GILGIT-BALTISTAN EMPOWERMENT AND SELF GOVERNANCE ORDER 2009 Opportunities and Challenges

Transcription

1 GILGIT-BALTISTAN EMPOWERMENT AND SELF GOVERNANCE ORDER 2009 Opportunities and Challenges Arranged By: Gilgit-Baltistan Policy Institute (GBPI) Centre For Civic Education Pakistan & Forum of Federation Canada July 2010 Islamabad, Pakistan

2 Executive Summary The Gilgit-Baltistan has been formerly known as the Federally Administered Northern Areas (FANA), is strategically located between China, India and Pakistan. The area is home to a number of endangered wild animals and plants species, and internationally known for its mountain peaks, famous glaciers and high altitude lakes. The world s second highest mountain peak K-2 is also located in this region. For over 60 years, the people of Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) had been living in a constitutional vacuum, directly administered by the Federal Government of Pakistan from Islamabad without granting legal and constitutional rights to the local people. This curious position arises from the unresolved dispute between Pakistan and India over the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir of which the GB has be annexed with the disputed territory since the days of British Empire. Pakistan s Constitutions of 1956, 1962 and 1973 do not recognize GB as territorial part of the country, however, democratic governments and military regimes had been introducing various administrative and governance reforms to strengthen direct rule of Islamabad over the area. The Gilgit-Baltistan has been ruled by cosmetic and band-aid Ordinances introduced time to time without any constitutional cover. After independence in 1947, the Frontier Crimes Regulations (FCR) was enforced in the area. Under this colonial law a civil servant, called Political Agent, exercised all judicial and administrative powers. Initially the Political Agent in Gilgit was placed under the Political Resident of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, (formerly NWFP), in an attempt to extend administrative control and later controlled directly from Islamabad.. Other key administrative measures undertaken are: establishment of the Ministry of Kashmir Affairs and Northern Areas (KANA) (1950), appointment of a joint secretary of the Ministry of KANA as Resident with administrative and judicial powers (1952), organizing elections of 16 members of Northern Areas Advisory Council (1970), package of administrative and judicial reforms 1974, declaration of the area as Martial Law Zone-E by Gen. Zia and granting representation in the non-elected Majlis-e-Shura, appointment of a representative from the area as Advisor to Minister for KANA (1985), followed by appointment of an advisor to the Prime Minister in 1988, LFO or Reforms Package of 1994, delegation of legislative powers in 1999, establishment of Northern Areas Court of Appeal in 2005, and Northern Areas Governance order in The Gilgit-Baltistan Empowerment and Self-Governance Order 2009 is a turning point in the administrative history of the region. Anchored in article 258 of the Constitution of Pakistan, the Order, though short of providing constitutional status to GB, has given the region identity by renaming it as Gilgit-Baltistan and introducing an improved setup of legislative system i.e. Legislative Assembly and GB Council. Now the region has its own Governor, Chief Minster and legislative Assembly. Under GB Empowerment and Self-Governance Order 2009, elections for the Legislative Assembly were held on November 14, Pakistan Peoples Party emerged as the majority party by winning 14 seats out of the total 33 and formed a coalition government. Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam

