Daily Diary (DD) - Day 155 of 2018

0148hrs:

I'll refer to the past 2 weeks and more as my longest 'down-time' this year. The heat of Dadyaal combined with the long days of fasting have been a major factor in this recess.

I am also struggling to get some aspects of my work understood by those of my co-citizens that I come across in day to day life. That is, apart from those who have already appreciated and contributed to 'my work'. What I write daily is primarily for my co-citizens - at home in AJK as well as the diaspora - many of whom are not comfortable in reading or writing English. That limits the impact of my work somewhat, though I do make up for it with a wide range of audio and video with commentary in Urdu or even Pahari at times. As for the wider world - particularly media and  academia - it is the written word that counts.

This scenario may mean that many citizens of the world may become more acquainted with my work than many of my own co-citizens. After all, it is the latter who are the subject matter as well as the source of assistance required by this nature of work. Essentially, where the public of AJK become the agency of change needed in this territory. However, there are already some indications that the world at large may be a more willing contributor to my 'cause', if I may call it that. That is what I want to avoid at all costs.

As I dig deeper into the soul while writing about my day to day activity, the chinks or weaknesses in our people's struggle for rights will inevitably also become apparent.

Meanwhile, these past couple of weeks have been busy for Pakistan's outgoing PML-N government (and it's deep state), which have tried to rush in 'constitutional' reforms for AJK and GB (Gilgit-Baltistan). Both 'orders' make a mockery of democracy once again.

The GB 'Order' is a bit more brutal in its wording while the AJK '13th Amendment' (of Act 74) is rather more sugar-coated, with an apparent transfer of financial/admin powers to AJK's legislative assembly but of course subject to Pakistan's consent at every juncture. Both steps are an ugly attempt at further integrating AJK and GB into Pakistan's federation. Removing the word 'Act' from AJK's 'Interim Constitution Act 1974' and simply using the word 'constitution' for a document that is imposed on the citizens of AJK is particularly ominous.

More on this topic in due course.