#StandwithGilgitBaltistan isn't just a trending hashtag, it's disturbing history…and resolve to straighten out the conflict, hopefully, but not exclusively by the hook.
Pakistani politician Maryam Nawaz Sharif publicly hit out at Pakistan Army for their unilateral decision to create Gilgit Baltistan as a province of Pakistan, ignoring the plight and the rights of locals who deserve freedom. "This is a political issue, these decisions should be taken in the Parliament and not in GHQ," she said.
Let alone Indian politicians, the Indian public was quick to remind something that it hadn't even forgotten, let alone forgiven. Millions of Indians haven't forgotten Pakistan occupied Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh. Needless to say, Gilgit Baltistan is Indian territory and efforts to free it from the clutches of illegal occupation of Pakistan sooner or later is underway.
India stands its ground
Despite India conveying to Pakistan through several channels that all the union territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, including Gilgit and Baltistan are an integral part of India, the neighbor clearly hasn't listened to what they've been told.
The Ministry of External Affairs in May itself issued a statement, lodging a strong protest with Pakistan after the Pakistan Supreme Court allowed the amendment to the Government of Gilgit Baltistan Order of 2018 to conduct the general elections in the region.
"The entire J&K and Ladakh, including areas of Gilgit and Baltistan are integral part of India. Pakistan should immediately vacate all areas under its illegal occupation," the MEA, GoI, said.
Is it linked to India-China lately?
A Pakistani media report from a week ago quoted a senior minister as saying that Pakistan had decided to elevate the status of Gilgit Baltistan to that of a full-fledged province. But the timing of Gilgit Baltistan being elevated to a full-fledged province while India deals with China on one front is a very easy dot to connect. And an economically viable one too.
The political watchdogs have since long predicted the parallel nature of the two events and how it would allow for greater Chinese ingression by legalizing the China Pakistan Economic Corridor.
The world got a little whiff of Pakistan's wrong ambitions at the SCO meeting where Pakistan's representative displayed a map that showed Kashmir, Junagadh and Siachen Glacier as a part of Pakistan's territory. The repercussions of the incident galore but that didn't deter things.
While attacking Imran Khan on Gilgit Baltistan issue, Bilawal Zardari Bhutto, son of former PM Benazir Bhutto has hit out against Khan saying he failed on Pulwama, failed to take the opposition into confidence and how national security briefings happen without PM.
