Pakistan: protests continue for the release of comrades in Gilgit Baltistan despite state repression

Despite state repression, protests have been held all over Gilgit Baltistan and in many cities in Pakistan for the release of the leaders of the Awami Action Committee Gilgit Baltistan, some of whom are members of the Inqalabi Communist Party (RCP).

On Friday and Saturday, many protests were held in various districts of Gilgit Baltistan in which a large number of workers and students participated. In response, the state authorities registered new legal cases against the protestors in the cities of Gilgit and Hunza. Their crime was organising a peaceful protest for the release of Ehsan Ali – chairman of the Awami Action Committee Gilgit Baltistan – and the other arrested leaders. Police also arrested some activists for organising protests. Others had their homes raided.

Police repress solidarity protests

In Danyor, a city near Gilgit, a protest was held by the Awami Action Committee in which many workers and youth participated. As soon as the protest ended, police started arresting the protestors and took them to prison. Protests were also held in Gilgit, Hunza, Nagar, Skardu and other cities of Gilgit Baltistan. In Gilgit, the organisers of the campaign have arranged meetings with different workers' unions and organisations to spread the message. They plan to organise more meetings in the coming days, despite being continuously threatened with arrests and legal cases on charges of terrorism and sedition.

There are also reports of the arrested comrades being tortured while in police custody. It is a common practice in Pakistan that interrogation by the police in custody involves severe torture to force the accused to confess before the court. That is why whenever someone who has been arrested is presented before the court to be detained in custody, the lawyers of the accused strongly argue for bail instead. But in this case, all the arrested leaders were denied this basic right. The puppet court in Gilgit agreed to their detention in custody for the maximum duration of two weeks, without listening to the arguments of the other side. The reports of torture on young comrades mean that the state authorities are hell bent on breaking the will of these leaders. But they will not succeed.

The motives of the ruling elite in Gilgit and in Pakistan are also made clear by their own statements. In an address to the local assembly, the chief minister of Gilgit Baltistan remarked that such people should be hanged. Statements by the home minister and other leaders of the Gilgit Baltistan government have accused the arrested leaders of sedition and have demanded similar harsh measures against them.

However, this also shows the frustration of this ruling elite, who feel threatened by the rising tide of the mass movement in Gilgit Baltistan. For many years, this ruling elite has tried every repressive measure in the book to attack the mass movement. They have failed at every step.

The Awami Action Committee emerged as a movement to fight against the removal of subsidies on wheat flour, as well as for other working-class demands. The government in Gilgit Baltistan has continuously attacked this movement over the last ten years. But, under the leadership of Ehsan Ali Advocate, this movement spread to all districts of Gilgit Baltistan and organised and mobilised thousands of people to snatch back their basic rights from the jaws of the rulers of Gilgit Baltistan and those commanding them from Islamabad.

Last year in February, in spite of all attacks by the ruling class, the movement was once again successful when tens of thousands mobilised from all across Gilgit Baltistan for a successful sit-in in Gilgit, led by the Awami Action Committee under the leadership of Ehsan Ali. Last year, the demand for a subsidy on wheat flour, along with several other demands for employment, health and education for local people, were presented by the Awami Action Committee, for which they received immense support.

Now a new phase of the movement is beginning. The arrests occurred after a mass meeting (a Grand Jirga) had been called for 24-25 May to continue the movement for the rights which were promised but not delivered by the government, as well as against the minerals bill that is being proposed in the Gilgit Baltistan assembly. The government, as in previous years, is once again trying to crush this movement with all kinds of repression. But the support among the masses for the Awami Action Committee is continuously rising. More and more people are coming out in support of the arrested leaders.

Protests have also been held in various cities across Pakistan, organised by students from Gilgit Baltistan who are studying in those cities and by the comrades of the RCP.

In Karachi, a police crackdown against protesters in front of the Karachi Press Club shows that the ruling class of Pakistan is hell-bent on crushing this movement, and wants to silence all those raising their voices in support of the arrested leaders of the Awami Action Committee. When the students from Gilgit Baltistan in Karachi started gathering outside Karachi Press Club on Sunday, the police started arresting them and took around 25 protestors to the nearby police station. However, the other protestors were undeterred and, along with the comrades of RCP Karachi, protested outside the police station. As a result, the arrested protesters were released and joined the new demonstration, raising slogans for the release of the Awami Action Committee leaders and against state repression.

Protests were also held in Lahore, Quetta, Bahawalpur and other cities of Pakistan in which political activists, students and workers participated and raised slogans against state repression and for basic democratic rights for the people. Protests are also planned in various cities of Azad Kashmir in the coming days, as there is strong support and solidarity for the arrested leaders.

The oppression of Gilgit Baltistan

This movement has not only highlighted the lack of basic democratic rights in Gilgit Baltistan – where severe repression is unleashed just for demanding cheap wheat flour, employment, proper healthcare and education – but also the national oppression of this region by the Pakistani state.

