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| Gilgit-Baltistan brought under ambit of Pak SC | | Pakistan again violates UN resolutions on J&K | | Early Times Report
Jammu, Jan 19: Pakistan continues to violate the UN resolutions on J&K and bring material changes in the illegally occupied areas of Gilgit-Baltistan. The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Thursday, while giving a written order regarding the constitutional status of Gilgit-Baltistan and the grant of "fundamental rights to its citizens", ruled that the powers of the top court also extended to the region. Earlier, Pakistan had ceded over 5,000 sq km area in the Gilgit-Baltistan region to China violating the UN resolutions on J&K.
The ruling was given by a seven-judge bench headed by Justice Saqib Nisar. It issued a detailed order in response to several petitions filed against constitutional issues and previous reforms in the region. The bench declared that the "jurisdiction and power of the Supreme Court extend to Gilgit-Baltistan". Not just this, the bench further said that "the region's courts did not have constitutional power to deal with issues within Pakistan but the people from the region will be able to challenge their top court's decisions in the Supreme Court of Pakistan".
Besides, the 7-judge bench ordered that "the people of Gilgit-Baltistan region should be give fundamental human rights as provided in the proposed constitutional order, which was made part of the detailed order".
The ruling of the Pakistani SC evoked a sharp reaction from New Delhi. India on Friday summoned the Deputy High Commissioner of Pakistan and lodged a strong protest over the Pakistan Supreme Court's order extending its powers to Gilgit-Baltistan.
"The Deputy High Commissioner of Pakistan was summoned today (Friday) and a strong protest was lodged on recent order by Supreme Court of Pakistan on the so-called 'Gilgit-Baltistan' which is an interference in India's internal affairs," the External Affairs Ministry Friday said in a statement.
"It was reiterated that the entire state of Jammu and Kashmir, which also includes the so-called 'Gilgit-Baltistan' has been, is and shall remain an integral part of India," it further stated.
India told the Deputy High Commissioner of Pakistan that the "Pakistan government or judiciary have no locus standi on territories held by it", and added that "any action to alter the status of these territories by Pakistan has no legal basis whatsoever."
In effect, India rejected such continued attempts by Pakistan to bring "material change in these occupied territories and to camouflage grave human rights violations, exploitation and sufferings of the people living there and asked Pakistan to "immediately vacate all areas under its illegal occupation.
The question to be asked is: Will Pakistan quit the so-called Azad Kashmir (PoJL) and Gilgit-Baltistan? The answer is a big NO. It will not. The Government of India has to think about other methods to get these areas vacated and reintegrated with Jammu & Kashmir. It needs to be noted that State Constitution has reserved 24 seats in the assembly for the people of these illegally-occupied territories.
Gilgit-Baltistan region is legitimately Indian. It was part of the Jammu & Kashmir State on August 15, 1947, when India attained independence and Pakistan created out of India exclusively for the Muslims. Pakistan could annex this region and other parts of the state between October 1947 and 1948 because the Congress government of the time didn't allow the Indian Army to get the aggression vacated from the areas now under the illegal occupation of Pakistan. |
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