India Protests Pakistan's Plan To Hold Elections In Gilgit-Baltistan, Reasserts Territorial Claim

India has strongly objected to Pakistan's decision to hold elections in Gilgit-Baltistan, reiterating that the region is an integral part of India. New Delhi said such political measures cannot alter the territory's legal status.

New Delhi: India has strongly objected to Pakistan’s decision to hold general elections for the so-called Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly on June 7.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said it has formally conveyed its protest to Pakistan, stating that the elections are being conducted in a territory that legally belongs to India but remains under Pakistan’s control.

India reiterated its long-standing position that the entire regions of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, including Gilgit-Baltistan, are integral parts of the country.

According to New Delhi, the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir legally acceded to India in October 1947 through the Instrument of Accession signed by Maharaja Hari Singh following Pakistan-backed tribal incursions.

Gilgit-Baltistan is a strategically important mountainous region located north of Ladakh. It shares borders with China, Afghanistan and Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Pakistan has administered the territory since the first India-Pakistan war of 1947-48, but India continues to claim it as part of its sovereign territory.

In its statement, India said Pakistan’s attempt to hold elections in the region does not change the legal status of the territory. The government also accused Pakistan of trying to divert attention from what it described as serious issues in the region, including alleged human rights violations, political repression, economic exploitation and restrictions on civil liberties.

New Delhi further stated that it rejects any effort by Pakistan to alter the status of territories under its control through administrative or political measures. India maintained that such actions cannot legitimize what it calls Pakistan's illegal occupation of Indian territory.

Remain linked to the broader Kashmir issue, the dispute over Gilgit-Baltistan has been a source of conflict between India and Pakistan since their independence in 1947.

The two countries have been claiming the region in full but control different parts of it.