No Internet in Northern Pakistan

 

21^st century without internet

Disputing political identity drains human progress. The Pandemic is a turning moment for the disorder region. The influx of massive amounts of people returned to their homeland.

 

    The vale of Gilgit-Baltistan is formerly known as the Northern Areas of Pakistan. It is a federal administrative unit of Pakistan that has changed conjuncture and shifting narratives. The modern Gilgit-Baltistan has been part of the political landscape for several centuries, if sometimes only faintly visible on its horizon. Yet political and scientific interest has waxed and waned, its foci have shifted, and approaches vary with fad and fashion. Indeed, as in other fields, political scientists do not solve so many problems as they get bored with them. Interest revives when another generation or epistemic community finds new interest in older histories with contemporary issues. It needs serious intention with a collective effort to restore the national political discourse.

    The internet came to Gilgit-Baltistan in late 2018, but its development has been piecemeal. Most public access, and tourist access at hotels, is through device connectivity that seems designed to malfunction-the deep villages are entirely disconnected from the rest of the world. Gilgit-Baltistan is in a deep crisis where the laws are made by the federal government. The progress comes superficially without the participation of the people and connectivity. The recent Twitter trend (#internet4GilgitBaltistan) asked the service provider to improve the services. In return, the service provider (SCO) lodged the anti-Pakistani tag for the customer. In the course of business ethics, it looks like a manipulative strategy to create complete domination. Later, the Twitter hashtag became a digital rights movement that only spoke for digital rights. The prime motivation for this movement is to get digital rights.

    Pakistan has always been in a dilemma while people of money state affairs. The status quo in Gilgit-Baltistan is entirely united and powerful. It runs a different development program, but it violates everything. In 1976, Z.A. Bhutto was in a hurry to nationalize the communication of Gilgit-Baltistan. Four important state subjects (Defense, Communication, Currency, and Foreign Affairs) had been handed over to Pakistan. Due to the region's sensitivity, the telecommunication had started to be run by the SCO. It is a public sector organization and it has headquartered is in Rawalpindi. The principal owner of this organization is the Ministry of IT & Telecommunication. It offers six different services: landline, WLL, CDMA, GSM, Internet, and DXX. Since then, SCO has been the sole proprietor of communication in Gilgit-Baltistan!

    Connectivity is essential as food and water. It is vitally necessary for foreign remittances. Gilgit-Baltistan has excellent potential for the digital economy. You can say, Pakistan's northern silicon'." A recent report shows that within two years, a small amount of connectivity changed the graphs of the digital economy. The Internet is one of the fabulous creations, and it provides instant access to unlimited information and entertainment. It provides an endless supply of knowledge and information. During the pandemic, the world education system turned into virtual learning, a new kind of instant learning in human history. Even though Pakistan's universities and schools started online classes, Gilgit-Baltistan students remained aloof and unable to equip virtual learning.

    

    A lack of connection policy and its execution can lead to economic and political weariness. It amplified the impact on political standing and financial fatigue. The weak rule of law generated confusion and unrest, even in forthcoming elections. In Pakistan, major interest groups want to retain the disputed political status with Gilgit-Baltistan. However, civil and military bureaucracies are siphoning off large amounts of money from the sensitive zone. If public workers desire to improve their salaries, they try to post in Gilgit-Baltistan!

    Many freelancers, students, and job holders returned to their homeland in March. They were not aware of the genuine problems within Gilgit-Baltistan. From every corner of Gilgit-Baltistan, the preliminary service reports received online attention for using the digital rights hashtag. Over time, the hashtag is getting popular among the students of GB. It was the first-ever challenge to the communication status quo, which was unacceptable at any cost.

    On the other hand, The Gilgit-Baltistan government failed to notice the genuine problem of the students. They had other priorities rather than tech. The tug of war is inevitable between students and SCO. Both parties used comic historical sentiments to defame each other. He who controls the media controls the public's minds- Noam Chomsky SCO could not accept the pitfall of administrative issues to provide uninterrupted internet connectivity.

   Within a month, the number of internet users suddenly spiked up, and the service provider ultimately failed to provide the internet. Albeit favorite tourist destinations such as Hunza, Astor, Skardu, Nagar, Shigar, and Gilgit are no internet zones. The freelancers and students started to get engaged on Twitter about the connectivity of different regions, but the situation was the same in the other areas of Gilgit-Baltistan. Thus, internet rights ignited the hashtag on Twitter, and still, it remained a trend on Twitter.

 

    In 2009, the Good Governance Package Act engulfed the debate on legal liberty. I conducted a small survey in 2013 on the legislative impurities in northern areas of Pakistan. Every department had assigned nominal administrative powers to implement any project. They had to follow federal or provincial policies, discouraging legislation within the government departments. The sole authority was the Chief Secretary and the Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan council representative. However, the government of Gilgit-Baltistan failed to make necessary legislation for important administrative subjects. She has no authority over the communication, defense, and currency, and even in the bill. The legislators are busy getting fame in the streets of Islamabad, which is entirely absurd.

    Moreover, the curriculum has always been a bone of contention between religious groups. It turned into sectarian strife in the past but could not resolve the curriculum issue. As a result, the Government of Pakistan could not be made necessary legislation to include regional history. As a result, almost every student lacks a historical understanding of the region. Both public and private schools follow the Punjab textbook schedule.

    Most students go to the urban center of Pakistan for higher studies. Even though technical or medical universities are missing from the land of Gilgit-Baltistan. After getting the degrees, the youth constantly lived in Pakistan's new and old urban centers. Few of them never returned to their homes. Thus, human minds are drained from the region.

To sum up, political deprivation has been evident since 1948. The following governance packages cannot resolve the political and social issues in Gilgit-Baltistan. Even in the 21st century, the region is neglected to provide the internet. Administrators and other interest groups have violated the democratic rights of the people of Gilgit-Baltistan.