The new much publicised constitutional package for Gilgit-Baltistan "Gilgit Baltistan Empowerment and Self Governance Order - 2009", which hit the headlines of the national media, now is being considered yet another "partial" fulfilment of demands of the people of the area.
The initiative to give a Constitutional package to Gilgit-Baltistan had been taken by the former President Pervez Musharraf in which it was decided to grant an autonomous status to the six districts of Gilgit-Baltistan, and now the PPP-led government is set to materialise the package with certain constraints.
The step by the government is a good omen towards granting the fundamental rights to the people of the mountainous area since the last six decades they have been deprived of their constitutional, political, financial and democratic rights.
The fresh decision that the PPP-led government termed a "landmark" and "historical", as a matter of fact, has once again dashed the hopes of the people of the area, as the new constitutional package does not fulfil either of the two long standing demands of the people.
The people of Gilgit-Baltistan have been demanding a separate administrative system with complete provincial autonomy in line with other federating units of the country with their own full-fledged provincial assembly and governor, along with their representation in Senate and National Assembly of Pakistan if there is no Constitutional bar in doing so.
In case of any constitutional bar to establish this kind of administrative system due to the issue of Jammu and Kashmir, they demand that the area should be granted a set-up similar to the Azad Jammu and Kashmir having its own President and the Prime Minister.
Apparently, the new package seems to fail in fulfilling both the long-awaited demands and there are doubts whether the area would be administered from the centre by the Governor, or the proposed 15-member council headed by the prime minister.
Hence, the composition of the new set-up raises question in the minds of the people as to why Gilgit-Baltistan should not have a set-up in line with AJK till the settlement of Kashmir issue as the area is less controversial than Kashmir on the ground that the entire area, at present, is in control of Pakistan.
Another shortcoming in the package is the absence of a full-fledged Supreme Court in Gilgit-Baltistan in line with the AJK one, which also was a basic demand of the area.
At present, there is a Chief Court functioning as a Supreme Judicial Institute in Giligt-Baltistan, instead of a High Court or a Supreme Court. However, the decision to establish a Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC) in Gilgit-Baltistan, set up an autonomous Election Commission and appointment of Auditor General are some positive steps towards the fulfilment of some of their basic demands.
The nationalist group outrightly rejected the government's move on the plea that since the area is a disputed one, any such step of the government would damage its position at the international level.
Moreover, it said that only time will tell how the new constitutional reform package will meet the expectations of the people of the area once it is implemented, as people have suffered a lot, and have been deprived of their fundamental rights for over six decades.
It would really be a new test for the federal government whether it allows the new set up to work independently or it would again continue the hegemony of the centre through different tactics.