by Ghulam Amin Beg
In his article titled “Freed from Pakistan’s Shackles: India’s Time to Bring Gilgit-Baltistan Home,” published on April 29, 2025, Girish Linganna argues that Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) is under Pakistan’s oppressive control and suggests that India should now reclaim the region. He highlights real governance challenges faced by the disputed region. Still, he uses these as a springboard for a sweeping and problematic call for Indian intervention—one that dangerously ignores history, local agency, and current political realities.
Yes, the people of Gilgit-Baltistan face numerous legitimate challenges — decades of constitutional limbo, colonial-era governance structures, land appropriation, capture and extraction of natural and tourism resources by corporate and global capital. But these are internal struggles being fought within Pakistan, not an invitation for Indian expansionism.
Linganna’s narration of history is one-sided and conveniently omits the fact that the people of Gilgit-Baltistan overwhelmingly rejected Dogra rule in 1947, put up arms resistance, and chose to accede to Pakistan. The suggestion that India should now “bring G-B home” is not only historically inaccurate, but also politically naïve and deeply resented on the ground.
The people of Gilgit-Baltistan are aware of India’s treatment of the people of Kashmir, and Ladakh as well as its track record of mistreatment of minorities, including Sikhs, Muslims, Christians, and Dalits. Almost 99.99% of the people in GB view India’s actions in Kashmir with alarm and disapproval and have no illusions about what Indian rule would mean for them. Any outside claim to “liberate” GB is seen not as solidarity but as opportunistic interference.
At the same time, the people of GB continue to demand full constitutional rights, internal autonomy, self-rule, and dignity from Pakistan. They are fighting to become first-class citizens in the federation. However, if Pakistan fails to meet these legitimate demands, then the people of Gilgit-Baltistan, like any other people, have every right to pursue and self-determination based on internationally accepted principles.
Importantly, this struggle is not limited to pro-Pakistan loyalists. Nationalist voices and left-wing political groups in Gilgit-Baltistan have long argued that the region remains a “decolonised colony” — ruled without representation or autonomy and exploited for its resources. These groups call for genuine decolonisation, self-rule, and the right of the people of GB to determine their political and economic future free from domination by either Pakistan or India. Their voices are grounded in grassroots mobilisation, historical resistance, and a vision for a just political settlement.
If India is truly interested in alleviating the suffering of the people of G-B, it should start advocating for a plebiscite under UN resolutions, demilitarisation of both sides of Kashmir, and creating space for peaceful, people-led solutions. Gilgit-Baltistan’s people are struggling within Pakistan for their rights. What they need is not external propaganda, but genuine recognition, constitutional justice, democratic inclusion, and a broader vision for regional peace, including the demilitarisation of the Kashmir region and fragile ecological zone including Siachen glacier and the opening of borders for tourism, trade, and cultural exchange. The future of GB will be shaped by its own people, not by grandstanding from across the border.
Ghulam Amin Beg is a community-driven development practitioner, conservationist, climate activist, and policy analyst who currently resides in Islamabad and frequently travels to tourist destinations in Gilgit-Baltistan and Chitral. He contributes essays on social and political undercurrents to High Asia Herald and Baam-e-Jahan pages.
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