3 (F) secured four seats, Pakistan Muslim League (Q) 3, Muttahida Quami Movement one seat, Pakistan Muslim League (N) two, and two independent seats in the Legislative Assembly. With assumption of offices by a new government including governor, chief minister and his cabinet ministers, the GB is experiencing a major administrative transformation. To examine and discuss challenges to the new system and opportunities that it brings, the Gilgit-Baltistan Policy Institute in collaboration with Centre for Civic Education Pakistan and the Forum of Federations organized a two-day event titled Gilgit-Baltistan Empowerment and Self-Governance Order 2009: Challenges and Opportunities from 12 to 13 July, 2010, in Islamabad. The participants were 14 members of the newly-elected Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly (GBLA) including the Chief Minister, Speaker and Deputy Speaker as well as two cabinet ministers. Among others were three members of the Gilgit-Baltistan Council, and five former members of the former Northern Areas Legislative Council, social and political activists, and journalists from the GB and Islamabad. The Federal Minister for Information, Mr. Qamar Zaman Kaira who was former governor of the GB was the chief guest at the inaugural session. The speakers/resource persons and participants explored and discussed challenges and opportunities of transformation of the GB administrative and constitutional system in the light of GB Empowerment and Self-Governance Order This Order was rated as a major step towards integration of the GB into the federation; however, most of the participants were not satisfied with the semi-autonomous provincial status without representation in the national Parliament. The participants were given copies of the Forum of Federation s research paper on GB Reforms 2009, Urdu translation of the Gilgit-Baltistan Empowerment and Self-Governance Order 2009, copies of the 18 th Amendment of Constitution of Pakistan, and Forum s publications on different aspects of federalism. A set of Forum s publications was presented to the Chief Minister, Syed Mehdi Shah, and another to Speaker of the Assembly, Mr. Wazir Baig, for library of the Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly. The Chief Minister and other participants appreciated the effort of collaborating partners as an enabling exercise in comprehending different aspects of the law, highlighted the need and called for holding of similar events in future. Proceedings

4 Session-I Mr. Zafarullah Khan, Executive Director of the Centre for Civic Education Pakistan, in his opening remarks said that the Gilgit-Baltistan Empowerment and Self-Governance Order 2009 was a significant development that had ushered a new era of empowerment and self-rule in the region. He said federations, laws, and constitutions could not remain static and must evolve with the passage of time and should change according to the peoples aspirations. He expressed the hope that the process of giving people of GB right to self-rule and strengthening of the federation would continue in future. Prof. Dr. Rasul Bakhsh Rais, Pakistan s renowned academic and professor at Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), in his speech said that the GB Order 2009 was a historic decision and a big step towards regional autonomy and self-rule. He said that perhaps the region was not given constitutional status of a separate province because of the Kashmir dispute and its related international complications; however, the GB now had its own Legislative Assembly, Council, and Executive. Prof. Rais said that to get full benefit of the opportunities that the new governance order had open up, attention must be paid to improve quality of education in the region, especially the higher education. Quality higher education would enable people to explore natural wealth of the region and exploit these resources for their development. He said that the GB Order 2009 must not be viewed as a mere legal framework of rights, powers and limits, but as a fresh start of self-governance. Dr. Rais said that the government of Gilgit-Baltistan could claim more powers and autonomy by evolving best governance and management practices. People of the region were well-aware and very hard working and they could become a role model for the rest of Pakistan by running their affairs effectively and responsibly, he remarked. He said the region had great untapped potential for hydro-electricity generation and asked members of the GB Legislative Assembly to devise power projects and seek international assistance for these schemes. These hydro-projects could be a source of royalty that might help improve living standards in the region. Mr. Qamar Zaman Kaira, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting, who is also one of the key architects of the Gilgit-Baltistan Empowerment and Self-Governance Order 2009, gave credit of the GB Reforms Package to his late party leader, Benazir Bhutto, who had promised administrative reforms for the region in the Charter of Democracy (CoD), signed in 2006 with PML (N). He quoted form the CoD which says that Northern Areas shall be developed by giving it a special status and further empowering the Northern Areas Legislative Council to provide people of Northern Areas access to justice and human rights. The Minister said that he considered the GB Reforms Package a big milestone of his political career. He said that the PPP has always strived to serve the people across the country and the people of GB have a lot of expectations from the newly elected Assembly there. He said that it is

