KARACHI: A book, titled Delusional states: feeling rule and development in Pakistan’s northern frontier, has been launched here. Written by Nosheen Ali, it is published by Cambridge University Press.

The launching ceremony was held at ‘Workers Hall’ in Panorama Centre, which was organised by the Nati­onal Students Federation.

Ms Ali clai­m­ed that Gilgit-Baltistan had suffered what she called ‘blowback’ of the 9/11 incidents in the US. She claimed that the locals had no say in decision-making process there.

Referring to ‘reforms’ initiated by the federal government since 2008 under which the legislature was introduced there, she said that all powers still rested with the prime minister of Pakistan, not the GB assembly.

She said the ruling elites’ attitude towards GB was restricted to what she called ‘elite paternalism and romanticised landscape’ instead of providing them ‘citizenship rights’.

In this regard, she cited her meeting with a former federal minister for northern areas and recalled that when she raised the question of citizenship rights, the then minister responded by saying that the government had given ‘CNICs, passports, CPEC, etc,’ therefore, the people should be grateful for these things.

She said the elites considered GB as ‘space for romance’ which was visible in TV dramas and films thus ‘tourist mentality’, but no intellectual or political representation of the people.

In her book, she cited the Motorcycle Girl film of 2018 to this effect.

Nosheen Ali, who did her PhD from Cornell University of New York, said that the core issue of GB was its constitutional status.

Ms Ali said she had touched the issue of ‘reality of power’ in her book when public servants became masters or lords and when the state adopted ‘repressive mood’ and considered ‘others’ as a threat.

She also talked about poetry and woman emancipation in GB.

At the start of her talk, she recited poetry of Jamshed Dukhi, who had received death threats.

Ms Ali opined that a cultural movement was as important as political one.

She said she believed that culture was ‘spirit of politics’.

Correction: An earlier version of the story had erroneously stated that Nosheen Ali is a teacher at the Aga Khan University. The error is regretted.

Published in Dawn, January 1st, 2020