Thousands protest in Shigar against Mines and Minerals Bill

GILGIT: A protest demonstration in the Shigar district of Gilgit-Baltistan on Sunday denounced the proposed Mines and Minerals Bill as an attempt to seize local resources without consultation. 

Hundreds of residents from Dassu, Baraldo, Hyderabad, Tisar, Basho, and surrounding areas converged at Hussaini Chowk in Shigar’s district headquarters in a series of rallies to press their demands. The protest was called by the K2 Action Committee. 

Carrying banners and chanting slogans, the protesters demanded that the local population’s ownership of natural resources be recognised and safeguarded. They insisted that no policy concerning local resources should be drafted without public consultation, warning that any unilateral decisions would be fiercely opposed. 

The demonstration centred on concerns over planned mining activities in the mountains of Gilgit-Baltistan, which local communities see as a violation of their rights and an exploitation of their natural wealth. 

The protesters maintained that they are the rightful custodians of these resources and would not permit their extraction without consent. 

Also read: G-B stakeholders reject Mines and Minerals Act 2025

Speaking at the rally,Mehdi Ali, President of the District Bar Shigar, said the protest was not against the state but against government policy. 

“The whole of Gilgit-Baltistan is beset with problems; no region here can be called prosperous. Yet the authorities seem interested only in our resources—why do they not see our issues?” he asked. 

Advocate Hassan Shigri, President of PTI Shigar, addressing the crowd, asserted that all geological resources, forests, and mountains in Gilgit-Baltistan are the collective property of its people. 

“I want to send a clear message to all powerful quarters: if you attempt to deprive us of our rights under any legislative cover, the people of Gilgit-Baltistan will stand like a mountain between you and our resources,” he declared. 

“These mountains were ours, this land was ours, these rivers were ours, and they shall remain ours until the end of time.”

He warned,“Just as our ancestors drove out the Dogras with sticks and stones, we too have the power to defend our rights against any modern encroachment.”