5 not that much important weather constitutionally Gilgit-Baltistan is part of Pakistan or not, but practically it was an integral part of the country and its people had rendered many sacrifices for Pakistan and in the struggle for democracy in the country. He said the Reforms Package and subsequent PPP s victory in elections are significant achievements but coming up to the expectations of the people of the area is the bigger challenge ahead. The Federal Minister urged the GB MLAs to come up to the expectations of the electorate and work hard to resolve the problems being faced by the people of Gilgit-Baltistan on priority basis. The Federal Minister said that Gilgit-Baltistan is full of natural wealth and there is a need to involve private sector in exploration of these resources. He said that the Federal Government had earmarked a huge budget for construction of Diamer-Bhasha Dam in Gilgit-Baltistan. He further said that GB had become business corridor between Pakistan and China but unfortunately sporadic eruption of sectarian violence in the region was a big threat to trade activities and a serious challenge to the law and order situation. He said sectarian violence had also disturbed tourism industry in recent past. Mr. Kaira said that the chief minister or his cabinet could not overcome these challenges without full support and cooperation of the people. He asked members of the Legislative Assembly and intelligentsia to stand with the nascent GB government in larger interest of the masses help it make the new system a success. Syed Mehdi Shah, Chief Minister of Gilgit-Baltistan, appreciated Gilgit-Baltistan Policy Institute, Centre for Civic Education Pakistan and the Forum of Federations for arranging the two-day conference and extended his full support for such efforts in future. He said that GB Self-Governance Order was a meaningful step towards federal integration. The Reforms Package was result of a long and collective struggle of the people of the region. Now all political parties and people of Gilgit-Baltistan should join hands for making the new system successful, he remarked. He warned that the PPP or for that matter any other single party without support of the people could not turn the emerging challenges into opportunities for the betterment and development of GB. He assured that his government is open to suggestions and would not even mind constructive criticism. The Chief Minister said that they had to make the system work. He warned his party colleagues and other politicians that history would not forgive them if they wasted this opportunity. He promised that his government would follow the law in letter and spirit and would try to ensure rule of law in the region. Mr. Altaf Hussain President GBPI presented a copy of his research paper on GB Reforms 2009 to Chief Minister and the Minister for Information and Broadcasting. Session II

6 Mr. Altaf Hussain, President of GBPI said that the GBPI has been established to provide policy support to the elected representatives and the Legislative Assembly to facilitate the implementation process of GB Governance Order As part of the initiatives the GB Self-Governance Order 2009 had been translated into Urdu language for making it understandable and available to the general public. He said that the basic understanding of the law is not only beneficial for the legislators but also for the civil society organizations and the public at large. He said this conference is an opportunity to review the Reforms Order 2009 for deeper understand and identify opportunities and the limitation and drawing conclusions and recommendations and develop plans to act upon. Mr. Asad Ullah Khan, Advocate General, Government of GB, in his presentation said that Gilgit-Baltistan was passing through a transitional period from a federally controlled administration to a self-ruled process. He said the GB Self-Rule Order 2009 was much better than the previous reforms packages and had provided for establishment of a separate and complete governance set-up. This Order might not be an ideal law but people must get benefit from whatever it had offered and should continue striving for more autonomy and rights, he remarked. He said the GB Supreme Appellate Court is equivalent to Supreme Court of Pakistan and GB Chief Court to a High Court and Judges means Justice but the terms Supreme Court, High Court and Justice are not used. The Chief Judge and Judges are to be appointed by the Prime Minister of Pakistan on the advice of the GB Governor. He said the Order has also provided for a GB Consolidated Fund that would reduce dependency of the area on the federal government. He said that successful running of the system would create more opportunities that could lead to demands for additional powers and autonomy. Mr. Zafarullah Khan, Director Centre for Civic Education Pakistan, presented an over view of the best legislative and parliamentary practices adopted around the world. He said Parliament was a paramount institution in democratic parliamentary system with the powers and authority to provide vision for the country and define roles of different organs of the state. He said democratic debate on issues in parliaments and subsequent legislation had brought several meaningful changes. Giving an example, he said that black people had no right of vote in the United States of America a few decades back but today a black man is the president of that country. Similarly, women s right to vote was the result of discussions, policy and lawmaking in parliaments of many countries in early and mid 20 th century. He said people had entrusted members of the GB Legislative Assembly with a historic role. Now members of the GBLA had to make their assembly a supreme policy and law making institution by providing vision and policy guidelines to the government and vigilantly oversee the implementation process. He said elected Houses were not debating clubs and free for all to speak. Every House had its own Rules of Business and Conduct of Procedures. Understanding of these Rules and Procedures is a must to be an effective parliamentarian. Equally important is the roles of standing committees in

