PoK will rise in protest if Pak declares Gilgit-Baltistan as fifth province: Activist

Geneva [Switzerland], Mar. 16 (ANI): With Pakistan planning to declare Gilgit-Baltistan region as its fifth province, Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) have warned Islamabad of serious repercussions stating that this development will only lead to massive resistance by the people of Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK). Speaking to ANI here, United Kashmir People's National Party Foreign Affairs Secretary Jamil Maqsood said, that Pakistan's plan is unrealistic on every level as it needs local consensus in the matter, which they can never obtain. "Gilgit Baltistan, which inhabits two million population is part of Jammu and Kashmir, that cannot be separated from rest of the state. If Pakistan would merge it, which seems unrealistic, because it needs local consensus in the matter as well and other formalities, then it will face serious repercussions," Maqsood said. Calling on the Indian Government to engage heavily in highlighting this development across all platforms, the PoK activist stated that people of Pakistan occupied Kashmir have already showed their anger and anxiety towards this matter, but if it is implemented, then the people of the region will "resist it on all levels". The Gilgit-Baltistan area is Pakistan's northernmost administrative territory that borders the disputed Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. A committee headed by Adviser to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz recommended to grant the region a provincial status, reports the GeoNews. Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, and Sindh are four provinces of Pakistan. However, India claims the Gilgit-Baltistan area as an integral part of its territory. The area is significant to both Pakistan and China as the $46 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) passes through the region. India has fervently maintained that the entire state of Jammu and Kashmir, which includes areas currently under Pakistan occupation, is an integral part of the Union of India. (ANI)