ISLAMABAD – Pakistan rejected on Monday the Indian claims against Gilgit-Baltistan Order 2018 and summoned Indian Deputy High Commissioner JP Singh to record a strong protest.
In a statement issued by the foreign office, Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman Dr. Muhammad Faisal summoned Indian Deputy High Commissioner J.P Singh in Islamabad and registered Pakistan’s categorical rejection of the Indian statement on the Gilgit Baltistan Order 2018 and its baseless, fallacious claim that the mountainous region is an integral part of Indian-occupied Kashmir (IoK).
The FO said that Kashmir Valley is a disputed area which should be resolved according to the UN resolutions and aspirations of the Kashmiri people.
The statement further said that instead of protesting India should quit the occupation of Kashmir valley.
Earlier, GB government formally promulgated Gilgit Baltistan Order 2018 on May 21 which provides for devolution of greater administrative authority and financial powers to it. The order is being seen as Pakistan’s efforts towards incorporating the disputed region as its fifth province.
Addressing a press conference, provincial law minister Aurangzeb and information adviser Shams Mir said it was a historic and consensus initiative which would bring Gilgit Baltistan region on par with other provinces of the country in terms of socio-economic development.
India on Sunday 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.
The Indian authorities said that the entire state of Jammu and Kashmir, which also includes the ‘Gilgit-Baltistan’ areas, is an integral part of India by virtue of its accession in 1947.