7 legislation as these were called Brain of the Parliament, he remarked. A member of the House could not be an expert on all subjects but s/he must know where relevant knowledge and expertise were and how to be consulted for making effective laws. He said the members of the Assembly could play very effective legislative role by developing specialized expertise in areas of their respective interest. He asked the members to learn time management techniques for having sufficient time to meet with the people, attend sessions, and think/make preparation for future sessions. Questions and Concerns Following issues were raised during questions and answers: Women members expressed pleasure over appointment of a Lady Governor in GB Region The legislative set up will mature with passage of time and with help of intellectuals and civil society. Sectarian violence is not good for development. Peace and maintained law and order are vital for development of Gilgit-Baltistan. Speaker GBLA has formed Standing Committees on various subjects and these committees have started their work. The new GB government is now able to negotiate with the Government of Pakistan for more funds. Opposition in the Assembly will play a responsible role. The Order 2009, restricted legislation on certain issues. GB needs full rights and power to legislate on all local subjects like that in AJK. The judiciary is not much functional and under this Order the judiciary is not independent which is not a positive sign. Bureaucracy role is not ideal but we have to live with the present bureaucratic system until a better one is set up in future. Gilgit-Baltistan should get constitutional status of a province in Pakistan. Session III Gilgit-Baltistan Empowerment & Self-Governance Order 2009

8 Professor Dr. Ahmed Ali Khan, Director of the National Law University, presented an overview of Reforms Order He said that law making was an evolutionary process and it is a good step taken by the Government of Pakistan. He said that some points are not clear in the Reforms Order 2009 but can be settled through negotiations and legislation. Analysing the law, he said that it was an Order without constitutional rights and protection. The law provides fundamental rights to all persons but these rights are not clearly defined. Amendments to the GB Order 2009 can only be made by the Government of Pakistan through notification in the official gazette. Other salient points of the law, he explained, are: The Legislative system is three-tier: 1) GB Legislative assembly; 2) GB Council; and 3) Government of Pakistan. Laws passed by the Legislative Assembly will need the Governor s assent whereas laws passed by the GB Council need no assent by the Governor, only authentication by the Prime Minister of Pakistan as Chairman of the GB Council. The financial system is interesting and has two types of Consolidated Funds i.e Council Consolidated Fund and GB Consolidated Fund. Council Consolidated Fund to be regulated by an Act of the Council and the Council to prepare a statement of expenditure to be approved by the Council and authenticated by its Chairman (Prime Minister of Pakistan). The GB Consolidated Fund to be regulated by an Act of the Legislative Assembly. Annual Budget is to be prepared by the LA and authenticated by the Governor. Under the Order 2009, judiciary is controlled, not independent. Judges have no sue motto powers. Questions and Concerns Following issues came under discussion during questions and answers: There is confusion in GB Reform Order 2009, especially about judicial system. The GB Assembly and Council should work on it and remove all ambiguities. Civil Society can take lead role to work on improving the Order. It is possible to identify some expert groups and assign them the task to identify ambiguities in law and suggest amendments. GBLA should set specific objectives for six month. After six months the Chief Minister should review the process and share the progress with the general public of GB. GBLA should ensure transparency in government affairs especially in spending of development budget. Constitutional status of Gilgit-Baltistan must be clarified. Introduce of a taxation system in Gilgit-Baltistan to generate revenues is needed. Previously Northern Areas Legislative Council can makes amendments in the previous reforms order with two-third majority but now this right has been taken away. The power of amending the Reforms Order 2009 should be given to the GBLA. People need to be educated about taxation system to generate revenues locally

