ISLAMABAD: As the Supreme Court (SC) of Pakistan is hearing the case related to the boundary dispute between Gilgit Baltistan (GB) and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, the residents of GB’s area, Thor, have requested the superior court to consider their rights and claim over the disputed land.
Addressing a press conference at National Press Club (NPC), the representatives of Thor tribe, which reside on boundaries alongside the Karakoram Highway in GB, have claimed that Harban tribe, the other party in the territorial dispute has gone to the supreme court despite the fact the disputed land has historically been in the possession of Thor tribe.
They said the evidences and historic documents are available to prove the real ownership of the land, which is coming under the Diamer Bhasha dam project.
The representative of Thor tribe, Habibur Rehman, Ayoob Namberdar and others claimed that the petition filed by Harban tribe (in Kohistan in KP) was based on false ground.
Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Saqib Nisar, they said, while hearing the case should also consider the rights of Thor tribe, the real owners of the land.
The Harban residents were trying to grab the land to pocket the compensation of the dam project.
Previously bloody clashes have been reported between the two tribes, Harban (Kohistan) and Thor (Chilas) over the same disputed land with the lose many lives.
The two governments (GB and KP) have also previously tried to resolve the issue but to no avail.
The disputed territory measuring almost six kilometres and located alongside the Karakoram Highway on the KP-GB border was previously controlled by the federal government through the Frontier Constabulary (FC). The FC soldiers were deployed there after four tribesmen, three from Harban tribe and one from Thor were killed in an exchange of fire in 2014.
The territorial dispute has become a major hurdle to the execution of the 4500MW Diamer-Basha hydropower power project.
