Retorting to the reports of Pakistan planning to declare the strategic Gilgit-Baltistan region as the fifth province, the Centre on Wednesday said that it will study the matter and then give a response.
Talking to media, Minister of State for external affairs V.K. Singh said, "We will study it, our MEA spokesperson will give the response."
The Gilgit-Baltistan area is Pakistan's northernmost administrative territory that borders the disputed Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
A committee headed by Adviser to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz recommended to grant the region a provincial status, reports the GeoNews.
Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Sindh are four provinces of Pakistan.
However, India claims the Gilgit-Baltistan area as an integral part of its territory.
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