Gilgit-Baltistan’s Future Linked to Final Kashmir Settlement
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Federal Minister for Law and Justice Senator Azam Nazeer Tarar has said that the future constitutional and administrative arrangement of Gilgit-Baltistan will be discussed through broad based consultations involving all relevant stakeholders.
Chairing a meeting of the Gilgit-Baltistan Issues Working Group at the Ministry of Law and Justice on Friday, the minister said the consultation process on the region’s constitutional and legal position was already under way, as reported by The Express Tribune.
He invited the chief minister and leader of the opposition of Gilgit-Baltistan to attend the group’s next meeting, saying their participation would help ensure that the views of the people and political representatives of the region were properly reflected.
Gilgit-Baltistan is administered by Pakistan, but its status remains linked to the wider dispute over the former princely State of Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan has traditionally treated the region as part of the disputed State of Jammu and Kashmir rather than formally incorporating it into the country’s constitutional structure.
The issue remains contentious and has not received a final settlement. Under relevant United Nations resolutions, the future of Jammu and Kashmir is to be determined through a free and impartial plebiscite held under UN supervision. UN military observers have monitored the ceasefire arrangements between India and Pakistan in the region since 1949 through the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP).
Participants in the meeting examined constitutional, legal, financial and administrative questions concerning Gilgit-Baltistan. They reviewed earlier reports, possible legal options and proposals for improving the region’s financial resources.
The group also considered practical reforms that could be introduced within the existing governance framework without prejudicing the unresolved status of the Kashmir dispute.
Senator Tarar said all constitutional matters relating to Gilgit-Baltistan would be studied carefully and comprehensively. He stressed that the region’s financial, administrative and constitutional questions were closely connected and should therefore be addressed as part of one integrated process.
The minister said consultations would continue, with the aim of developing arrangements that took account of the region’s needs while remaining mindful of the broader Kashmir question and its pending final resolution.
