Gilgit-Baltistan

This article examines the legal ambiguity surrounding Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), a disputed region administered by Pakistan, through expert interviews. It explores GB’s unclear status, tethered to the Kashmir issue, and Pakistan’s strategic perpetuation of this ambiguity to bolster its UN plebiscite stance, facilitate CPEC projects, and manage sectarian dynamics. Cosmetic reforms, like the 2009 Empowerment Order, fail to grant true autonomy, leaving locals disenfranchised. The study highlights local demands for provisional provincial status or self-governance, arguing that Pakistan’s dual rhetoric—claiming GB as integral yet disputed—undermines rights and fuels resentment, urging a re-evaluation of GB’s constitutional limbo.

• Hira Ausaf , Muhammad Shoaib Pervez
• March-April 2025
• Strategic Analysis

The Paper examines Chinese transport projects in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir in general and Gilgit-Baltistan in particular and their impact on local and regional economy and security. China and Pakistan are in the process of expanding the Karakoram Corridor in Gilgit-Baltistan which primarily serves the political and strategic interests of both countries with negligible benefits to the local people.

• Senge H. Sering
• Occasional Papers

Publisher: Manas Publications
ISBN 81-7049-315-3
Rs. 495 [Buy Now]

• Virendra Gupta , Alok Bansal
• Book

• K. Warikoo
• Book

If India-Pakistan dialogue does resume, India is unlikely to return to the Manmohan-Musharraf framework of negotiations because of the Modi government’s commitment to regain Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

• S. Kalyanaraman
• March 30, 2021
• Issue Brief

There is a need to widely disseminate China’s insidious role as an illegal occupier of Kashmir’s territory, including its territorial grab in the trans-Karakoram tract, in order to raise public awareness of the issue – both in India and at the international level.

• Amb. Sujan R. Chinoy
• November 13, 2020
• Special Feature

Pakistan has not allowed a genuine democratic system of governance to emerge in PoK, as it interferes with its pursuit of absolute control over the occupied territories.

• Priyanka Singh
• June 26, 2020
• Issue Brief

China's decision to fund the controversial Diamer-Bhasha Dam in Gilgit Baltistan could be part of its strategic pursuits in the region to further deepen its engagement in India’s neighbourhood.

• Priyanka Singh
• June 18, 2020
• Issue Brief

Subsuming Gilgit Baltistan as a province may propel a paradigmatic shift and redrawing of Kashmir strategy across both sides of the Line of Control.

• Priyanka Singh
• April 19, 2017
• IDSA Comments

Ceding PoK as part of a settlement does not comport with India’s national and strategic interests, especially in terms of dealing with the challenge posed by China-Pakistan collaboration.

• S. Kalyanaraman
• May 03, 2016
• IDSA Comments