A view of the Senate in Islamabad. — File photo

ISLAMABAD: In a rare show of unity, parliamentarians from both side of aisle in Upper House of Parliament on Monday joined Mir Hasil Khan Bizenjo of National Party in token walkout from the House on the issue of shortage of potable water in Gwadar.

Speaking on a point of order, Mir Hasil Bizenjo said that people were forced to migrate to Iran and Karachi due to severe shortage of drinking water in Gwadar.

He said that the people of the area was facing acute water shortage for the past one month, but the government was not paying heed to address this basic issue.

Bizenjo said that potable water resources have been dried up and the people were forced to buy a water tanker by paying Rs 18,000.

He said contaminated water was being supplied by those tankers which transport oil from Iran to Pakistan.

He said that despite tall claims of former ruler Parvez Musharraf and incumbent Balochistan government of spending an amount of Rs.130 billion on development of Gwadar no solid step was taken for proper provision of potable water to people in the area.

Mir Hasil requested all the political parties to join hand and stage token walkout to show solidarity with people of Gwadar.

He also strongly condemned the recent incident in which 16 innocent people were gunned down in Balochistan.

The appeal elicited unexpected reaction as not only the opposition but the ruling PPP and its key allies became part of the protest.

Raja Zafarul Haq of the PML-N termed the situation national disaster and said that the issue should be taken seriously.

Mushahidullah Syed of PML-Q, said that Balochistan was a serious issue and  recommendations of the Committee on Balochistan headed by Ch Shujjat Hussain should be implemented in letter and spirit.

Mian Raza Rabbani said that the government had made numerous efforts to address Balochistan issues but these remained unsolved.

Kalsoom Parveen of BNP-Awami said that his party with Mir Hasil and Baloch people on the issue.

Maulana Sherani of JUI, Afraisab Khattak of ANP, Col (r) Tahir Hussain of MQM and Saifullah Magsi also spoke on the occasion and later stage token walkout from the House to show solidarity with Mir Hasil.

Leader of the House, Jehangir Badar said that mere walk out from the House was not a solution to the problem. He suggested making joint efforts for solving the issue.

Mir Hasil thanked all the parties for their support and suggested that two desalination plants should be installed in Gwadar and Pasni on emergency basis as water tankers were not a solution to the problem.

Nayyar Hussain asked the leader of House to take up the matter with Chief Minister Balochsitan, Chief Secretary and officials of NDMA and PDMA and submit detail report in the House on Tuesday.

Later the House was adjourned to meet again on Tuesday at morning 10.00 am.

The KESC paid Rs4 billion to the SSGC on Wednesday and a payment of about Rs3.5 billion was also made last month, the statement added. – APP photo

KARACHI: The Karachi Electric Supply Company may increase the duration and frequency of loadshedding in the city due to a shortage in gas supply.

According to a KESC statement issued on Wednesday, the gas supply to the power utility was curtailed without any prior notice or warning on Wednesday evening.

“The KESC had been receiving approximately 225 MMCFD (million cubic feet per day) gas from the Sui Southern Gas Company against its requirement of 400 MMCFD.”

It said that after a sudden drastic reduction in the gas supply to the KESC, the current gas supply level stood at 155 MMCFD, which was highly insufficient to cater to the summer peak demand of the metropolis.

The reduction in the gas supply led to a chain reaction of tripping in the KESC power generation turbines. “One unit of the Bin Qasim power plant, two units of the Korangi power plant and the entire SITE power station tripped.”

“It is feared that the massive reduction in gas supply to the KESC will have fallout on the generation of power, which in turn will affect the unchanged loadshedding regime that had been maintained by the KESC since the past six months. Loadshedding in residential and commercial areas of the city might go up to 14 hours in a day.”

The KESC paid Rs4 billion to the SSGC on Wednesday and a payment of about Rs3.5 billion was also made last month, the statement added.

Meanwhile, SSGC’s Deputy Managing Director Zuhair Siddiqui said: “We had a problem at our Bhit gas field due to which we were losing about 50 MMCFD. Because of this we had requested the KESC three days ago to reduce their consumption by 10 to 15 MMCFD, which they did not do”.

“Due to this the line pack got depleted and the gas pressure went down. Still the problem at Bhit gas field has been rectified and things will improve as the pressure in the line builds up again,” he explained.

A sector-wise analysis showed negative growth in exports of all products of textile and clothing sectors except raw materials. – File photo

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s export of textile and clothing dropped 9.961 per cent in the first 11 months of the current fiscal year due to weak demand from recession-hit key markets Europe and US.

