Gilgit-Baltistan is in the grip of a wheat shortage that has unsettled households across the region and fuelled a fresh wave of anger against Islamabad. Long before sunrise, people can be seen waiting outside ration shops with empty bags and tokens, hoping the latest truck has enough grain for everyone. Most days, it doesn’t.
Over the past several weeks, subsidised wheat — a lifeline during the harsh winter — has become difficult to secure. Families in Gilgit, Skardu, Hunza and several smaller towns say the crisis has made even basic meals uncertain. Local traders confirm that market prices have climbed sharply, putting the staple out of reach for many.
Residents argue the shortage is not an accident. Several community groups claim the cuts are part of a pattern in which Gilgit-Baltistan, already denied political rights, is also denied timely access to essentials. “Whenever resources run short, this region gets hit first and recovers last,” a shopkeeper in Skardu said. “It has been like this for years.”
The tension around food comes at a time when the region is also battling crippling electricity outages. In many neighbourhoods, power remains unavailable for most of the day. Businesses that rely on refrigeration or steady heating say they are struggling to stay open. Students preparing for exams complain of studying by candlelight in a region that produces some of Pakistan’s crucial hydropower.
Residents argue that the root of the problem lies in Islamabad’s governance structure. Gilgit-Baltistan remains outside Pakistan’s Constitution, without representation in the National Assembly or Senate and without access to the Supreme Court. Decisions about land, water and revenue are made far away, leaving locals with little say in how their region is managed. Many now openly describe the system as one that extracts from them but gives little back.
Civil society groups note that this winter’s wheat shortage would not have escalated into a crisis if federal authorities had acted earlier. Local administrations had issued multiple warnings about dwindling supplies. Instead of increasing shipments, residents say, officials provided routine reassurances and blamed transport delays.
As shortages grew worse, street protests spread. Videos from the region show men and women holding placards, demanding that the Pakistan government restore subsidised supplies and explain why distribution has become so irregular. Elderly residents have spoken about returning home empty-handed several days in a row — something that rarely happened even during earlier tough years.
Many protesters link the food crisis to what they describe as Islamabad’s wider approach to the region: land taken for dams and road corridors without transparent compensation, hydropower exported to other provinces while local homes remain dark, and major projects announced without consultation. According to them, everything points to a governance model in which Gilgit-Baltistan is treated as peripheral, despite its strategic and economic importance.
India has repeatedly stated that Gilgit-Baltistan is part of the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir under the 1947 Instrument of Accession. New Delhi has criticised Pakistan’s administration of the region, especially the diversion of resources and the impact of CPEC-related construction on local communities. The current shortages have only brought the spotlight back on the conditions under Pakistan’s control.
For families in Gilgit-Baltistan, though, the immediate concern is simpler: getting enough wheat to last the week. With winter tightening its grip and no clear plan announced by Islamabad, the fear is that the crisis will worsen before it improves. Residents say they are tired of being told to be patient. After years of broken assurances, many believe the crisis reveals something deeper — that a region rich in rivers and mountains has been left to struggle for basic food because its voice carries little weight in the corridors of power.
Source link
[ad_3]
