India / Pakistan

Pakistani PM Khan has promised to grant provisional provincial status to Gilgit-Baltistan, which is part of the larger Kashmir region. Activists say the move is akin to India's decision to integrate its part of Kashmir.

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan announced Sunday his government had decided to give “provisional provincial” status to part of Pakistan-administered Kashmir. India, which administers two-thirds of Kashmir and claims it in its entirety, as does Pakistan, has denounced the proposed status of what Islamabad calls Gilgit-Baltistan.

[…] High-speed internet in the Himalayan region had been cut off since last August, when India revoked the semi-autonomous status of the Jammu and Kashmir state, divided it into two federally ruled territories and imposed a complete lockdown and communications blackout.

Pakistan and India have reported “intense” cross-border clashes in the disputed Kashmir territory a day after the United States reiterated its offer to facilitate peace talks between the South Asian rivals.

Those who once preached harmony with New Delhi have not only been imprisoned but continue to be targeted by militants, dampening hopes for a peaceful solution.

Officials announced a two-day "full curfew" on Monday citing intelligence reports of looming protests in the Muslim-majority region of seven million people, where locals have called for the anniversary to be marked as a "black day".