India rejects Pakistan's move to declare Gilgit-Baltistan its fifth province
India today outrightly rejected Pakistan's move to declare Gilgit-Baltistan as its fifth frontier, saying it is totally unacceptable.
Replying to an issue raised by BJD leader Bhartruhari Mahtab during Zero Hour in the Lok Sabha, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said, India had condemned the move the day it was made.
The Gilgit-Baltistan area is Pakistan's northernmost administrative territory that borders the disputed Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
A committee headed by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's Advisor 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 CPEC passes through the region.
New Delhi 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.
The British Parliament has also condemned this reported move by Pakistan last month.
-ANI
