Nightmare in Paradise

Engineer Ghulam Ali Rinchen (alirinchen@gmail.com)

Member, Board of Directors, Gilgit Baltistan National Congress

Recent floods and landslides have created havoc in Pakistani occupied Gilgit-
Baltistan. Conservative estimates put the deaths at 500, with more than half a
million people losing their dwellings, farmland, moveable assets, ancestral
graveyards, and places of worship, cultural activities and spiritual engagement to
the floods. Around thirty thousand souls among the victims were already affected
by the glacial outbursts which created artificial lake in Hunza in January and
eliminated several villages. Government’s neglect towards the victims is like
insult to the injury.

While the rest of the world is taking environmental issues seriously; Pakistan,
which is one of the few countries most affected by natural calamities, has yet
again failed to find means to curtail damage to the ecosystem. The lack of
seriousness can be judged from the fact that Pakistan sent a low-ranking envoy to
attend 2009 Copenhagen Environmental Summit, where the head of states
belonging to more than hundred nations convened. Today, when the entire
country is submerged in flood-water, Pakistan’s president decided to spend time
in England to attend graduation ceremony of his son, rather than becoming a
source of emotional support to his beleaguered nation.

On the other hand, countries under extreme environmental stress continue to

raise awareness and seek global support through unique campaign methods. For
example, Maldives, which might be submerged if water in Indian Ocean continues
to rise, held an under-the-ocean cabinet meeting to draw attention to the threats
to their existence. Nepal, threatened by increasing toxic waste polluting her
glaciers, followed Maldives and held cabinet meeting at the base camp of Mount
Everest.

Gilgit-Baltistan, which is called the water tank of South Asia, faces similar
environmental threats. Gilgit-Baltistan has the highest concentration of tallest
mountains and longest glaciers of the world. Tourists pollute glaciers and rivers
since they fail to receive proper guidance from Pakistani authorities. Among the
most affected glaciers are Siachen, Baltoro, Passu, Concordia and Biafo. The
mountains which have received severe impact are Chogori (K-2), Gasherbrums,
Trango, Nanga Parbat and Rakaposhi.

But tourists are not the major polluters. Arrival of thousands of illegal Pakistani
settlers and soldiers, with their vehicles and ammunition; construction of large
scale military and strategic infrastructures; and presence of tens of thousands of
Pakistani and Chinese workers, equipments and petrochemical products are
among the leading pollutants. Pakistani soldiers have been found using toy-
bombs, grenades and dynamites to catch fish in the lakes and rivers of Gilgit-
Baltistan. Military officials use gun-ship helicopters to hunt endangered wild
animals and continue plunder of local scarce resources with impunity. The
infrastructural development which has happened in the last ten years has led to
increase in humidity to the alarming levels, which is evident in the form of glacial
outbursts, rock shifts and tremors, and continued landslides. Creation of artificial
lake at Ataabad-Hunza is a glaring example in this regard. And these warnings
are just the tip of the iceberg, as future generations will bear the aftermaths of
damage to the ecosystem for centuries to come.

Environmental experts blame excessive Pakistani interventions for the continued

calamities in Gilgit-Baltistan. They say that the region is a high altitude desert
and excessive humidity can cause continuous cloudbursts leading to flashfloods.

The situation should have forced Pakistan to review actions and policies of
exploitation. However, instead of slowing down, and caring about the wellbeing of
the people of Gilgit-Baltistan, Islamabad has now signed agreements with China
to construct rail tracks and oil and gas pipelines which will cut through the
glaciers of Gilgit-Baltistan. These changes taking place at breakneck level are
threatening indigenous civilizations. The events are food for thought for those
among the natives who have high hopes from Pakistan as their benefactor. The
bitter reality is that without support of international community, the saga of
sacrificing land and people of Gilgit-Baltistan for the ‘greater interests of Pakistan’
will continue.