Gilgit-Baltistan set to be Pakistan’s fifth province

Three militants were also killed in the encounter Condition of injured policeman stated to be critical

In the ensuing encounter, all the three militants were killed and a SOG jawan Danish Ahmed was injured, the officials said. They added that as many AK 47 rifles with some ammunition were found on the slain men. They also said that the identity of the slain militants is being ascertained.

The hospital sources said that the policeman has received a bullet wound on the chest above the heart and that his condition is ‘critical’.

The officials claimed that the cordon-andsearch operation was launched in the area following a tip off about the presence of militants. While the security forces were sealing the area and moving towards Kund Nar, the militants hiding in the house resorted to indiscriminate fire triggering the encounter. Islamabad, March 15: Pakistan is planning to declare the strategic Gilgit-Baltistan region as the fifth province, a move that may raise concerns in India as it borders the disputed Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

Pakistan’s minister for inter-provincial coordination Riaz Hussain Pirzada told Geo TV that a committee headed by advisor of foreign affairs Sartaj Aziz had proposed giving the status of a province to Gilgit-Baltistan.

“The committee recommended that GilgitBaltistan should be made a province of Pakistan,” Pirzada said. He also said that a constitutional amendment would be made to change the status of the region, through which the $46 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor passes.

Gilgit-Baltistan is treated as a separate geographical entity by Pakistan. It has a regional assembly and an elected Chief Minister. Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Sindh are four provinces of Pakistan.

The move may raise concerns in India as the disputed region borders Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). It is believed that China’s concerns about the unsettled status of Gilgit-Baltistan prompted Pakistan to change its status.

According to an earlier report in Dawn, Pakistan was mulling to elevate the constitutional status of the region in a bid to provide legal cover to the CPEC. — PTI