GILGIT - Police baton-charged protesters in Gilgit and injured dozens including opposition lawmakers after they attempted to converge on Chinar Bagh to stage a sit-in against the proposed GB Order 2018, which is going to be unveiled by Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Sunday during his address to the Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly (GBLA).

Opposition members in GBLA, Awami Action Committee, lawyers, students and other stakeholders have been on the roads for the last three days, protesting against the new GB order propagated by the federal government, which they say, was completely silent on the basic political and constitutional status of the area, which has been almost without a ‘legal status’ except for a nomenclature. The protesters said that the new order was nothing but a sham and a farce.

During the police baton charge, several people were injured including lawmakers of GB Assembly and Awami Action Committee Chairman Maulana Sultan Raees.

Almost all political parties, lawyers, civil society members had given the call to stage the protest sit-in outside the GBLA in Chinar Bagh, where the prime minister is scheduled to address the session to formally announce the GB order.

Under a contingency plan, police have blocked almost all roads leading to Chinar Bagh by placing containers and trucks on roads to stop the protesters from heading to the venue where they were planning a public rally when the prime minister was in the town.

A large number of activists led by Opposition Leader in GBLA Shafi Khan and GBLA members belonging to the PTI, the PPP, the MWM and the BNF were marching from Yadgar Chowk to Chinar Bagh, police intercepted them on River View Road by using baton charge and tear gas.

When the protesters made their way through the blockade and reached the GBLA building, the police fired tear gas and shells at the protesters, who pelted the police with stones. The protesters shouted slogans such as “no to the new order, no to further slavery, go Hafizur Rehman go, now or never.” The protesters also shouted slogans against the federal government and the prime minister for what they said befooling the people of GB.

The protesters dispersed but their leaders announced that they will again take to the streets on Sunday when the prime minister will be around.

Opposition leader Muhammad Shafi said, “We will continue our protest against the new order which has been imposed by Islamabad. GB traders’ association also announced a shutter-down and vehicle jam strike across the region against the new order.

Meanwhile, a large number of people also took to the streets in Skardu, Chilas, Ghizer and other districts in protest against the new GB order. Speaking at a huge public rally in Skardu city, Agha Ali Rizvi said that they (leaders) had stopped the frustrated youngsters from taking an extreme position against the denial of constitutional and political rights. He warned that the people of GB under one or the other order and the public resentment could turn into a revolt, which, he said, the rulers might find hard to contain. He said the people of GB should immediately be given constitutional rights “Now onwards, we will not march on Gilgit or Islamabad, we will throw out the non-locals and usurpers of our rights from the area forever,” he told a jeering crowd.