Gilgit: The Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly on Thursday unanimously adopted a resolution calling upon the Federal Government to grant Gilgit-Baltistan interim provincial status in accordance with the recommendations of the Sartaj Aziz Committee.
The resolution states that the people of Gilgit-Baltistan liberated the region from Dogra rule in 1947 and voluntarily acceded to Pakistan.
It acknowledges constitutional and administrative reforms introduced during different governments, including those of former Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in the 1970s, former President Asif Ali Zardari through the Gilgit-Baltistan Empowerment and Self-Governance Order 2009, and former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif through the recommendations of the Sartaj Aziz Committee and the Gilgit-Baltistan Order 2018.
The resolution urges the Federal Government to grant Gilgit-Baltistan interim provincial status to ensure representation of its people in the National Assembly and the Senate.
It further recommends that, until interim provincial status is formally granted, the Federal Government and all four provincial governments should cooperate to include Gilgit-Baltistan in the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award and ensure its equitable share in national resources.
The Assembly also rejected India's unilateral decision of August 5, 2019, to revoke Articles 370 and 35A, stating that granting interim provincial status to Gilgit-Baltistan would not affect Pakistan's principled position on the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, its international commitments or the relevant United Nations resolutions.
The resolution states that its objective is to end the constitutional and democratic deprivation of the people of Gilgit-Baltistan and provide them with rights equal to those enjoyed by citizens of Pakistan's other provinces.
It also notes that constitutional proposals prepared by former Law Minister Dr. Farogh Naseem and public statements by leaders of major political parties, including Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, reflect a broad national consensus on extending constitutional rights to the people of Gilgit-Baltistan.
The resolution was signed by Syed Jalal Ali Shah, Hafiz Hafeez ur Rehman, Amjad Hussain, Malik Kifayat ur Rehman, Muhammad Dilpazir and Farman Ali.