GILGIT-BALTISTAN

Jan. 19, 2019

India is protesting against a recent order of the Supreme Court of Pakistan that brought the region of Gilgit-Baltistan within its ambit by arguing that the region would remain, an integral part of India. India called the recent order as an interference in India’s internal affairs.

About:

Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) was formerly known as the Northern Areas.
It is an integral part of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir but is currently under Pakistani occupation.
Gilgit Baltistan has been under the control of Pakistan since April 1949, when the leadership of the so-called Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) was forced to sign away this territory to Pakistan.
However, the region does not have any place in the constitutional framework of Pakistan and has been kept under the tight control of the central government.
Gilgit-Baltistan shares a border with Azad Kashmir, together with which it is referred to by the United Nations as "Pakistan administered Kashmir".

Recent development:

India reiterated that the entire state of Jammu and Kashmir, which also includes the so-called 'Gilgit-Baltistan' has been, is and shall remain an integral part of India.
The response came after the Pakistani court said in an order that Gilgit-Baltistan came within its domain.
It was delivering its comments after the Government of Pakistan ordered constitutional safeguards for the region which previously was not given these safeguards explicitly.
Pakistan in recent months had taken a series of steps to ensure full constitutional and legal guarantees to the region which was strategically important for the country especially in view of the passage of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) through the region.
According to India, such attempts by Pakistan in these occupied territories are aimed to camouflage grave human rights violations, exploitation and sufferings of the people living there.