President Dr. Arif Alvi’s Maiden Gilgit-Baltistan Visit
By Syed Shams Uddin THOUGH unofficial, President Dr Arif Alvi’s visit to Gilgit-Baltistan the other day assumes great significance insofar his categorical and unambiguous assurance to accelerate the process of giving constitutional rights to people of Gilgit-Baltitan is concerned. Indeed, the constitutional rights’ issue remains the core problem of this region hanging in balance for the last seven decades at a stretch which has been made subject to a dithering with broken promises and backtrackings. The president is now referred to as having said rather outspokenly that the constitutional rights’ issue which to the GBian is ‘the mother of all issues’, would be taken up as soon as he is back in Islamabad as reported by regional print media. He is also referred to have said that he will have a look at ‘Sartaj Aziz Committee’ report as well whilst asking the regional people to tell as to what setup they would really like. Viewed in this backdrop, the president’s visit though ...