CR Akbar Shah
The historic struggle of the Diamer Dam affected people has erupted into a defining moment of resistance, as the Pakistani state’s hollow promises and colonial exploitation collide with the unrelenting resolve of a mobilised populace. With two rounds of failed negotiations between protesters and a toothless ministerial committee, the movement has surged into a critical phase.
The Awami Action Committee’s call for a long march from Gilgit to Chilas, the headquarter of Diamer Division, on February 27 has sent shockwaves through the corridors of power in Islamabad and Gilgit-Baltistan, exposing a ruling elite paralysed by fear and scrambling to vilify dissent through their bureaucratic pawns.
At the heart of this uprising stands Baba Jan— a revolutionary, symbol of defiance, and voice of the marginalised. His recent address to protesters was a thunderous indictment of Islamabad’s colonial policies and the callous indifference of Gilgit-Baltistan’s puppet administration. His words, raw with the anguish of generations stripped of their land and dignity, have electrified the youth and exposed the hypocrisy of so-called “patriots” who have always weaponise nationalism and sectarianism to silence dissent.
When a provincial minister from Diamer—cowering behind innuendo—snarled that Baba Jan’s “mouth should have been shut with soil,” he unwittingly revealed the rulers’ and the bureaucracy’s desperation. These are not the words of statesmen, but of a decaying order terrified of accountability.
The farce of “dialogue” reached its climax when negotiations with Federal Minister Amir Maqam and the puppet GB government representative with the protesters collapsed, leaving protesters chanting “Inqilab!” (Revolution) within the halls of Karakoram University. Let this be a wake-up call to Islamabad’s detached rulers: these cries are not mere slogans. They are the roar of a people awakening to decades of systemic plunder—a people whose resources have been pillaged by corporate-state collusion, masked as “development” and “security.”
The Diamer-Bhasha Dam, a project steeped in displacement and broken promises, has become the battleground for liberation from this extractive machinery.
What makes this movement extraordinary is its transcendent unity. Progressive, leftists, nationalist groups, and even pro-people religious scholars—traditionally divided by sect and ideology—now stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the displaced. This coalition, unprecedented in Gilgit-Baltistan’s history, signals a seismic shift: the people have shattered the artificial walls of ethnicity and sectarianism erected by the state to fragment resistance.
Revolution, as Baba Jan reminds us, is not a performative dance for the powerful; it is the collective demand for justice, land, and autonomy.
The ruling elite’s playbook—branding dissent as “anti-state,” stoking religious nationalism, and reducing patriotism to blind obedience—has failed. The youth, armed with consciousness and defiance, are dismantling these myths. Revolution, as Baba Jan reminds us, is not a performative dance for the powerful; it is the collective demand for justice, land, and autonomy.
History’s verdict is clear: oppressive regimes that cling to exploitation are destined for the dustbin. The Diamer movement may have begun as a fight for compensation, resettlement and jobs, but it has ignited a fire that threatens to consume Pakistan’s 78 years colonial legacy in Gilgit-Baltistan. To Islamabad’s rulers, we issue this warning: the people are no longer begging for crumbs. They are charging at the gates.
The outcome remains uncertain, but the movement has already triumphed in one vital respect—it has awakened a generation. Whether this spark becomes an inferno depends on the resilience of the protesters and their allies. Yet one truth is undeniable: Gilgit-Baltistan’s oppressed have written their defiance into the mountains, and the echoes will haunt the powerful.
Cr Akbar Shah is a Gilgit-based senior journalist, and Editor of Urdu Daily Himalaya Today.