The Gilgit-Baltistan region is part of the original Kashmir and is illegally occupied by Pakistan. There may be doubt among some people that whether Gilgit-Baltistan is a part of India or not? The answer is self-evident that Gilgit-Baltistan is a part of India. So, the only question remains is that when can India captures Gilgit-Baltistan?
The fact that Gilgit-Baltistan is part of Kashmir merged with India is ultimately part of India. Now it is the time to take it back, and it is also a fact that Gilgit-Baltistan wants to join India.
Pakistan occupies part of Kashmir. This part consists of two large provinces called Gilgit-Baltistan. Yet it does not include what we call Pakistan Occupied Kashmir. Both Gilgit and Baltistan were part of the state of Kashmir and hence are Indian territories. The condition of the people there is deplorable! Because the rulers of Pakistan do not consider them as their own and do not even hand over the territory to India. It is also a fact that so far no Indian government has made a bold attempt to regain the territory.
Now Pakistan has declared both Gilgit and Baltistan as its full territories (say states). Pakistan has also decided to hold elections there in November. Elections mean that the region is completely it is own. Pakistan’s move is being opposed from at least three directions. India is naturally making one protest. In India, the Gilgit-Baltistan issue is also trending on Twitter. The residents of Gilgit-Baltistan are staging another protest. Pakistan’s opposition parties make the third opposition. Of course, Pakistan’s opposition parties like Nawaz Sharif (Pakistan Muslim League), Bilawal Bhutto (Pakistan People’s Party) etc. are protesting for their interests. They have nothing to do with the welfare of Gilgit-Baltistan or the development of the people; they are interested in gaining power.
Imran Khan is interested in the survival of his government. For that, he has to do what the Pakistani army says. Countries all over the world have troops. Pakistan is a country where the military has a state; this means that no government in Pakistan can go beyond the military. Then there is yesterday’s Nawaz or today’s Imran. For the sake of their interests, Sharif-Bhutto is now protesting that the army is interfering in the Gilgit-Baltistan elections. Elections are being held at the behest of the military.
It is not wrong to say that the Pak army was behind the declaration of Gilgit-Baltistan as a province. Pakistani Army President Bajwa is leading the communication behind the whole activity. Bajwa has to do as much as China says. Gilgit-Baltistan has been under Pakistan’s control since the 19th century. Why the need for elections now if not now? Because China is investing heavily there. Pakistan, on the other hand, fears that the next step of the Indian government after the repeal of Article 30 in Kashmir may be to liberate Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. If Pakistan liberates occupied Kashmir, then Gilgit-Baltistan will automatically come under Indian occupation. After the occupation of India, Pakistan suffers, China suffers!
All Pakistani opposition parties object and fear military intervention. As the Pakistani military intervenes, so do the people of Gilgit-Baltistan.
Switzerland-based Gilgit-Baltistan political activist Dr Amjad Mirza has accused Pakistan of inciting riots there and then occupying the region in the name of elections and handing over control to China. Of course, China’s management will be behind the scenes. If you look at the map of India, it is clear that the region called Gilgit-Baltistan is located at the northern end of Kashmir. It is said that China gets more benefit than Pakistan. China’s ambitious China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project is going through it.
As the name suggests, the project is a China-Pakistan’s joint venture, but everything from financial investment to machinery, including machinery, is Chinese. If India does anything in Gilgit-Baltistan, China’s project and the millions of dollars invested with it will hang. So China is in a hurry to declare the area a province, hold elections there, and prove that the province officially belongs to Pakistan.
When the issue of Kashmir is at the United Nations, Pakistan will face strong opposition from India if it goes to make any changes in Gilgit-Baltistan. Realising that China is now trying to woo India, Pakistan is in a hurry to occupy Gilgit-Baltistan. Otherwise, the people there want liberation from Pakistan. That is why human rights activists like Mirza have either had to leave Pakistan or are currently in political captivity.
Until the abolition of Article 370 in Kashmir, its people had more rights than the average citizen of India. The situation is reversed in Gilgit-Baltistan! Pakistan has enacted more stringent laws for its citizens. Freedom like human rights or freedom of speech has not given Pakistan any place in Gilgit-Baltistan!
Gilgit-Baltistan is a Union Territory of Pakistan just like the Union Territories of India. Both the chief minister and the governor are there, but the absolute power rests with the governor. The governor naturally has to follow the orders of the government sitting in Islamabad. Now for the development of this province, Pakistan wants to give it the status of a state and give it administrative facilities like other states.
On the other hand, the Government of India passed a bill in 1994 declaring Gilgit-Baltistan an integral part of India. So now Gilgit-Baltistan is likely to become a new issue in the Indo-Pakistani conflict in the coming days. Of course, India has verbally protested the Gilgit-Baltistan issue many times before. Even this time, the words of protest are limited enough to see if the matter goes ahead …
Gilgit-Baltistan became part of Pakistan due to the intransigence of the British officials!!
Before independence, Gilgit-Baltistan was part of the state of Jammu and Kashmir. At that time, the British were afraid of an invasion by Russia in the north. The route of the invasion was also to come from Gilgit-Baltistan. Therefore, the British rented the area from the Maharaja of Kashmir in the 19th to strengthen their hold on Gilgit-Baltistan and to keep that pretext under wraps.
An army called Gilgit Scout prepared by the British was stationed there. Time passed, independence came, Maharaja Harisinh of Kashmir annexed his kingdom to India.
The territory leased by the Maharaja also came to India. But then there was the stubborn English officer Major William Brown in Gilgit-Baltistan. Instead of annexing the region to India, he imprisoned Maharaja-appointed Governor Ghansar Singh Jamwal. So little did he fly the Pakistani flag over the province. Pakistan got the territory without any effort .. and today it considers it as its own. Where Pakistan has nothing to bathe or squeeze, so, this proves that India can capture Gilgit-Baltistan at any time.
