NEW DELHI (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 01st November, 2020) New Delhi rejected on Sunday Islamabad's plan to grant provincial status to Gilgit-Baltistan, a strategic Pakistani-held part of the disputed Kashmir region, which is claimed by the two rivals.
"The Government of India firmly rejects the attempt by Pakistan to bring material changes to a part of Indian territory," Foreign Ministry spokesman Anurag Srivastava said.
The proposal was announced earlier in the day by Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan during a visit to the area on the border with China. Gilgit-Baltistan is key to the Pakistani-Chinese infrastructure project.
India, which has been locked in a standoff with both Pakistan and China, sees the northern Kashmiri area as being "illegally and forcibly occupied." Srivastava demanded that Pakistan immediately vacate Gilgit-Baltistan.
