Pakistan Rejects India’s Protest as it Moves to Make Gilgit-Baltistan its Fifth Province

Pakistan today rejected India's protests over Islamabad's latest move relating to administrative authority over the Gilgit-Baltistan region.

India had summoned Pakistan's Deputy High Commissioner Syed Haider Shah in New Delhi and lodged a strong protest over Islamabad's latest move, saying any action to alter the status of any part of the territory under its "forcible and illegal occupation" has no legal basis. In a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said it conveyed to Shah that the entire state of Jammu and Kashmir, which also includes the so-called 'Gilgit-Baltistan' areas, is an integral part of India by virtue of its accession in 1947.

However, Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman in a statement claimed that the "Jammu and Kashmir was disputed territory". "Pakistan categorically rejects India's protest against the Gilgit-Baltistan Order 2018 and its claim over Jammu & Kashmir as an 'integral part' of India. Everything from history to law to morality to the situation on the ground belies India's spurious claim,” the spokesman said. "These resolutions, pledging the right to self-determination to the people of Kashmir, were accepted by India, Pakistan and the international community," he said.

India has also protested to China over the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project which passes through the disputed region. India maintains that any possible attempt by Pakistan to declare the Gilgit-Baltistan region, bordering the disputed Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, as the fifth province is "entirely unacceptable".

China's controversial USD 50 billion CPEC passes through Gilgit-Baltistan and it is believed that Beijing's concerns about the unsettled status of Gilgit-Baltistan prompted Pakistan to change its status.

Media reports had earlier said that Pakistan plans to elevate the constitutional status of the region to provide legal cover to the CPEC.

Pakistan's Cabinet was informed on May 20 by the Central Government that the people of Gilgit-Baltistan will have the same rights as enjoyed by the citizens of the other four provinces after the devolution of powers under a reform package. The move is seen as Islamabad's efforts towards incorporating the disputed region as its fifth province. "It (Cabinet) was also informed that with the devolution of greater administrative and financial powers to the Government of Gilgit-Baltistan, all the rights will be available to the citizens in Gilgit-Baltistan as available to the people in other provinces of Pakistan," according to an official statement.

Pakistan has bifurcated occupied Kashmir into two administrative parts - Gilgit-Baltistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Gilgit-Baltistan was treated as a separate geographical entity by Pakistan till now. It has a regional assembly and an elected chief minister. Balochistan, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Sindh are the four provinces of Pakistan. (With Agency inputs)

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 28, 2018 10:40 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).