9 Closing Remarks Mr. Wazir Baig, speaker of Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly, in his closing remarks appreciated the conference as a great contribution towards strengthening the governance structure of Gilgit-Baltistan. He said more such efforts are needed to build the capacity of GBLA members. He said that members of the Assembly were keen to learn and ready to deliver with the help and collaboration of civil society and intelligentsia. He said the GB government was mulling to introduce a taxation system. Spadework for taxation system has been started in consultation with political parties to develop common understand on importance of taxes for self-reliance. Recommendations GB shall be given constitutional status of a province with adequate representation in both houses of the national Parliament. The GB Legislative Assembly shall have the power to amend the Gilgit-Baltistan Empowerment and Self-Governance Order To make all departments fully operational all supporting rules of business and regulations shall be drafted and approved on priority basis. The GB Supreme Appellate Court and Chief Court shall have equal powers and impendence as that of the Supreme Court and a High Court. A taxation system shall be introduced in GB to reduce reliance on the Federal Government. Meeting of the GB Council shall be called as soon as possible and all pressing matters shall be brought on its agenda The GB government in collaboration with private sector shall devise plan for exploiting of hydro-electricity potential of the region Religious sectarian violence is a serious hurdle in development of the region. Elements involved in spreading sectarian hatred must be dealt with an iron hand and protection must be given to trade and tourism. Annexure List of Participants Name Institution/Address Tel/Cell No Dr. Rasul Bakhsh Rais Lahore University of Management Sciences

10 Prof. Ahmad Ali National Law University, Islamabad Kalsoom Sumra National Law University, Islamabad Waliur Rehman National Law University, Islamabad Muhammad Ali Institute of Chartered Accountants Pakistan Iftikhar Ali Karakoram International University, GB Altaf Hussain Gilgit-Baltistan Policy Institute (GBPI) Rizwan Latif GBPI M. Darjat GBPI Hisamullah Beg Human Development Foundation (HDF) Dr. Parveen Ashraf Mountain Women Development Organization/ Ex-MLA Atiq-ur-Rahman High Court Bar Association, GB Dr. Amjad Chaugazi Aga Khan Rural Support Program Capt Sikandar Skardu, GB Sher Khan Aga Khan Rural Support Program Ahmed Wali Khan GBPI Muhammad Ali Azizi Rural Support Program Network Ali Ahmad Jan GBPI S. Saleem Abbas H# 11-B, St# 30, F-7/1, Islamabad Raja Rahmatullah United Northern Areas NGOs (UNAN) M. Saleem Jan Social Worker, GB G. N. Raikoti GTZ Ishaq Jalal Karakoram Publishing Network (KPN) Karrar Yabgo Karakoram Publishing Network (KPN) Safdar Ali Journalist, GB Ghulam Haider Press Information Department, Islamabad Raja Hussain Daily K Muhammad Junaid Independent News Pakistan (INP) Arshad Aziz Independent News Pakistan (INP) Azadar Daily Authority Sarmad Daily Tolo Hasan Daily Tolo Hamid Naqvi President Gilgit Press Club Sultan Bashir Photographer Qamar Zaman Kaira Federal Minister for Broadcasting Wazir Hasan Member GB Legislative Assembly Wazir Baig Speaker GB Legislative Assembly Yasmeen Nazar Member GB Legislative Assembly gmail.com Sadia Danish Member GB Legislative Assembly/ Advisor to Chief Minister Mutabiat Shah Member GB Legislative Assembly Amina Ansari Member GB Legislative Assembly Muhammad Naseer Kha Member GB Legislative Assembly Syed Mehdi Shah Chief Minister, GB Bashir Ahmad Khan Member GB Legislative Assembly Muhammad Ali Akhter Member GB Legislative Assembly/ Finance Minister Jamil Ahmed Deputy Speaker GB Legislative Assembly Muhammad Ayub Shah Member GB Legislative Assembly Sheikh Nisar Hussain Member GB Legislative Assembly

11 Gulbar Khan Member GB Legislative Assembly/ Heath and Population Welfare Minister Amjad Hussain Member GB Council Muhammad Ibrahim Member GB Council Atta Ullah Shahab Member GB Council Hafizur Rehman President PML (N), GB/ Ex-MLA Imran Nadeem EX-MLA Dr. Zaeem Zia Chief Minister s Secretariat, GB zaeemzia1983@gmail.com