It seems that the disputed constitutional status of northern Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) region will finally get the push it needs as the Chinese have demanded a legal cover to the CPEC project. It does not wish to build the infrastructure on ‘disputed territory’ and it is time Pakistan accepts that the fate of GB must reach a logical conclusion. This has great implications for the future of the entire region as Pakistan has historically maintained that the parts of Kashmir it controls are semi-autonomous and will not formally integrate them into the country, until the referendum is carried out across the region.
According to the United Nations Commission for India and Pakistan (UNCIP) Resolution of August 13, 1948, the territory of AJK, which includes GB, is to be administered by the “local authority” under the Commission’s inspection.
Though both AJK and Gilgit-Baltistan are territories “otherwise included” in Pakistan under the UNCIP Resolutions, Pakistan has always treated the State of Jammu and Kashmir as a disputed territory, and has deprived the GB region and its people their constitutional, political and representational rights. These liberated territories (AJK and GB) are subject to all the burdens and duties of a province, but are not entitled to the rights of a province, which is regrettable, and this status quo is multiplying frustration in the region.
Though successive governments, notably the Musharraf and the last PPP regimes have taken steps to give GB greater rights, Pakistan has to consider Gilgit-Baltistan a remote setting not at par with the rest of the country due to its historical link to the Kashmir dispute. The people of GB should not have to wait an entire lifetime for the resolution of the Kashmir dispute and Pakistan must stop using the region to remain diplomatically correct. Any move to grant autonomous rights to GB have been vehemently opposed by the AJK government as it gives India the signal to formally absorb the territory it controls, such as the Kashmir valley.
While that is unthinkable for those oppressed in the Indian occupied Kashmir, this conflict must end with the support of both governments so the disputed territories can start a new chapter and prosper as conflict-free regions. The regional governments must be transparent, autonomous and responsive to the demands of the people who have suffered far too long due to two countries who refuse to see face to face on any issue.