India on Tuesday opposed Pakistan’s plans to hold an election in the disputed Gilgit-Baltistan region and to make it the neighbouring country’s fifth province, saying Islamabad could not make material changes in areas under its illegal occupation.
The two countries have sparred several times in recent weeks on the status of Gilgit-Baltistan, part of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, and raised the issue at international bodies such as the UN.
The Pakistan government plans to hold an election for the legislative assembly of Gilgit-Baltistan on November 15, following which it will move towards making the region a full-fledged province.
“We have seen reports regarding announcement of elections to the so-called ‘Gilgit-Baltistan’ legislative assembly to be held on November 15, 2020. The government of India has conveyed its strong protest to the government of Pakistan and reiterated that the entire union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, including the areas of so-called Gilgit and Baltistan, are an integral part of India by virtue of its accession in 1947,” the external affairs ministry said in a statement.