Pak To Give Gilgit-Baltistan Full-Fledged Province Status

Weeks after releasing a political map that laid untenable claims to Indian territories, Pakistan has decided to elevate Gilgit-Baltistan to the status of a full-fledged province, according to a Pakistani minister quoted in a media report.

The Express Tribune quoted Minister Ali Amin Gandapur today said that the government has decided to elevate Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) to the status of a full-fledged province.

He said that Prime Minister Imran Khan would soon visit the region and make a formal announcement in this regard.

Last month, condemning Prime Minister Imran Khan for releasing Pakistan’s new political map laying untenable claims to Indian territories, India had termed the act as an “exercise in political absurdity.”

“We have seen a so-called “political map” of Pakistan that has been released by PM Imran Khan. This is an exercise in political absurdity, laying untenable claims to territories in the Indian state of Gujarat and our union territories of Jammu Kashmir and of Ladakh,” the Government of India said in a stern statement.

India also slammed Pakistan for their malafide intentions and said it confirms the reality of “Pakistan’s obsession with territorial aggrandisement supported by cross-border terrorism.”

The Imran Khan government had released a new political map of Pakistan, claiming Indian territories of Junagadh, Sir Creek and Manavadar in Gujarat, of Jammu and Kashmir and a part of Ladakh.

This came after the first anniversary of the Indian government’s decision to revoke Article 370 which gave special powers to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir. (ANI)