The exports proceeds from these sectors fell to $11.273 billion in July-May period this year from $12.472 billion over the corresponding period of last year, suggested data of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics released on Wednesday.

Last year exports from textile and clothing sector crossed $14 billion. For the current fiscal year, the government has projected a target of $16 billion.

But textile people estimate that export proceeds would hardly touch $13 billion-mark by end June 2012.

As a result of poor performance of the textile and clothing sector, overall exports also fell 3.37 per cent to $21.500 billion in the July-May period as against $22.388 billion over the corresponding period last year.

The government has projected an overall export target of $25.8 billion, which doesn’t seem achievable in the last one month of 2011-12.

Officials said that crisis in the Eurozone and stiff competition in textile products from China, India and Bangladesh in the international market also causes decline in export proceeds from the country.

Local manufacturers of raw materials and value-added sectors have already projected a 25 per cent drop in export
to Europe alone due to debt crisis.

Contrary to this, over 6.03 per cent decline was also witnessed in terms of rupee despite depreciation of rupee against the dollar in the past few months, indicating that the fall in the health of rupee did not support Pakistani textile and clothing products to penetrate in the international markets.

A sector-wise analysis showed negative growth in exports of all products of textile and clothing sectors except raw materials.

At the same time, there was a 9.63 per cent decline in import of machinery in the value-added sector to increase quality and capacity of production. This indicates that local manufacturers were also not expanding their production capacity.

Product-wise details showed that export of raw cotton increased 31 per cent because of high demand for cotton, especially in China following a ban by Indian government on cotton exports. Also export of tents, canvas were up by 101.75 per cent during the period under review and other textile materials 4.77 per cent, respectively.

The export of readymade garments declined by 6.45 per cent, knitwear 13.19 per cent, bedwear 15 per cent and towels 9.51 per cent during the period under review. And export of cotton yarn declined by 19.89 per cent, cotton cloth 3.13 per cent, cotton carded or combed 61.58 per cent and art silk declined by 15.9 per cent during the period under review.

“The increase was necessary to reduce the circular debt and the government is paying a subsidy of more than Rs3.04 per unit,” said a government official. – APP photo

ISLAMABAD: The government raised the electricity tariff on Wednesday by around 16 per cent.

The lifeline consumers using up to 50 units per month have been exempted from the increase which will raise an additional Rs88 billion.

According to a notification issued by the ministry of water and power, the tariff for domestic consumers of up to 100 units has been raised by 71 paisa to Rs5.25 per unit. They will also have to bear an additional burden of fuel adjustment charges for February and March in their next electricity bills.

The tariff for domestic consumers of 101-300 units has been increased by Rs1.07 to Rs7.93 per unit.

The tariff for 301-700 units has been increased by Rs2.12 to Rs12.77 per unit and for more than 700 units to Rs15.41 per unit.

Commercial, industrial and agriculture sector consumers will face a massive increase in power tariff.

An official of the ministry of water and power has justified the increase, saying the tariffs had not been revised since March 15 last year. “The increase was necessary to reduce the circular debt and the government is paying a subsidy of more than Rs3.04 per unit.”

He told Dawn the average cost of a unit was Rs11.01, but the government would charge an average of Rs8.87 even after the latest increase.

The official said the subsidy would still amount to between Rs250 billion and Rs300 billion.

The tariff for markets, shopping plazas, offices and small business units has been increased by Rs2.08 per unit.

The industrial sector will have to pay Rs1.96 per unit more, while the tariff for agricultural tube-wells has been raised by Rs1.61 per unit.

The ministry officials have estimated that the latest hike of up to 16 per cent would help generate around Rs88 billion.

Sources in the water and power ministry said it had been estimated that electricity generation from the current summer to the next season would be around 68 billion to 70 billion units against a target of 90 billion units in summer next year.

Commercial consumers of a sanctioned load of up to 5kw will now have to pay Rs15.08 per unit and those with a load exceeding 5kw Rs10.22 per unit, besides additional fixed charges of Rs367.

Industrial consumers using up to 5kw will have to pay Rs10.86 per unit and those with 6-500kw (at 400 volts) Rs9.55 per unit with additional fixed charges of Rs367.

B1 consumers under the head of ‘industrial consumer’ will have to pay Rs350 per month, B2 consumers Rs2,000 per month, B3 consumers Rs50,000 per month and B4 consumers Rs500,000 per month as the fixed minimum charge.

