BRUSSELS, April 2 (UPI) -- Violence in Pakistan will increase unless more autonomy is given to its northern areas, the International Crisis Group warned Monday.
The political advocacy group said that basic political rights as well as "meaningful autonomy" must be given to the northern areas of Gilgit and Baltistan or sectarian radicalism will increase.
"General Pervez Musharraf's military rule has denied political space and basic rights to the Northern Areas and has consequently increased the frustration in the region, particularly among young people," said Samina Ahmed, the group's South Asia project director. "The northern areas have become a training-ground for Sunni militants, a development that has ignited hostility with the region's Shia majority."
The group argued that Pakistan considers those regions part of the disputed territory of Kashmir, but they are ruled through the federal Ministry for Kashmir Affairs, which is headed by an unelected chief executive.
"This lack of political representation in the only Shia-majority region governed by Pakistan has led to the empowerment of extremist factions, and weakened moderate groups. It is also fuelling a potentially powerful nationalist movement, seeking independence from Pakistan," the group said.
