India on Sunday slammed Pakistan’s move to provisionally grant Gilgit-Baltistan the status of a province, stating that the region was an integral of India given that Islamabad was in illegal possession of the areas that were part of the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
The statement by the Indian foreign ministry rejecting the Pakistani action came hours after Pakistan’s prime minister Imran Khan during a visit to the region on Sunday announced the changed status of Gilgit-Baltistan.
Analysts in India see Pakistan’s move as a response to India revoking Article 370 of its constitution last year in August and integrating the region more closely with the rest of the country. India’s action meant that New Delhi had taken the Indian-administered region off the talks table with Pakistan – something that infuriated Islamabad. Pakistan’s action on Sunday would further aggravate ties with India, already at an unprecedented low over attempts by Pakistan to internationalise the Kashmir dispute following the revocation of article 370 by New Delhi and due to a series of terrorist attacks in India.Read more…
