the people of Chitral and Gilgit-Baltistan but some people with vested interest were trying to make a mountain out a molehill which will not succeed in their mission.--In collaboration with Bange Sahar Publications
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