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Gilgit-Baltistan
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said a new era of Pakistan-China cooperation in the information technology (IT), communication, mining, and energy sectors has dawned and will lead to economic development and deepening of the time-tested bilateral relationship. Sharif's remarks came as he chaired a review meeting in Islamabad on Saturday on the implementation of agreements and MOUs reached during his recent visit to China, Radio Pakistan reported. The prime minister said that the promotion of Pakistan-China cooperation in these fields will lead to economic development, strengthening of regional ties, and deepening of the relations between the two countries. Referring to the time-tested Pak-China friendship, he said that China had always supported Pakistan in difficult times. China has emerged as the strongest economic power and Pakistan can emulate its development, he added. The 72-year-old Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader said that no disruption will be tolerated in th
At least seven people were killed and eighteen injured as terrorists opened fire on a passenger bus in restive northwest Pakistan on Saturday, police said. The bus was travelling from Ghizer district in Gilgit Baltistan to Islamabad when terrorists opened indiscriminate fire, an official said. The bus caught fire after lethal firing by the terrorists, the police said. The dead and injured included military servicemen as well as civilians. The assailants managed to escape from the scene after the attack. The injured have been transferred to a nearby hospital, the police said. It said the condition of several persons is critical and that the death toll is expected to rise further. The police said an investigation has been launched into the attack and a search operation is on to apprehend the terrorists.
Militants demanding the release of their jailed accomplices set up blockades on one of the major arteries linking Pakistan's restive provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) with Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), leaving a senior minister and several tourists stranded, a media report said on Saturday. A voice clip shared on social media on Friday purportedly features Senior GB Minister Abaidullah Baig as saying that he was on his way from Islamabad to Gilgit when militants blocked the road to press authorities for the release of their accomplices from jail. Habibur Rahman, GB's most wanted militant commander who was accused of killing 10 foreigners in Nanga Parbat, and his accomplices blocked the road in Thak village of Chilas in Diamer on Friday around 4 pm, leaving travellers on both sides stranded, the Dawn newspaper quoted a source as saying. Sources said the militants were demanding the release of their accomplices, including those involved in the gruesome murder of foreigners in the Nanga ..
India has slammed Pakistan for its attempt to accord provincial status to the "so-called Gilgit-Baltistan, saying it is intended to camouflage the "illegal" occupation of the region by Islamabad
Pakistan's top civil and military leaders have decided to give greater administrative and financial authority to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, the region through which the controversial USD 50 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) passes. During a meeting of the National Security Committee (NSC) - the top civil and military body - Sartaj Aziz, Deputy Chairman Planning Commission and the Ministry of Kashmir Affairs & Gilgit-Baltistan, yesterday briefed the Committee on the PoK and Gilgit-Baltistan reform proposals, an official statement said. The meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi reviewed these proposals and after detailed deliberations a consensus was reached on the "devolution of greater administrative authority and financial powers" to the PoK government and the Gilgit-Baltistan government, according to the statement. The details of administrative and financial reform have not been shared so far. However, there was also consensus .