File photo of Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan ReutersPakistan has administered the area now known as Gilgit-Baltistan since shortly after the country's birth in 1947Prime Minister Imran Khan has angered India after declaring that part of the contested Kashmir region will provisionally become a full province of Pakistan. "We have decided to grant provisional provincial status to Gilgit-Baltistan, which was a long-standing demand here," Khan said in a speech in Gilgit city Sunday. The move comes after New Delhi last year imposed direct rule over Indian-administered Kashmir, upending a decades-long status quo and drawing strong condemnation from Islamabad. India and Pakistan each control parts of Kashmir and both countries accuse the other of illegal occupations. The two parts of Kashmir are divided by a UN-monitored "Line of Control" that is the subject to frequent cross-border shellings.

Source: Dhaka Tribune November 02, 2020 09:22 UTC