Voting underway in PoK's Gilgit-Baltistan region
International 07 Jun, 2026

Voting underway in PoK's Gilgit-Baltistan region

Business To Business, New York, 7th June, 2026:  Voting is underway in the Gilgit-Baltistan region, which is administered by Pakistan and where elections are being held for the local legislative assembly.
The Government of India has strongly objected to the elections, reiterating its position that Gilgit-Baltistan is part of the Indian Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
India has stated that the region is under Pakistan's "illegal and forcible occupation" and has lodged a diplomatic protest against the conduct of the elections.
New Delhi has reaffirmed its longstanding position that the entire former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, including Gilgit-Baltistan, acceded legally and irrevocably to India in 1947.
The Dispute
The status of Gilgit-Baltistan remains part of the broader India-Pakistan dispute over the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir:

  • India considers Gilgit-Baltistan an integral part of its territory.
  • Pakistan administers the region and conducts local elections there.
  • The two countries have maintained differing legal and political claims over the territory since 1947.
Significance
The elections are politically significant because they concern a region claimed by both India and Pakistan. Whenever such elections are held, India typically objects on the grounds that they seek to alter the status of territory that it regards as its own, while Pakistan views them as part of the governance of the region under its administration.
Key takeaway: The voting in Gilgit-Baltistan has once again highlighted the longstanding territorial dispute between India and Pakistan, with India reiterating its claim that the region is an inseparable part of the territories that acceded to India in 1947.

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