Pakistan’s National Security Policy 2022-26 (NSP) is the first-ever public version of the National Security Policy. It was disclosed at the 36th National Security Meeting chaired by Former Prime Minister Imran Khan and was approved by the federal cabinet on 11th December 2021. The policy is important as it was approved after seven years of thorough examinations and consultations. The NSP contains 8 sections, section I presents the policy formulations, section II presents a conceptual element of Pakistan’s National security, and Section III on National cohesion aims to preserve the national ideology and Culture. Section IV revolves around economic security and emerging technologies, Section V guides on policies on Defense, deterrence, and territorial integrity, and Section VI comprises guidelines for Internal stability, examines challenges of terrorism, broader ethno-nationalism-based violence, extremism and sectarianism, organized violence, Section VII sheds light on global realignment, while the last Section VIII includes over populations, migrations, climate change, health, water, and gender security.
Gilgit-Baltistan is run under Presidential order and has a unique administrative status. The region is considered as part of the disputed state of Jammu and Kashmir and until a plebiscite is conducted as per United Nations Resolution # 47 directions, the status of the region remains disputed and ambiguous. Gilgit-Baltistan beyond its political and constitutional crisis, has been a direct victim of climate change. The region’s topography nestles world’s wonders, including 5 out of 14 mountains above eight thousand meters in Gilgit-Baltistan, with K-2 being the world’s 2nd highest Peak located in Gilgit-Baltistan. NSP 2022-26 concerns that the population of Pakistan has grown by 2.4 percent in the last two decades. Gilgit-Baltistan has a population of 2.5 million and covers an area of 72,496 square kilometers. People in Gilgit-Baltistan experience extreme poverty, especially in remote areas, from lacking basic needs like safe and clean water and health centers to poor quality education with the least government resources in those far-flung areas of GB. 90% of the GB is mountainous, 4% is forest area, and 4.2% is cultivated wastes, and crop area is about 1.2% of the total. The local crop yields and livestock sustain more than 2 million lives in Gilgit-Baltistan. However, climate-induced extreme weather conditions like torrential rains, flash floods, landslides, and extreme heatwaves have been threatening the lives in the mountains. An example of climate change-enforced migration in Gilgit-Baltistan is witnessed in the Jagir Basin, where the Climate Migrants Colony is located at a 7-kilometer distance from Gilgit city. Families previously settled in Karga Nullah and Nalter Valley, both located near Gilgit City, have migrated to the Basin due to flash floods and torrential rains that washed away their belongings in their place of origin. These families don’t only suffer due to irreparable losses but also their challenges become more stressful as they migrate to other places. They need land, homes, a source of livelihood, and access to basic life necessities.
The next heading is health security, People in GB are already undergoing a health crisis in government sectors due to a lack of medical technologies, electricity, and medical and para-medical staff in Hospitals. A study published in the Journal of Water and Health (2020) found that over 30% of the population in some districts of GB reported cases of waterborne diseases during periods of intense glacial melt and subsequent floods. Hospitals across GB are not in proper functioning to respond to any climate emergency. Flash floods in remote areas of GB posed damage to health centers, making the situation more challenging and giving rise to new crises like loss of people-to-people connectivity due to link roads affected by floods. NSP aims to introduce technology-based policy reforms in the health system has been proven as a myth and even people in high mountains are desperately looking for mere basic medicines and first aid.
The next heading drives our attention toward “Climate and water stress”. According to thestudy by The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development-ICIMOD (2023), glaciers in the Karakoram Range are shrinking at an annual rate of about 0.3% to 0.4%. Some smaller glaciers have lost up to 50% of their mass in the last 30 years. Glacier-fed lakes in GB support the lives of 2.5 million, are vital for agriculture, and generate electricity through hydropower. According to ICIMOD, around 70-80% of the water in Indus comes from glaciers melting, which not only supports the lives of mountain communities but also the downstream region of Pakistan. Glaciers like Shishper, Passu, Baltoro, Batura, and Siachen in GB have been melting at high speed due to climate change, consequently raising water levels in dream streams in different Nullahs as well as causing urban floods in GB and Pakistan. Glaciers in GB are a matter of life and death, peoples’ survival is linked to glacier preservation and implementing modern means as well traditional knowledge to make new glaciers like Ice stupas. NSP aims to manage water and create additional water storage capacity comes under criticism and question mark as People in GB experience water stress and lack water management system to save water for the present and future. Currently, the prolonged unannounced load shedding in Districts like Skardu, Gilgit, Ghizer, Hunza, and Ghanche sparks public anger and tests their patience as People’s commercial and social lives come to stagnation following the severe electricity crisis.
The next heading in NSP under section VIII is “Food security”. The extreme weather conditions, limited sunlight hours, and short growing seasons in Gilgit-Baltistan hamper agricultural growth, even though 70-80% of the population in Gilgit-Baltistan depends upon agriculture for their livelihood according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Limited arable lands in GB further deteriorate the agricultural production only 1.2% of the total land is crop area. Glaciers and Lake Outburst flood events do pose greater challenges to small areas of cropland in GB. Farmers live in miserable conditions, and under such circumstances, the use of technology and the high cost of transport for bringing crops to market becomes a greater challenge to local poor farmers who subsequently depend upon a third person or contractor to transport final products to markets increasing the costs of products while the poor farmer is least benefited and exploited in hands of a third person. People in GB are granted wheat subsidies by the federal government about 150,000 metric tons of wheat annually, supporting only less than 30% population in Gilgit-Baltistan. This is again a disproportionate way to facilitate the people of GB who face unwelcoming challenges due to its vague political and constitutional status and the region’s unpleasant weather patterns. GB is heading to severe food insecurity due to a lack of a comprehensive action plan, GB’s food security lies in supporting local farmers through insurance and interest-free loans, equipping farmers with modern technologies and methods to enhance production. Institutionalizing food security as mentioned in NSP is an hourly need to be implemented in GB to thwart the rotational food crisis in the region.
The federal dependency tactic through subsidy can no longer be viable in the food domain instead allocate these subsidies budget for establishing IT hubs, creating mechanisms toward climate finance, and Climate research labs to help the government in climate mitigation and adaptation strategies also assist the government in executing plans to combat the climate crisis, creation of job opportunities through setting up different industries and markets in Gilgit-Baltistan especially uninterrupted trade flow with China and other neighbors to foster prosperity and connectivity.
The Author, Naveed Akhtar, is an Independent Researcher.
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