Agricultural consumers under D-1 (a) category using less than 5kw will have to pay Rs10.08 per unit, the owners of tube-wells under category D-2 Rs6.92 per unit with additional fixed charges of Rs105 per month and tube-wells under category D-2 Rs6.92
per unit with additional fixed charges of Rs105.

Agricultural consumers using more than 5kw under category D-1 (b) will have to pay Rs6.61 per unit.

The consumers will also pay General Sales Tax of Rs11.33.

The tariff increase will apply across the country, including Karachi.

Payment: As per a decision taken by President Asif Ali Zardari at a meeting last week, the ministry of finance has released Rs3 billion to the ministry of water and power for payments to the PSO to ensure additional supply of furnace oil to power producers.

“The amount is significant because power producers would now be in a position to give something more to the PSO for purchase of furnace oil,” said an official of the water and power ministry.

“We had demanded Rs10 billion. We will write a letter to the finance ministry for the release of another Rs7 billion.”

The official said the system was still facing a shortfall of around 4,000MW per day, which translates into around 10 hours of loadshedding across the country.

“More availability of furnace oil will help generate additional electricity and reduce loadshedding,” he said.

However, as per the circular debt position forwarded to the petroleum ministry by the PSO its total outstanding on Wednesday was Rs202.01 billion, out of which Rs192.74 is directly related to the power sector.

The PSO has pointed out that it has to pay around Rs181.46 billion to oil refineries and Kuwait Petroleum for procuring various petroleum products.

The President also directed the concerned Ministers to meet him regularly and to keep him informed about the latest situation. – APP photo

ISLAMABAD: A high level meeting was held at Aiwan-e-Sadr Monday with President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani in chair to review the current situation with regards to the power issue in the country.

Finance Minister Dr. Abdul Hafeez Sheikh, Syed Naveed Qamar, Federal Minister for Water & Power, Petroleum Minister Dr. Asim Hussain, Secretary to the President Malik Asif Hayat, Spokesperson to the President Senator Farhatullah Babar and Finance Secretary Mr. Wajid Rana were also present.

Briefing about the meeting, Spokesperson to the President Senator Farhatullah Babar said that Syed Naveed Qamar, Federal Minister for Water & Power, briefed the meeting about the daily generation situation since the last meeting with the President that was held on 10th May 2012.

He also gave a briefing on various steps that have being taken to eliminate unscheduled loadshedding.

Dr. Asim Hussain, Federal Minister for Petroleum & Natural Resources briefed the meeting about availability of furnace oil and gas to the power plants and the problems being encountered.

The President directed that Petroleum and the Finance Minister should meet to address the issues raised by the Petroleum Minister and then come back to him in the next meeting.

Finance Minister Dr. Abdul Hafeez Sheikh gave a briefing on the issue of circular debt.

The President emphasized upon the need for enhanced coordination between various concerned departments so as to reduce electricity shortfall and to overcome the unscheduled loadshedding that was causing great inconvenience to the people.

We cannot afford to lower our guards in meeting the energy challenges, Senator Babar quoted the President as saying. The President said that the issue needs to be resolved at the earliest in order to save people from the inconvenience of power shortage.

In order to improve the recovery for gas and power consumed by the consumers, the meeting decided to direct NEPRA and OGRA to put in place the system of bulk metering of electricity and gas.

The President also directed the concerned Ministers to meet him regularly and to keep him informed about the latest situation. The President said that he would continue to hold such meetings till the issue is resolved on permanent basis.

The Presidency held another meeting to address the electricity crisis on Friday, in light of protests held around the country. – PPI photo

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari held another meeting on Friday to monitor the energy crisis and called back Interior Minister Rehman Malik, who is with the Prime Minister in the United Kingdom, to control violent protests in different parts of the country against power shortage.

“President Zardari convened a meeting of relevant federal ministers and officials and monitored the situation,” said President’s spokesman Farhatullah Babar.

He said the president ordered for immediately ending unscheduled loadshedding, especially after the finance ministry had released Rs32 billion for making payments to Independent Power Producers (IPPs) and Pakistan State Oil.

Mr Babar said the president had directed Water and Power Minister Naveed Qamar and Petroleum Minister Dr Asim Hussain, federal secretaries of water and power, finance and petroleum ministries and heads of Pakistan Electric Power Company and Sui Northern and Sui Southern Gas companies to remain in Islamabad for a week to keep reviewing the power supply situation.

“The President asked them to keep him abreast of the situation on a daily basis,” the spokesman said.

