Gilgit Baltistan

 

It is a chunk of high attitude territory at the northwestern corner of Jammu and Kashmir. The region was a part of state of Jammu and Kashmir, but has been under Pakistan’s control since November 4, 1947, following the invasion of Kashmir by tribal militias and Pakistan army.

The region was renamed as “The Northern Areas of Pakistan”, put under the direct control of Islamabad, and the area is six times more than the size of PoK (called as Azad Kashmir by Pakistan). It spread over 72,871 sq km, but it is sparsely populated with just 20 lakh people and divided into three administrative divisions and 10 districts.

The total geographical area of the state of Jammu and Kashmir 2,22,236 sq km. of this, at present, only 1,01,437 sq km is under the control of India’s administration. The remaining area is divided into Azad Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan which is at present controlled by Pakistan.

 After the Pakistan government enacted the Gilgit Baltistan empowerment and self-governance order in August 2009, the Northern Areas came to be known as Gilgit Baltistan.

How Gilgit Baltistan fell into Pakistan hands:

Maharaja Hari Singh acceded the complete state of Kashmir including Gilgit Baltistan to India in 1948. These areas were never acceded to Pakistan.

On the other hand, Pakistan signed a standstill agreement with the ruler but broke it and invaded Kashmir. Pakistan occupied PoK by force. Gilgit Baltistan were amalgamated into Pakistan through British perfidy.

The lease of Gilgit Baltistan was renewed in 1935 to British by Maharaja Hari Singh. In 1947, after independence, within 15 to 30 days, a British army officer of the rank of Colonel imprisoned Maharaja Hari Singh’s governor in the region, and handled over the area for accession to Pakistan.

Current status:

It has an elected Assembly and a Council headed by the Prime Minister of Pakistan. The council wields all powers, and controls the resources and revenues from the region. In any case, the so-called regional government is under the overall control of the federal Ministry of Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit Baltistan in Islamabad.

Gilgit Baltistan do not find any mention in the Pakistan constitution. It is neither independent; nor does it have provincial status. It helps Pakistan maintain ambiguity about the region, in the way it does with PoK.

Pakistan-China-Gilgit Baltistan:

A mass protest took place in Ghanche district of Pakistan occupied Kashmir against Islamabad’s decision of leasing the pasture land of Gilgit Baltistan to China for mining. The protestors blocked the road and accused Pakistan of violating state subject rule in GB and world in silent.

Member of Gilgit Baltistan Legislative Assembly (GBLA) Mizzra Hussain and GB minister of minerals had said that 300 mining leases were awarded to China without their knowledge.

Through its China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) initiative, Beijing is using transit routes of Gilgit Baltistan to reach Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan and the ports along the coastline of Arabian Sea.

Chinese mining companies control the region’s much valued mineral deposits of uranium, gold, copper, marble and precious stones. Pakistan, in violation of international laws and defiance of its own constitution, has given a free hand to plunder natural resources in the occupied Gilgit Baltistan area. Not only that, Islamabad has also signed a multi-billion-dollar contract with Beijing to build a mega dam in the Daimer division, an area that legally belongs to India.

Diamer-Bhasha Dam:

 The Diamer-Bhasha Dam was conveyed by Pakistan’s state-run utility to a committee of the country’s National Assembly. Pakistan’s planning minister Ahsan Iqbal Reuters said that “Pakistan expects china to fund” the project.

It is a project that both the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank have refused to touch because India objects to its location, which is in Gilgit Baltistan.

For more information about this dam:

Click here: https://gulfnews.com/world/asia/pakistan/pakistan-begins-construction-of-diamer-bhasha-dam-1.72607867

Article 257:

Article 257 of the 1973 constitution of Pakistan states:

“When the people of the state of Jammu and Kashmir decide to accede to Pakistan, the relationship between the Pakistan and the state shall be determined in accordance with the wishes of the people of the state”.

However, it does not specifically mention that the regions of the state that it presently occupies are part of its territory. In September 1994, the Supreme Court held since the Gilgit Baltistan was not a part of Pakistan, the judicial matters pertaining to it were outside the purview of Pakistani court. Ipso facto, Gilgit Baltistan is legally not a part of Pakistan. PoK and Gilgit Baltistan whether they were a single territorial unit (earlier) or bifurcated (now) have been administrated under special council headed by the Prime Minister of Pakistan without representation in the Pakistan national assembly or resource to the supreme judicial processes of the land.

Conclusion:

Simply put, PoK and Gilgit Baltistan are not an integral part of Pakistan. They were acceded to India. Hence, these Indian territories should be taken back.