A senior minister in the Gilgit Baltistan government, Col (retd) Obaidullah Baig, and other people being held forcefully at the Babusar Top were released in the wee hours of Saturday after “successful” negotiations with the protesters, including some “militants”, who had blocked the road between Babusar Top and Chilas.

“Last night, the Babusar road was blocked by local people over a local issue. After successful negotiations, the road has been opened for traffic. Normalcy has been completely restored,” the Office of the Chief Secretary, Gilgit Baltistan, said in a tweet.

As many as 50 tourists were stranded for more than eight hours.

Armed group leader Maulana Abdul Hameed has given a 10-day ultimatum to the government to work on their demands. A video purportedly showing him has surfaced on social media in which he speaks in the Shina language. They like to call themselves “Mujahideen Gilgit Baltistan”.

He has warned of a “strong response” if no progress were seen on the demands.

What are the demands?

The release of eight aseeraan (detainees) and recovery of two “missing persons”, introduction of an “Islamic” government system and a ban on women’s sports activities are the top demands allegedly presented by the protesters.

Sources said that Col (retd) Obaidullah, who was traveling to Gilgit from Islamabad, was held hostage along with his son and around eight tourists. But, he refused that in interviews with local media. Aaj News tried to reach him on the phone but he could not be contacted.

The militants, who were referred to as protesters by Obaidullah in a video from captivity, claim that the government had not fulfilled their demands as per the 2019 agreement which sources say was signed to bring them into the mainstream for the construction of the Diamer-Bhasha dam.

Back then the group members were accused of killing tourists in Nanga Parbat and other security officials, a local political leader claimed.

Militant commander Habibur Rehman, who led the road blockade, is the prime accused in the Nanga Parbat base camp attack in June 2013 that killed 11 people, including 10 foreign tourists. He was arrested later but managed to escape in a March 2015 jailbreak in Gilgit.

In a video released while Col (retd) Obaidullah, who is a PTI leader, was still being held at Babusar Top, he was seen speaking to the locals along with the negotiating team. His official Facebook page denied such reports and claimed that he along with other tourists had to “wait” in Thak Village of Chilas in Diamer till the arrival of the negotiation team.

“I will not say that we were abducted. It’s just that we and other people were sitting at a distance from each other in a room. I think they had sat us for the fulfillment of their demands,” Col (retd) Obaid told BBC Urdu on Saturday.

He confirmed Siasat.pk that he was not abducted but held hostage. He added that the government managed to “maintain its writ” as it regained its control and “19 foreigners” were given safe passage.

Rehan Shah, PML-N’s chief organiser in GB, condemned the incident and expressed concerns over the state of security. “If a person like GB chief minister is not safe, then how can a common man be safe,” he told Aaj News via phone.

Shah, who contested the last general election from the constituency GB-6 Hunza, said that roadblocks and sit-ins were also staged by other groups in the past for the release of workers. But, he denounced the act of holding people hostage.

“State’s writ should be maintained and the law should apply equally to everyone,” he said and stressed that the genuine demands of the people should be met.

The PML-N leader said that DC of Diamer, a former GB govt spokesman Faiz Ullah Faraq, and PTI leader Shah Nasir, a JUI leader among others were part of the negotiating team.

Faraq refuted claims of the PTI leader being a hostage in Diamer.

“Like we took part in the campaign for asseran-e-Gilgit, similarly, aseeran-e-Diamer also have some demands and they blocked their roads to record their protest, and the Colonel was stuck due to it here,” he told local media.

He urged all stakeholders to resolve the issues.

“The minister was set free unconditionally as a result of successful negotiations through local ulemas,” GB Chief Secretary Mohyuddin Ahmad Wani told Arab News.

Muhammad Alamgir, station house officer of Jal area in Diamer district told the news outlet that a local jirga comprising clerics and officials negotiated with the militant group.“

Alamgir said the main demand of militants was the release of incarcerated prisoners from the Minawar Jail, Gilgit.

Faraq told the foreign news outlet that the militants were of the view that the longer they kept the minister, their demands would be met.

The Diamer deputy commissioner and superintendent of police were part of the negotiations too.

Ziaullah Thakvi, another Jirga member, said: “Around 200 militants, mostly from outside the Diamer district, had blocked the road, which left tourists among others stranded. They were kept at their homes and were all safely taken out later.”

He said the militants demanded their fellows be released or moved to Diamer and treated like other inmates.

Thakvi claimed that the militants belonged to the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, also known as the Pakistani Taliban, and most of them were “outsiders”.

“I could only identify two from Diamer, one of them Habib,” he said, “all others were outsiders from KP, Punjab, Balochistan and different parts of Gilgit-Baltistan.”

(Gilgit Bureau contributed to the story)