Mr Zardari asked Mr Qamar to take part in TV programmes to counter opposition’s criticism and inform the people about the efforts being made to overcome the crisis.

Sources said that Mr Malik would return to the country on Friday night.

The spokesman said the return of Mr Malik had nothing to do with the violent protests against loadshedding.

“The minister was to return to the country on May 13 but he is coming earlier but not because of law and order situation in the country,” the spokesman said.

World oil and motor fuel supplies exceeded demand by 500,000 barrels per day in March and April, the Energy Information Administration said, allowing consumer countries to build cushions against potential losses from US and EU measures against Iran. - File photo

SINGAPORE: Brent crude edged lower towards $119 per barrel on Monday as economic woes in developed economies stoked fears of lower fuel demand, although the prospect of a third round of monetary easing by the United States limited its decline.

US economic growth cooled in the first quarter, raising expectations that the Federal Reserve could start a third round of government bond buying, or quantitative easing known in markets as QE3, to support the economy. Such a move would increase market liquidity and heighten risk appetite for commodities.

Brent June crude was down 22 cents to $119.61 per barrel by 0437 GMT after gaining nearly 1 percent last week.

US June crude was at $104.80 per barrel, down 13 cents. Trading in Asia is likely to be subdued, with Japan and China closed for a public holiday.

“If growth in the US is going to be weaker than the Fed and the market expect, then the Fed will have to act,” said Jeremy Friesen, a commodities strategist at Societe Generale.

While Friday’s US growth data was not weak enough to spur the Fed into another round of bond buying, it kept expectations for QE3 alive, analysts said.

Investors will scour U.S. employment data this Friday for a better read on the health of the world’s largest economy.

The U.S. dollar stayed at multi-week lows against the euro and yen on the possibility of more stimulus. A weaker greenback can be supportive to dollar-denominated oil by making it less expensive to consumers using other currencies.

Europe’s debt woes continued to spook investors as some economies in the region returned to recession, while data on Friday underscored Spain’s economic plight, with nearly a quarter of its work force unemployed.

“We’re going through the worst patch now as reforms start to take effect,” Friesen said.

Speculator positioning in U.S. crude oil futures and options was mixed in the week to April 24, CFTC data showed on Friday, with traders cutting their positions on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) but raising them in London.

BETTER H2 2012

Yet expectations for better economic growth in the second half of the year, and tighter oil supplies due to geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and North Africa and production disruption in the North Sea, could lift oil prices, analysts said.

“The global economy will have a stronger second half as central banks will have no alternative but to stimulate growth,” Friesen said, adding that tighter sanctions on Iran would curb supplies.

Seasonal demand for gasoline and diesel was expected to pick up from mid-May, while refineries would emerge from maintenance, he said.

The United States was expected to press ahead with sanctions on OPEC’s second-largest producer Iran as global oil inventories grew in the past two months, analysts said.

World oil and motor fuel supplies exceeded demand by 500,000 barrels per day in March and April, the Energy Information Administration said, allowing consumer countries to build cushions against potential losses from U.S. and EU measures against Iran.

Societe Generale expects Brent to average at $130 per barrel in the second half, with prices higher in the third quarter as the sanctions take effect from July 1.

The European Union oil embargo on Iran, set to take effect in July, prohibits EU insurers from covering Iranian oil exports anywhere in the world.

Brent’s premium to West Texas Intermediate could narrow to $5 per barrel, Friesen said, as the Seeway pipeline reverses from mid-May, draining a glut of crude from the US Midwest.

Brent’s premium to WTI was at $14.81 per barrel  on Monday, below Friday’s settlement at $14.90.

The reason for the reduction in the tariff increase is attributed to lowering of fuel oil cost estimate to Rs45,000 from Rs65,000, in line with Ministry of Power's recommendation

ISLAMABAD: The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) withdrew on Tuesday the Rs3.03 per unit increase allowed last month over the base tariff and notified with a majority vote an increase of Rs1.67 per unit for all distribution companies except KESC.

According to a Nepra notification, there will be a decrease of Rs1.36 per unit in the bill of consumers on account of fuel charges adjustment as compared to Aug 2011.

A senior Nepra official explained that the effective tariff should have come down by about Rs3 per unit if the regulator had stood by its own judgement of last month in which it had rejected a request from the water and power ministry to treat a base fuel tariff of Rs45,000 per ton, instead of Nepra-determined fuel cost of Rs65,000 per ton.

As a result, Nepra member from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Shaukat Ali Kundi, wrote a dissenting note saying the regulator had determined the tariff for Wapda companies on the basis of Rs65,000 per ton and sent to the government for notification.

