Das Gebiet von Gilgit-Baltistan im von Pakistan verwalteten Teil von Kaschmir ist in Sachen Rechtsordnung und Verfassungsrang seit jeher umstritten. Der Mangel an gesetzlichen Grundrechten hat im Laufe der Jahre Menschenrechtsverletzungen begünstigt. Derzeit werden über hundert Aktivist(inn)en wegen Aufruhrs angeklagt, weil sie mehr Selbstbestimmung im umstrittenen Gebiet gefordert haben. Einen Einblick in ein kaum bekanntes Terrain gewährt der Autor.
The main argument of the paper is that the absence of Gilgit-Baltistan in the power dispensation and state structure of Pakistan has created a power vacuum in the society, which is gradually filled by sectarian forces, nationalist movements, ethnic movements and regional associations. These actors attempt to rearticulate identities in Gilgit-Baltistan with direct repercussions for the region's association to the Kashmir dispute. The ways in which these identities are rearticulated reject the official narratives of the state and Kashmiri nationalism. Thus, Gilgit-Baltistan's path is diverging after having shared a history with Kashmir during the colonial period. Under the new political dispensation in the post-colonial period, it has become subservient to the Kashmir dispute. This paper examines processes of identity articulation by religious, nationalist and ethnic groups that show the drifting of the region away from Kashmir. Although the region has been kept in a constitutional limbo by Pakistan due to the Kashmir dispute, the changes brought about by broader regional developments and increased communication have triggered political, economic and cultural processes that exceed the received narratives posited by the state and Kashmiri nationalism. The emergence of new local identity narratives has social and political ramifications because it compels certain sectarian quarters and nationalists to rethink their views about the identity of Gilgit-Baltistan vis-à-vis Kashmir on the one hand, and expunge the Kashmir question from the identity formation among ethnic and regional groups on the other hand. Similarly, the paper considers mutations in the notion of identity in tandem with vicissitudes of history and thereby treats identity in the modern period as fragmented and fractured under the influences of forces that are indigenous and exogenous to the region. While exploring the processes of reformulation of identities in Gilgit-Baltistan, the paper identifies emerging contours of new identities among different segments of society in a fluid transformation.
Ecotourism is an instrument for protecting the natural landscape along with improving the livelihood of the rural communities. It helps minimise the negative impacts of tourism on bio-diversity of the protected areas .With the increasing prospects of better infrastructure and improved means of communication under the framework of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), there is huge potential for promoting ecotourism in the ecologically fragile areas like Gilgit-Baltistan (GB). This paper attempts to evaluate the theoretical concept of ecotourism and sustainable development and also analyses how the two issues are intertwined. Furthermore, it explores the prospects for developing ecotourism in GB with the help of a better infrastructure development as planned under the CPEC. While doing so, this study examines the potential benefits of ecotourism for sustainable development of the rural communities of GB.
Gilgit-Baltistan is one of the least known parts of South Asia. However, recently there has been an increased international interest for this area. Unfortunately, it is not due to positive trends, like economic prosperity, social development or free and fair political participation of the local population as part of a stabilised process of democratic consolidation. Instead the area is receiving international attention because of the increasing level of human rights violations, economic exploitation, and environmental degradation. Furthermore, the region came into the spotlight because of the growing influence of Jihadists forces, which contributed heavily to the rise of sectarian violence, despite or because of the 'omnipresent' Pakistani security apparatus. This is gaining significance since the territory of Gilgit-Baltistan determines an essential part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a multimillion dollar development project which is heralded as an 'game changer' for Pakistan and the whole region.
As a result of the growing global economy and a development model with entrepreneurialism at its heart, women in remote and high-mountain societies in Gilgit-Baltistan, the northernmost part of Pakistan, have begun to venture outside the traditional and gendered economies by embarking on new forms of income-generating activities. This ethnographic study of women entrepreneurs in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan, provides a critical analysis of the promotion of women's entrepreneurship as a key strategy by development organizations to address gender inequities. The ethnographic accounts of women's diverse experiences as entrepreneurs featured in this article demonstrate that the neoliberal development model and the global capitalist market serve as an opportunity for women in these high-mountain communities that allows them to push against socio-cultural pressures. Within these environments, women strive to become economic actors and make space for themselves in conventionally male-dominated economic trades such as business and entrepreneurship. In contrast to the NGOs' narratives that glorify women as entrepreneurs in uncontentious ways, my ethnographic research views women as complex subjectivities whose lived experiences are embedded within socio-economic, religious and political dimensions of notions of legitimacy that dictate women's participation in public spaces. The ethnographic accounts in this article illustrate how women navigate, negotiate, contest and reproduce the patriarchal sovereignties and development regimes.
