Islamabad, Jul 17: The Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly has unanimously passed a resolution urging Pakistan’s federal government to grant the region provisional provincial status along with constitutional and political rights, according to a media report.
The resolution, moved by legislator Jalal Ali Shah during the assembly session on Thursday, received support from both treasury and opposition members, Dawn newspaper reported.
The resolution states that the Gilgit-Baltistan (Empowerment and Self-Governance) Order, 2009 established an elected legislative assembly and expanded self-governance while affirming the state’s commitment to the region’s constitutional advancement.
It further notes that the Gilgit-Baltistan Order, 2018 conferred legislative powers on the assembly based on recommendations made by a committee headed by the late politician Sartaj Aziz.
The Assembly urged Islamabad to implement those recommendations by granting Gilgit-Baltistan provisional provincial status, allowing its residents to elect representatives to Pakistan’s National Assembly and secure representation at the federal level.
Gilgit-Baltistan is administered separately by Pakistan. India has consistently maintained that the entire Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, including Gilgit-Baltistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu Kashmir (PoJK), are integral and inalienable parts of India.
New Delhi has repeatedly rejected Pakistan’s attempts to alter the status of these territories, maintaining that such measures have no legal validity and cannot change India’s stated position regarding the region. (Agencies)