After declining the government’s request for reconsideration, the tariff determination of Nepra has attained finality and will be deemed to have been notified in the official gazette under the Nepra Act.

He said the fuel cost component of Rs65,000 per ton determined by Nepra should be assumed a benchmark for all future references while determining the fuel cost adjustment for Wapda companies for the 2011-12 fiscal year.

He said the reference tariff for fuel adjustment for September should have been assumed at Rs6.55 per unit based on furnace oil price of 65,000 per ton in 2011-12, instead of Rs5.54 per unit that was applicable in 2010-11 when the furnace oil was available at Rs45,000 per ton.

“There seems to be no legal justification for making adjustment to the basis of references determined for 2010-11 which is now non-existent and irrelevant,” he said.

The two members of Nepra who notified the higher tariff did not even mention their earlier unanimous judgement, but said they had disallowed the cost of power purchased from rental power projects following a decision of the Supreme Court that cancelled deals with RPPs.

A Nepra official agreed in principle that since the three-member regulator had unanimously rejected the power ministry’s request, it would have been better if the fresh decision that nullified the earlier determination should have been approved by a larger bench, comprising at least four members.Interestingly, Nepra had rejected last month a request by the ministry of water and power to assume furnace oil price at Rs45,000 per ton for the current year that prevailed in the 2010-11 financial year keeping in view economic and social policy objectives of the federal government.

The ministry had also sought to allow adequate transition time for the minimisation of subsidies, financial sustainability and feasibility of tariffs and financial stability of the sector.

The ministry was of the view that calculating base tariff on the basis of Rs66,723 for 2011-12 would oblige the government to cater for additional subsidy, thereby jeopardising financial sustainability of the sector and financial constraints and limitations of restrictions imposed under the fiscal responsibility and debt limitation act.

Nepra, while rejecting the ministry’s plea, had held that the request was in violation of the Nepra act and tariff standards.

Nepra has now indirectly accepted the power ministry’s stand by recognising energy cost on the basis of Rs45,000 per ton, resulting in higher tariff increases.

The fine line between the two legal positions is that fuel-based tariff increase is directly notified by Nepra soon after its determination under law. On the other hand, the base tariff increase has to be notified by the government after a determination is issued by Nepra.

In that case, the government has to take political blame for tariff increase or has to provide subsidy that for the current year had been estimated to touch Rs350 billion.

Under the Nepra act, if the government fails to notify the base tariff within 15 days of rejection of its reconsideration request, Nepra-determined tariff will be deemed to have been notified.

Since the outbreak of violence, Gilgit has remained cut off from the rest of the country with no vehicle plying on the Karakoram Highway and PIA not operating its flights. — Dawn File Photo

GILGIT: Thirty-four people kidnapped from Hunza on April 3 in the wake of violence and bloodshed in Gilgit and Chilas were released on Tuesday as a result of successful talks between kidnappers and cleric Aga Rahat ul Hussain, police said.

Member of the Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly Deedar Ali Shah said the 34 hostages had been released unconditionally.

The kidnapped men — the district health officer, a civil judge, truck drivers, cleaners and labourers working in flour mills — had been taken to Nagar valley.

On Tuesday, they were brought to Gilgit where they were received by the deputy speaker of the Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly, home secretary, finance secretary and the DIG.

Police said Aga Rahat, accompanied by Sheikh Mirza Ali and a number of other religious scholars, went to Nagar valley after the kidnappers had said that they would hand over the hostages only to him.

A team earlier constituted by the Gilgit-Baltistan chief minister had failed to persuade the kidnappers to free the hostages.

The hostages were first taken to the Chief Minister’s House where they met the CM and later transferred to a hotel. They are expected to go to their homes on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, a curfew imposed eight days ago remained in force on Tuesday, without any relaxation.

Since the outbreak of violence, Gilgit has remained cut off from the rest of the country with no vehicle plying on the Karakoram Highway and PIA not operating its flights.

When contacted, SP Diamer district Bashir Ahmed said road traffic would not resume without improvement in the security situation. He said about 27 trucks loaded with foodstuff had left for Gilgit, but they were not allowed to enter the city because all entry points were closed.

People in Skardu, Ghizer, Astore, Ghanche and Hunza Nagar are facing a shortage of food and medicines. Tens of thousands people held a sit-in in Skardu and called for arrest of the killers of bus passengers in Bonar Das near Chilas.

