After Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan’s attempt to accord provincial status to Gilgit-Baltistan, India, in response, lashed out at Khan’s remarks, saying it is intended to camouflage the “illegal” occupation of the region.
India “firmly rejects” the attempt by Pakistan to bring material changes to a part of Indian territory which is under Islamabad’s “illegal and forcible occupation”, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said.
He also asked Pakistan to immediately vacate such areas.
“I reiterate that the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, including the area of so-called ‘Gilgit-Baltistan’, are an integral part of India by virtue of the legal, complete and irrevocable accession of Jammu and Kashmir to the Union of India in 1947,” he said.
He said the Government of Pakistan had no locus standi on territories “illegally and forcibly” occupied by it and that the latest move would not be able to hide the “grave” human rights violations in these Pakistan-occupied territories.
“Instead of seeking to alter the status of these Indian territories, we call upon Pakistan to immediately vacate all areas under its illegal occupation,” he said.
Pakistan has announced holding elections for the legislative assembly of Gilgit-Baltistan later this month.
Earlier this year, the Pakistan Supreme Court allowed Islamabad to amend a 2018 administrative order to conduct general elections in the region. The Gilgit-Baltistan Order of 2018 provided for administrative changes, including authorizing the Prime Minister of Pakistan to legislate on an array of subjects.
Following the verdict, India issued a demarche to a senior Pakistani diplomat and lodged a strong protest over the apex court ruling.