India rejects Pakistan's accord of 'provisional provincial status' to Gilgit-Baltistan

Ahead of the Gilgit-Baltistan polls on November 15, India rejected the newly granted 'provisional provincial status' to Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK) i.e Gilgit Baltistan by the Imran Khan government on Sunday. Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava affirmed that PoK was part of India as per the legal, complete and irrevocable accession of Jammu and Kashmir to the Union of India in 1947. Asking Pakistan to not 'alter the status of these Indian territories', India said attempts to camouflage Pak's illegal occupation can't hide grave human rights violations in PoK.

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Pakistan gives 'provisional provincial status' to PoK

 Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday announced the granting of provisional-provincial status to Gilgit-Baltistan, as per Pakistan's Geo News. “One of the reasons for me coming to Gilgit-Baltistan is to announce that we have decided to grant Gilgit-Baltistan the provisional provincial status,” Khan said at his visit to Gilgit-Baltistan. There have been massive protests against this move in Gilgit-Baltistan by bodies like -  Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front and Student Liberation Front, accusing Pakistan of exploiting the region of its resources, state reports. The 11 Opposition parties which form the coalition 'Pakistan Democratic movement' too have opposed this move, but most parties will contest for Gilgit-Baltistan polls.

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Pakistan to hold elections in Gilgit-Baltistan

In September, Pakistan President Arif Alvi approved elections to be conducted for the Legislative Assembly of PoK's  Gilgit Baltistan on November 15. Government representatives and opposition leaders such as PML(N)'s Shehbaz Sharif, Khawaja Asif, Ahsan Iqbal and PPP's Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Sherry Rehman participated in discussions with the military high command, including Pakistani Army chief General Qamar Bajwa and ISI DG Lt. Gen. Faiz Hameed at the Pakistan Army Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi. The Pakistan government has signed a Rs 442-billion contract with a joint venture formed by China Power and Pakistan Army for the construction of the Diamer-Bhasha dam in Gilgit-Baltistan.

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As per local media reports, there was also a consensus in the meeting on making GB a full province of Pakistan with all constitutional rights. However, this latest move orchestrated by Pakistan's military establishment came in for criticism from key opposition leader Maryam Nawaz Sharif. Speaking to the media in Islamabad, the PML(N) vice president maintained that GB was a political issue that should be handled by elected representatives. Similarly, Pakistan People's Party (PPP) chairman - Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that his party will only interact with Gilgit-Baltistan's Election Commission in the upcoming elections in the Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK) territory, opining that the interference of federal government - namely the Speaker and Federal ministers was condemnable.