On Climate Week, revisit the Attabad Lake tragedy – Prism

Franz Kafka wrote in Metamorphosis"But what would happen if all the tranquility, all the comfort, all the satisfaction came to a horrible end?"

I kept thinking about what Kafka said while I was in Hunza last month. The picturesque cascading glaciers in the region are melting rapidly due to climate change. Before we know it, life in Gilgit-Baltistan may not look like it is today.

Attabad in Gojal Valley is also a metamorphosis, of some kind. On January 4, 2010, a landslide, possibly induced by climate change, dammed the Hunza River. The villages submerged totally or partially, almost 20 people died, around 6,000 were displaced and several thousand more were affected in other ways. Another result of the calamity was the formation of Attabad Lake.

Today, the lake serves as a main tourist place and a place to take photos on Instagram. It extends up to 22-25 kilometers and is several hundred feet deep. You can see some barren treetops appearing in the middle of the lake, giving you a preview of what it used to be. During the day, the sun illuminates the water, turning it into a deep turquoise tone, and when the sun sets, a strong burnt orange hue crosses the lake that is surrounded by powerful mountains.

The veil of the night over the vast mountains and the lake takes this parody to a completely different level when the moonlight is balletized in the water. It is easy to be arrested in the tranquility that the lake can offer. During my trip, I discovered that the tragedy behind the popular Attabad Lake is bigger than the landslide that created it, and I would like to tell it since it is Climate Week.

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On my way from Attabad to Aliabad, I found a protest and, out of curiosity, I stopped for a moment. People protested the release of some prisoners, including a community and political leader named Baba Jan. There was a sitting watched by the police, including some female police officers, dressed in black. shalwar kameez. It was a hot day in mid-August. Protesters were sitting under an impromptu shop and small crowds had gathered around. They held photos of the incarcerated and demanded justice.

In 2010, when the landslide struck and villages submerged and people moved, there were many protests when people demanded compensation from the government. Baba Jan, along with some members of the Pakistan Labor Party, helped organize these protests. As a result, the government finally provided compensation for families, but excluded 25 households, which caused a disruption among people and more protests.

During one of these protests, the police used tear gas, batons and opened fire, resulting in the death of two protesters, Sher Ullah Baig and his son Afzal Baig. In retaliation, protesters burned a police station and, as a result, were jailed. Baba Jan was also arrested under Pakistan's Anti-Terrorist Law (ATC), although he was reportedly not close to the incident when it occurred. He and 11 others were sentenced for life.

Naeem, a political activist from Altit, told me that when people talk about justice for these prisoners, the government doesn't listen to them. In fact, it is reported that the police officer accused of opening fire on the father and the son received a promotion.

When I arrived at my destination in Aliabad, the manager of my hotel, who is also an activist, Zahoor Elahi, recognized me from the protests and asked me what I was doing there. Later in the evening, I sat with him in the lobby of the resort overlooking the majestic Rakaposhi and had a long discussion, and discovered much more about the region than I had read in the brilliant travel blogs.

He told me that the Pakistani government ignores the rights of the people of GB. Cases like Baba Jan's did not reach the higher courts because the region is not recognized as a province of Pakistan. Your problems are always secondary. Elahi also expressed outrage at the fact that Baba Jan was charged under the ATC when all he did was pressure the distressed people whose homes drowned under Attabad Lake, and that the problem does not have sufficient coverage of conventional means.

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It was not until the Governance Order of 2009 that the region received its name today. The order also allowed GB to have its own legislative assembly, but this reform has not even solved its problems.

GB is part of the Kashmir dispute. Elahi explained that the people of GB are different from Kashmir and have their own problems. Putting them both together in a category is not only neglecting their problems but also undermining their individuality. Interestingly, while Azad Jammu and Kashmir have a status setting, GB runs through ordinances.

With regard to the case of Baba Jan, the situation is Kafkaesque. It is important to note that as of now, the GB appeals court does not have a full bank of three judges. The case cannot go further until there is a full bank. Baba Jan continues to navigate the labyrinths of the bureaucracy, like a Kafka character.

The Supreme Court issued an order earlier this year to grant fundamental rights to the people of GB and extend the power of the superior court to the region. But the main warning remains the problem of Kashmir. As it stands, a final decision on the status of GB can only be reached once the plebiscite occurs in Kashmir, or when Pakistan and India reach another agreement.

The recent events that have developed in India with the revocation of Article 370 and the increase in tensions between the two countries, there seems to be little hope that this will happen in the short term. Meanwhile, glaciers melt and people cry.

Are you working for climate justice in Pakistan? Write to us at prism@dawn.com