Children will die, but won't allow Gilgit-Baltistan region to be declared as 5th province by Pakistan - Slogans resound PoK

Pic courtesy: ANI

New Delhi: In more trouble for Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, lawyers in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, were seen protesting against Islamabad's move to make Gilgit-Baltistan fifth province.

Protesting against Pakistan's decision, the lawyers hit the streets on March 18, saying it's a dark move by the Sharif government to use land for China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

'Bacha-bacha katt marega, par ye suba nahi banega' (every children will die, but will not allow to change the status of Gilgit-Baltistan region), slogans were raised during the protests.

Notably, Kashmiri separatist leaders have also warned Pakistan against any proposal to make the Gilgit-Baltistan region as one of its territorial states.

In a joint statement, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Farooq and Yasin Malik have said that the Gilgit-Baltistan region is a part of Kashmir and any move to make it as the fifth state of Pakistan is fraught with danger.

A committee headed by Pakistan's foreign policy chief Sartaj Aziz had proposed to make Gilgit-Baltistan, the region north of the Line of Control in the Pakistan-administered Kashmir, fifth province.

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor passes through the region and it is strategically crucial for India as it connects China, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Central Asia.