Gilgit Baltistan is a disputed territory between India and Pakistan, and the ruling class of both countries have imperialist claims on this region. The people of Gilgit Baltistan have suffered a lot from the rivalry between the imperialist powers, and the current war between India and Pakistan has also aggravated this suffering.

On one side, the Indian ruling class is oppressing the people of Indian occupied Kashmir, which has the highest concentration of security personnel in the world and where basic rights have been denied. On the other side, the Pakistani ruling class is also oppressing the people of Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan, and is involved in the looting and plundering of its resources. Gilgit Baltistan has never been formally integrated into the state of Pakistan, yet all the resources of this land are being offered up to be looted by big business on a massive scale.

This is not only depriving the local population of their meagre livelihoods and lands, but also affecting the environment and wreaking havoc on the ecosystem, which is becoming more fragile with every passing day due to climate change. This has not stopped big companies from ransacking Gilgit Baltistan and extracting huge profits while people continue to live in extreme poverty. The strategic location of this region for rival imperialist powers also makes it vulnerable to wars and massive military deployments.

Ultimately, it is the masses who have suffered and bear the brunt of wars, economic crises and climate change. But when they raise their voice against injustice and the devastation of their region, they face severe repression and are told to remain silent to protect the ‘national’ interest.

The permanent war-like situation in this region makes it extremely difficult for the people to build a mass movement for their rights. The ruling class also uses national and religious differences among the population to incite violence to divide the people and maintain their tight control. This is why the emergence of the Awami Action Committee and the mass movement around it has threatened the ruling class of Pakistan.

Fight for socialist revolution!

The only way forward for the emancipation of the people of Gilgit Baltistan and of the whole region is to fight the root cause of all these problems, which is the capitalist system. The RCP in Gilgit Baltistan and across Pakistan is putting forward this programme and building the forces for this cause. That is why we are also being threatened. The RCP has revived the tradition of May Day in Gilgit and this year, as in previous years, a rally and protest was held in the centre of Gilgit city on 1 May, with workers and students demonstrating their revolutionary fervour.

In 2023, comrades of the RCP also led a student movement at Karakoram University in Gilgit – the main university in the region, with several thousand students. The movement against a proposed fee hike got a tremendous response from students, and the university management had to bow down to the demands of the students, though initially many student leaders were expelled and had severe actions taken against them.

Similarly, in Hunza and other places, comrades of the RCP have been involved in many mass movements and protests, and have played a leading role in some of these. Comrades of the RCP have also organised and led movements of young doctors and hospital workers in Gilgit Baltistan, and forced the government to accept all their demands.

Last month, a movement erupted in Diamer District, in which thousands of people affected by the construction of a huge dam were protesting for compensation payments. Comrade Ehsan Ali was invited as the guest speaker at the main rally, and he supported the protestors on behalf of the Awami Action Committee and the RCP. The government was later forced to partially accept their demands.

The RCP has put forward a clear programme, not only for the basic rights of the people but to fight against national oppression. This is a programme of working class unity and the fight against the capitalist system, which has ruined the lives of people in Gilgit Baltistan and throughout Pakistan.

A successful socialist revolution in Pakistan would not only end the devastation of this beautiful and resource-rich area but would also cast off the chains of national oppression once and for all. A socialist federation of the subcontinent would guarantee peace and prosperity across the whole region, and end the wars and brutal regimes that oppress the ordinary workers and political activists who raise their voice against injustice.

This is a goal for which the leaders of the RCP in Gilgit Baltistan were sent to prison by the ruling class of Pakistan. This is a goal which is worth living for, and worth dying for.

Despite state repression, we will continue the struggle to achieve this goal. We will build the forces of revolutionary communism. We will take this message to workers and revolutionaries in Gilgit Baltistan and Pakistan. We will also continue our protest campaign for the release of our comrades.

We demand the immediate release of all arrested leaders of the Awami Action Committee and the RCP.

We also demand that all registered criminal cases against them be immediately quashed, and this witch hunt against the Awami Action Committee be stopped

We demand that Ehsan Ali’s name be immediately removed from the ‘Fourth Schedule’ list of terrorists.

All the demands of the Awami Action Committee should be accepted immediately and all delays in their implementation should be removed.

We would also like to thank the comrades of the Revolutionary Communist International in other countries around the world, who have held protests and have stood with their comrades in these difficult times. We believe that this campaign will be successful and, through persistent agitation, all the comrades and the leadership of the Awami Action Committee will be released. We also believe that this campaign will embolden and strengthen the forces of revolutionary communism in Gilgit Baltistan and Pakistan.

Despite all the difficulties and repression, the comrades here are determined to continue their struggle against capitalism, so that we can carry out a successful socialist revolution in our lifetime.

Long live the Revolutionary Communist International!

Long live communism!

Workers of the world, unite!