Don't merge Gilgit-Baltistan into Pakistan: PoK PM Chaudhry Abdul Majeed

ISLAMABAD: PoK's 'Prime Minister' Abdul Majeed has warned the Nawaz Sharif-government against any attempt to convert Gilgit-Baltistan into a province of Pakistan, a media report said today.

"Gilgit-Baltistan is part and parcel of the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Any attempt to merge it into Pakistan will deal a fatal blow to our stand in the light of UN resolutions envisaging right to self-determination for the Kashmiris," he said at a press conference in Muzaffarabad.

"I call upon the prime minister of Pakistan (Sharif) to avoid (taking) any decision that does not fall in his jurisdiction. He cannot take this decision unless we, the people of Jammu and Kashmir, take it," he added.

Of late, some Kashmiri leaders have expressed concern over alleged moves to convert Gilgit-Baltistan into the fifth province of Pakistan. On Tuesday, PoK 'President' Mohammad Yaqoob Khan warned that such a step would be more damaging than the dismemberment of the country in 1971, the Dawn reported.

Recalling that Gilgit-Baltistan had been given in the administrative control of Pakistan on a temporary basis, he advised the federal government not to think beyond that.

"On behalf of over 17.5 million Kashmiris, I warn you (Islamabad) to change your thoughts. Or else, there will be severe reaction," he said.