India / India lodges protest with Pak over Pak Supreme Court's order on Gilgit-Baltistan

New Delhi: India has lodged a strong protest with Islamabad against Pakistan Supreme Court’s order allowing general elections in the so-called “Gilgit-Baltistan” region and asked it to immediately vacate all areas under its illegal occupation.

The Pakistani court had last week allowed the amendment to the Government of Gilgit-Baltistan Order of 2018 to conduct the general elections in September as well as for setting up a caretaker government during the interregnum period.

The ministry of external affairs (MEA) said India made a “demarche”, formal diplomatic representations, to a senior Pakistani diplomat to protest Pakistan’s efforts to bring “material change” in Pakistan-occupied territories.

“It was clearly conveyed that the entire Union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, including the areas of Gilgit and Baltistan, are an integral part of India by virtue of its fully legal and irrevocable accession,” MEA has said.

“The government of Pakistan or its judiciary has no locus standi on territories illegally and forcibly occupied by it. India completely rejects such actions and continued attempts to bring material changes in Pakistan occupied areas of the Indian territory of J-K,” it said.

India’s position in the matter is reflected in the resolution passed by Parliament in 1994 by consensus, it said.

“It was further conveyed that such actions can neither hide the illegal occupation of parts of Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh by Pakistan nor the grave human rights violations, exploitation and denial of freedom to the people residing in Pakistan occupied territories for the past seven decades,” it said.