Police said personnel of Pakistan Army, Rangers, Gilgit-Baltistan Scouts as well as police conducted raids in Khomar point of Gilgit and arrested five people with illegal weapons.— Dawn File Photo

By Farooq Ahmed Khan in Gilgit & Qasim A. Moini in Islamabad

April 9: The authorities relaxed curfew for three hours, from 2pm to 5pm, in strife-torn Gilgit on Monday so that people could buy essential commodities.The entry and exit points were closed and no one was allowed to enter or leave the city, except government officials.

The stock in the market was almost finished and traders fleeced the buyers.

There was no report of any untoward incident from any part of the city.

Police said personnel of Pakistan Army, Rangers, Gilgit-Baltistan Scouts as well as police conducted raids in Khomar point of Gilgit and arrested five people with illegal weapons.

In Skardu, officials said there was complete shutter-down strike as angry people burnt tyres and protested in a peaceful manner.

The traffic on the Karakoram Highway was suspended for the seventh day, hence the region was facing shortages of foodstuff as the available stock was almost finished while fresh supplies were suspended.

In a glimmer of hope the team which held talks with those holding hostages in Nagar valley claimed to have made a major breakthrough and gave the green signal indicating that all impediments have been removed and all the hostages would be released by Tuesday evening. Police officials said the hostages were safe.

Isolated and forgotten?

Gilgit is a little over 470 kilometres from Islamabad. Yet the apparent apathy shown by the state towards restoring order to the northernmost part of Pakistan makes it appear as if the region is located on another planet.

For the last week the region has been in the throes of sectarian violence, ever since a grenade was lobbed at protesting workers of Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat, a sectarian outfit, in Gilgit on April 3. The attack caused a spiral of violence, with passengers pulled off buses in Chilas and shot by members of a mob reportedly due to their religious affiliation. More killings, kidnappings and protests followed, paralysing the region as the armed forces were called in and curfew was clamped in Gilgit.

A week since violence broke out, the region, specifically Gilgit, remains under lockdown. Cellphone coverage is still blocked (though it was reportedly restored in Skardu on Sunday). Travel by road is said to be out of the question as the Karakoram Highway remains blocked, with Chilas still volatile.

Air links to Gilgit are also suspended. PIA is operating flights to Skardu, but these are subject to vagaries of the weather. The road link between Skardu and Gilgit is also said to be blocked.

Lack of information and access have compounded the crisis. In Gilgit, there is said to be a critical shortage of petrol and diesel along with food and medicine. It is safe to say that if the curfew is not lifted soon, there will be a major human emergency in Gilgit-Baltistan.

Considering the circumstances, we must ask a question we have asked many times before: where is the state? The authorities whisked a number of foreign tourists out of the region — and thankfully so — on Sunday, but locals seem to be left to their own devices. The state, specifically the security establishment, needs to act now to prevent this human tragedy ballooning into an unmanageable crisis.

Violent episodes have repeated themselves in GB since the late 1980s, and one wonders if the state has accepted the fact that cycles of violence will now be a permanent feature of life in the region, just as in other parts of Pakistan (Karachi immediately springs to mind). It is hoped this is certainly not the case.

Some locals of Gilgit-Baltistan are of the view that if the security forces want, they can carry out targeted searches of areas where they suspect weapons are stored. The small number of such operations that have been carried out have clearly not been enough or else the violence would have abated much earlier. Considering the area’s limited access and relatively small population, it should not be difficult for the authorities to check the import and stockpiling of arms and ammunition.

During several points of order, the Gilgit-Baltistan issue was raised during the joint session of parliament on Monday. Some members talked of praying for the victims of the troubled region, while others talk of forming a commission to look into the situation. Prayers alone will do little, while countless commissions have been formed on a multitude of issues, with little to speak for their performance.

The time is for action. The first priority of the state must be to restore law and order, while the second must be to end the blockade and lift the curfew so that Gilgit-Baltistan’s link with the rest of Pakistan is restored. In the longer term, the state must employ result-oriented methods of conflict resolution while it must work on developing land routes that can be used as alternatives if the volatile Kohistan-Chilas corridor is blocked. And the alien sectarian elements that have struck roots in the region need to be monitored and must face the law if they continue to fan communal tensions.

We see a disturbing pattern developing, as Parachinar is also often blocked off from the rest of Pakistan; the Thall-Parachinar Road, the only viable artery connecting Kurram Agency with the rest of the country, is often targeted by Taliban militants, closing it for months on end. Gilgit-Baltistan should not be another Parachinar in the making.