Land reforms.

FOLLOWING its struggle for freedom from the Dogra rulers and accession to Pakistan, Gilgit-Baltistan experienced a low point when, under the infamous Karachi Agreement, it was categorised as a disputed territory of Kashmir state. This subjected the region to an indifferent bureaucratic structure and constitutional limbo. Isolated due to its remote location, GB's strategic importance only became apparent when China smashed through the lofty mountains to build the Karakoram Highway.

GB enjoyed a legacy of religious education and interaction with the Tibetan and Central Asian civilisations. After partition, its residents also connected with educated GB-origin settlers in Shimla and Mussoorie, who flocked to Pakistan after 1947. This development, along with the social uplift undertaken by the Aga Khan in GB, boosted local literacy levels. Educated residents now realised that having wrested control from the Dogras, they had gained the right of ownership to all lands and natural resources of GB, and that the agreements between the British and Sikh rulers stood defunct.

Land ownership rights are a highly sensitive issue but have been treated in a cavalier fashion, with little effort to tackle the shortcomings of the existing Dogra system, which rests on discriminatory laws and traditions compromising the rights of weaker segments. Most of the common land was opaquely termed khalsa sarkar. In 2017, when a small area of land defined as khalsa sarkar was allotted to CPEC, no compensation was extended to the people, leading to a law-and-order situation.

For the first time, the Pakistani government realised that ownership and usage of land could not be resolved through the existing system. A land reform commission was formed by the PML-N government, but no definite reforms emerged. All credit goes to the current chief minister, who tasked the chief secretary to draft a comprehensive law ensuring transparent procedures for establishing the equitable rights of locals to usable land. The chief secretary formed a team of young, committed and qualified officers posted in GB to work on various aspects of the existing legal framework for land management. Interacting with numerous stakeholders and reviewing impediments, the team also examined customs determining the parameters of usage of common land.

GB has come up with a detailed draft law for land management.

These efforts resulted in a two-day conference attended by the commissioners and DCs of GB. Before...