The June 8 elections in Gilgit-Baltistan, a disputed territory occupied by Pakistan, were unfair and unconstitutional, said exiled nationalist leader and chairman of Balawaristan National Front (BNF) Abdul Hamid Khan.
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's ruling PML-N won 14 of the 24 seats, which were contested by 272 candidates of various parties in the elections.
The BNF chief claimed that Gilgit-Baltistan is neither a part of Pakistan constitutionally, nor, does it have its own constitution. It means the whole process of electing the Gilgit Baltistan Legislative Assembly was unconstitutional and illegal.
"Whenever there was an election in PoK, people close to the government in Islamabad are selected, not elected. It is an election only in name, and a drama of a vote is played out. The same has happened in Gilgit Baltistan also. Just to show the world, they brought people from outside to show it was fair, but it was not. The indigenous people and parties there are not allowed to participate in the polls. You should charge them with sedition and terrorism, said Khan.
The Balawaristan National Front, the sole representative nationalist political party of two million people of Gilgit Baltistan, boycotted the June 8 elections by calling the Gilgit Baltistan Legislative Assembly a puppet forum with no powers. It said all powers rest with the Ministry of Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan Affairs.
Khan squarely blames Pakistan for violating the UN resolution by bringing in its political parties to contest polls in the disputed region of Gilgit Baltistan.
He said, "Gilgit Baltistan is not a part of Pakistan, even Pakistan accepts this. This is a disputed area, they talk about UN resolution, and they haven't even included it in their constitution. So, why do they bring their own parties here? All the parties that participated in the elections in Gilgit Baltistan, barring a few candidates who are nationalists, all others are backed by ISI (Pakistan's spy agency)".
Khan added that in 2009 elections, the nationalist parties of Gilgit Baltistan were not allowed to participate and their candidates were arrested and some of them fearlessly sent to Pakistan so that they are not able to vent the public anger against manipulated elections in Gilgit Baltistan.
"In 2009, just a week before the elections, they arrested three candidates of Balawaristan National Front in Gilgit. They also sent a lot of our friends back to Pakistan from there. Is this freedom? Is this democracy? This time, just four days before the June 8 elections in Gilgit Baltistan, the Balwaristan National Front boycotted the fraud elections - which is more like a selection," said Khan.
Khan said his party has condemned and protested against the conspiracy hatched by Pakistan to handover Gilgit-Baltistan to China under the grab of Pakistan-China Economic Corridor (CPEC).
The 46 billion USD China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is a mega project which aims to connect Gwadar Port in south western Pakistan to China's northwestern Xinjiang, via a network of highways, railways and pipelines to transport oil and gas.
"The China Pakistan Economic corridor, is not a corridor, it is a sale agreement. Pakistan made a secret agreement to sell Gilgit Baltistan to China. If it was not a secret agreement, they would have revealed the details of the agreement in the newspapers and other media," said Khan.
Khan said the people of Gilgit-Baltistan are living a miserable life and they ask for an impartial referendum to determine the authenticity of Pakistan's claim over the region.
"A total of 22 Pakistani agencies are working in Gilgit-Baltistan. The army is present in the region and people have no right of expression. There is no freedom of speech, no excess to justice. When did you (Pakistan) ask the people of Gilgit-Baltistan as they want to be their part? Only your puppets and the political parties of Pakistan who are present in the region favours you. It does not indicate the choice of indigenous people. When did you ask the people? To get their verdict, you must go for an impartial referendum. And, whatever the decision be, we will accept it.
Gilgit Baltistan, which was earlier known as Northern Regions, was originally a part of the erstwhile princely state of India's Jammu and Kashmir.
Since its occupation in 1947, Pakistan has been exploiting the territory and its vast resources like Gold, Uranium and water.
