Recent terrorist attacks in Gilgit Baltistan indicate that Taliban militants are trying to gain grounds in the region, local political leaders and police official believe.
On July 5, over three dozen men wearing Pakistan Army uniforms stormed the Dodishal police station in Darel valley of Diamer district, tied the policemen with ropes, and took away weapons, uniforms, wireless sets, and other equipment from the cops.
In response, Pakistan Army launched a search operation on July 8 in the mountains of Diamer. According to a handout issued by the home department, Gilgit Baltistan scouts and army were taking part in the operation. Police has also carried out an operation in the region simultaneously.
Local analysts and political leaders fear that Taliban militants may worsen the security situation in Gilgit Baltistan.
[quote]Sectarian outfits in the area are helping Taliban make inroads[/quote]
“Sectarian outfits operating in the region have been providing support to Taliban groups to make inroads in the region,” said a local Pakistan People’s Party leader in Chilas. Gilgit Baltistan Police chief Muhammad Saleem Bhatti also acknowledged the presence of a group of militants linked with the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in Diamer district. “The group has maintained contacts with the leadership of the TTP in South and North Waziristan agencies and two of their leaders had taken refuge there,” he told local reporters. Naveed Baloch, Superintendent of Police for Diamer, said four of the attackers involved in raids on police stations are from Diamer. But he did not want to disclose their names at this stage.
A senior police official said that the federal Interior Ministry has officially informed Gilgit Baltistan authorities that the Pakistani Taliban could strike in the region. Militants have already caused widespread panic among local residents with the terrorist attacks carried out in the past.
In June 2013, 10 foreign tourists, including one Pakistani guide, were killed at the Nanga Parbat base camp in Diamer district. In February 2012, 18 passengers belonging to the Shia sect, who were travelling on Karakoram Highway from Rawalpindi to Gilgit, were gunned down in Kohistan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. In a similar incident in August 2012, 19 Shias were gunned down at Lalusar, near Babusar Top, on their way to Rawalpindi from Gilgit.
Law enforcement agencies are mainly focusing on the Mosapur area of district Diamer, where the locals and police believe militants are hiding.
Media reports suggest that intelligence agencies have asked the Gilgit Baltistan government to tighten security for Chinese engineers working in the area. Pakistan considers the region to be of extreme strategic importance because it borders their ally China and provides the only land route between the two countries. It also shares a border with Afghanistan.
[quote]There is a belief that North Waziristan operation is being carried out at the behest of the Chinese government[/quote]
“Militants may target Chinese engineers in the region, because there is a belief that the government is carrying out a full-fledged operation in North Waziristan at the behest of the Chinese government against East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), an Uighur militant group active in China’s Xinjiang province.
The site on Karakoram Highway where 18 Shia passengers were killed in 2012
The Gilgit Baltistan government has already formed a Kakakoram Security Force (KSF), a force raised exclusively for the security of Chinese nationals in the region. However, intelligence agencies have asked for more stringent safety measures.
Analysts believe that the measures already taken by the government are a first step, but they are not enough.
“The government has increased the number of checkposts, but terrorists seldom drive on the highway to reach the main towns. They call their sympathizers in various towns to carry out attacks,” said an editor of an Urdu newspaper published from Gilgit Baltistan. “The government should take action against local groups which are working with the TTP and other Taliban factions.”
The author is a journalist and researcher based in Islamabad
