SKARDU, Aug 17: Speakers at a convention here have demanded of the government to grant “self-rule” to the people of Gilgit- Baltistan similar to that of Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

The speakers have called upon the United Nations, world powers and the local human rights organizations to take notice of what they called the injustices the successive governments have been committing against the people of Northern Areas for 55 years.

They made this call at the 16th convention of the Baltistan Students Federation (BSF) here the other day. The moot was attended by the leaders of 14 political, religious and nationalist parties of the region.

Inayatullah Shumali, Gilgit-Baltistan National Alliance president, who was the chief guest, criticized the chief executive of Northern Areas, Abbas Sarfraz Khan, for not making efforts to get the Northern Areas Legislative Council (NALC) turned into an assembly.

He said the minister had assured the GBNA that the NALC would be converted into an assembly and the chief executive would be appointed from among the local elected representatives “but it is yet to be fulfilled.” He condemned the leadership of Azad Kashmir for creating hurdles in that process.

He vowed that unless the government provided constitutional and political rights to the people of Gilgit-Baltistan, they would not pay any taxes.

NAPP leader Qurban Ali urged President Gen Pervez Musharraf to provide constitutional and political rights to the area of Gilgit-Baltistan and an independent status as had been given to Azad Kashmir, or else they would launch a struggle for the attainment of their basic rights.

He warned that no decision would be acceptable to the people about their future until they, as a third party, were involved in any dialogue on the Kashmir dispute.

Balawaristan National Front Chairman Nawaz Khan Naji said the people of Gilgit-Baltistan had been victimized and deprived of all rights for over half a century.

He said, “Our forefathers have liberated this area from the yoke of Dogra Raj in 1948 and announced its accession with Pakistan. But the successive governments of Pakistan have given nothing except imposing the rule of bureaucracy on them.”

Others who spoke on the occasion were JI President Mushtaq Ahmed Advocate, Col (retd) Nadir Hassan Khan, Maj (retd) Hussain Shah, Afsar Jan, Ziaul Haque, Nawaz Khan Naji, Haider Shah Rizvi, Taqi Akhunzada and Haider Taj.

They emphasized the need for unity and asked the government to restore Northern Light Infantry Regiment’s pre-Kargil conflict status.

They criticized the deteriorating educational standard in the area and held the education department officials responsible for it. They demanded a better salary package for the teachers.

They also criticized the administration of the Karakoram University and said that lack of facilities in the university had jeopardized the future of the students.

Engineer Manzoor Hussain Parwana, BSF president, who presided over the convention, asked for the restoration of state subject rules, recalling NLI from down country, restoration of 100 per cent quota in recruitment of the local people in the NLI regiment and self-government for the area in accordance with the UN resolutions. and the Cadet College Skardu.