Islamabad: A petition was filed in Islamabad High Court on Friday seeking suspension of Gilgit-Baltistan elections scheduled on June 08.
India has strongly opposed the conduct of elections in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) areas of Gilgit-Baltistan.
Addressing a press conference, Tuesday, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Vikas Swarup said, “Election in Gilgit-Baltistan on June 8 is an attempt by Pakistan to camouflage its forcible and illegal occupation of the regions.”
“India’s position is very clear, the entire J&K state which includes Gilgit-Baltistan, is an integral part of India,” he said, adding, “We are concerned at continued effort of denying people of region their political rights and the efforts being made to absorb these territories (Gilgit-Baltistan).”
Activists like Senge Hasna Serin, the president of 'Institute of Gilgit Baltistan Studies' have been asserting that many people in "lawlessness" Gilgit-Baltistan would opt for India if a plebiscite were to be held.
The Gilgit Baltistan area of Jammu and Kashmir occupied by Pakistan covers 85,793 sq km. It was further divided in 1970 into two separate administrative divisions: Mirpur-Muzaffarabad (which Pakistan calls Azad Jammu and Kashmir, AJK) and the Federally Administered Gilgit-Baltistan.
Gilgit-Baltistan was earlier referred to as the "Northern Areas" in Pakistan.
Pakistan illegally ceded a huge portion of territory of Shaksgam Valley, of around 5,180 sq km, to China in a border agreement of 1963.
Gilgit-Baltistan is divided into seven districts. Two are in Baltistan, four in Gilgit and the Hunza-Nagar. The region has approximately a one million population spread over 72,970 sq km.
According to Dunya News, the Pakistan Army will be deployed in 24 electoral constituencies during Gilgit-Baltistan's legislative assembly election.
The district administration has deployed eight units of Pakistan Army comprising 5,500 personnel in the area from June 4 to 15, it said.
