Gilgit-Baltistan
people deprived of their basic rights' pak elections
People of the Gilgit-Baltistan, currently
under illegal occupation of Pakistan,
have been "deprived" of their basic constitutional rights, the US lawmakers
were told this week ahead of the historic elections in the country.
"Millions of Pakistanis will cast their votes on the 11th of May to choose
their congress members.However, on this day, the residents of the UN-declared
disputed region of Gilgit-Baltistan, which is my birth place,will have no
chance to choose their national representatives, president or the prime
minister," Senge Sering, president of the Washington-based Institute for
Gilgit Baltistan, said.
"Ruled by Pakistan like a colony since 1948,
the people of Gilgit-Baltistan continue to live without their basic
constitutional rights, including the right to choose their political
future," Gilgit-Baltistan born Sering said at an event held at the US
Congress on the 19th Commemoration of Vietnam Human Rights Day. "I
appreciate Secretary (of State, John) Kerry for stating that all governments
have a responsibility to protect the universal human rights but the fact
remains that the residents of Gilgit-Baltistan are a country-less people and
both India,which claims the region, and Pakistan, which physically controls it,
have refused to grant the constitutional rights to them," Sering alleged.
No comments:
Post a Comment