The recent controversy in South Asia has seen India vehemently rejecting Pakistan’s move to grant provisional provincial status to Gilgit-Baltistan, a disputed territory between these two countries. This article lays out the key points in the dispute, the background behind its escalation and India’s firm stand on the issue.
Gilgit-Baltistan: A Geographic and Political Overview
Located on the high-altitude north western corner of the Union Territory of Ladakh, Gilgit-Baltistan is a strategically important region. It shares borders with Pakistan, Afghanistan and China. Formerly part of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, it came under Pakistan’s control on November 4, 1947, following an invasion by tribal militias and the Pakistan army.
Despite Maharaja Hari Singh, the last Dogra ruler of J&K, signing the Instrument of Accession with India on October 26, 1947, the region remains under Pakistan’s control. India brought up this invasion issue to the United Nations Security Council on January 1, 1948. The Council responded by passing a resolution urging Pakistan to withdraw from all of Jammu and Kashmir. According to the resolution, India would then reduce its forces to the minimum level, after which a plebiscite would be held to ascertain the people’s wishes. This withdrawal has yet to occur and continues to fuel contention between India and Pakistan.
Background of the Contention
Recent developments have seen Saudi Arabia, a significant ally of Pakistan, remove Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan from the Pakistan map on its new banknotes. This was done after India appealed for “urgent corrective steps” regarding the “gross misrepresentation.”
On the first anniversary of the revocation of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status, the Pakistan government released a new “political map.” It included Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, and parts of western Gujarat as part of its territory. India dismissed this as “political absurdity” and a “ridiculous assertion,” saying it only confirmed “Pakistan’s obsession with territorial aggrandizement supported by cross-border terrorism.”
Moreover, the Gilgit-Baltistan region is at the heart of the USD 65 billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor Infrastructure development plan.
Where India Stands
India maintains that the entire region of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, including Gilgit-Baltistan, is an integral part of its territory. This claim is based on the full and irrevocable accession of Jammu and Kashmir to the Union of India in 1947.
India sees Pakistan’s move to name Gilgit-Baltistan as its fifth province as an attempt to “camouflage its illegal occupation” of the area. This, however, can’t conceal, according to India, “the grave human rights violations, exploitation, and denial of freedom” suffered by the people of Gilgit-Baltistan for over seven decades.
