An another privilege for Yarkand raiders

The silk route is an ancient trade route through the karakorams to china and central asia. Around a thousandyear ago Romans, Arabs and later British India used this geopolitical and strategically important way for trade and commerce.

In the era of British India the territory of Pamirs and karakorams was suspected for future USSR invasion and probably empire of china. E.F Knight named this region as “where the three empires meet”. Therefore in 1889 a British officer and spy Younghusband was appointed for special survey in this northeast buffer region among the three great powers. He explored a hidden state on the silk route was Hunza. Younghusband came to know that Mir (ruler) of Hunza has monopoly over silk route means, every caravan passing through Hunza was been looted by a special men of Mir. The raid-operation force was used to be deployed at Yarkand near Pamir. The operation knows as “Yarkand raid”.

However Mr Younghusband inquired Mir of the day Safdar Khan -1889 the purpose of violence on the silk route. Mir replied that “in this valley there is nothing except stones and ice, possessing little pasturage or cultivable land. Raiding is our only source of revenue. If the British wanted this stopped, then they must compensate us we have nothing to eat”. Although people of that time approached violent way for their state interest and survival but got benefit from the trade route.

Today there is once again a new opportunity for Yarkand   raiders   (people of hunza) in the form of OROB China Pakistan economic corridor. But now we have to approach legal, political and economical way unlike Safdar khans’s yarkand raid policy. It is the perfect time for the entire people of Gilgit Baltistan to take participation in the economics of the mega project. The federal govt must provide incentives like free trade zones or economic zones , encourage entrepreneurs through loans , tourism development and promotion institutions . GB is more stakeholder than other parts of Pakistan but unfortunately people of the region are being alienatedin every aspect of CPEC project.

Albeit there are political and social demerits of the project but economically it can bring prosperity to the region, if civil society and our representatives in GB legislative assembly ask from Islamabad regarding our equal rights. If failed, of course we would be there just counting the number of trucks passing on the KKH per day. Therefore people must be aware before outsiders dwell on the important economic zones and devour our own rights.

Ajmal khayalo is student of School of IR and Political Sciences QAU Islamabad.He is independent researcher and Co-blogger/ Editor of The Himalaya Post

Ajmal khayaloo