Wheat Shortage Pushes Gilgit-Baltistan To Breaking Point; Residents Blame Islamabad For ‘Deliberate Neglect’

Gilgit-Baltistan is in the grip of wheat shortage, which has disrupted households across the region and sparked a fresh wave of anger against Islamabad. Long before sunrise, people can be seen waiting outside ration shops with empty bags and tokens, hoping that the last truck will bring enough grain for everyone. Most days it doesn’t happen.

Over the past few weeks, it has become difficult to secure subsidized wheat, which is a lifeline during the harsh winter months. Families in Gilgit, Skardu, Hunza and several smaller towns say the crisis has made even basic meals uncertain. Local traders confirm that market prices have risen sharply and basic foodstuffs have become unattainable for many.

Neighborhood residents argue that the famine is not accidental. Various community groups claim that the cuts are part of a pattern in which Gilgit-Baltistan, already politically disenfranchised, is also denied timely access to basic needs. “When resources decrease, this region gets the first blow and is the last to recover,” said a shopkeeper in Skardu. “It’s been like this for years.”

Tensions over food come as the region is also struggling with crippling power outages. In many neighborhoods, electricity is not available for most of the day. Businesses that rely on cooling or constant heating say they are struggling to stay open. Students preparing for exams complain about studying by candlelight in a region that produces some of Pakistan’s important hydroelectric resources.

Residents argue that the root of the problem lies in Islamabad’s governance structure. Gilgit-Baltistan remains outside the Constitution of Pakistan as it is not represented in the National Assembly or Senate and has no access to the Supreme Court. Decisions about land, water and income are made far away, leaving locals with little say in how their region is governed. Many people now openly describe the system as one that extracts from them but gives little back.

Civil society groups say this winter’s wheat shortage would not have turned into a crisis if federal officials had acted earlier. Local governments had made many warnings about decreasing supplies. Instead of increasing shipments, authorities provide routine reassurances and blame transport delays, residents say.

As the famine worsened, street protests spread. Videos from the area show men and women holding signs demanding the Pakistani government bring back subsidized supplies and explain why distribution has become so uneven. Elderly residents spoke of returning home empty-handed for several days in a row; This was something that rarely happened, even in previous difficult years.

Many protesters attribute the food crisis to what they describe as Islamabad’s broader approach to the region: land taken for dams and road corridors without transparent compensation, hydroelectric power being exported to other provinces while local homes remain dark, and major projects being announced without consultation. For them, everything points to a governance model that treats Gilgit-Baltistan as peripheral despite its strategic and economic importance.

India has repeatedly stated that Gilgit-Baltistan is part of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir as per the 1947 Instrument of Accession. New Delhi has criticized Pakistan’s management of the region, particularly the diversion of resources and the impact of CPEC-related construction on local communities. Current shortages have brought renewed attention to conditions under Pakistan’s control.

But for families in Gilgit-Baltistan, the immediate concern is simpler: getting enough wheat to last the week. It is feared that the crisis will get worse before it gets better as winter takes hold and Islamabad has not announced a clear plan. Residents say they are tired of being told to be patient. After years of breaches of assurances, many believe the crisis has revealed something deeper: a region rich in rivers and mountains has been left to struggle for basic food because its voice carries little weight in the corridors of power.