Many in Gilgit-Baltistan would opt for India: activist

Senge Hasna Serin, the president of 'Institute of Gilgit Baltistan Studies', said today here that there was a complete "lawlessness" in the Gilgit-Baltistan, a part of the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, and if a plebiscite were to be held, many people would opt for India.
Addressing a press conference organised by the Jammu Kashmir Centre, Mumbai, Sering said, "There are certainly ample number of Indian sympathiser in Gilgit-Baltistan who, if plebiscite is carried out, would like to go with India, but before that India needs to pay much attention that even UN has failed to pay.
"First and foremost...India needs to open the Kargil road, which has been closed since 1947," said Sering, who is based in Washington.

Sering also claimed that the local people were hurt by reports of India's "intent" to convert the Line of Control into the International border with Pakistan.
Saying that the region has become "a land without law", Sering, a cultural activist, added, "The human rights violation is rampant in the region and the Pakistani government flouts all the Constitutional provisions to extract the resources of the region.
"China has invested over 100 billion US dollars without our consent in our land and is extracting our all the resources," he added.
"This (exploitation) could be understood very easily (from the fact) that per capita income of Gilgit-Baltistan is one third of (that of) Pakistan and budget allocation on education is very dismal," he added.

When asked whether anti-India terrorists were getting training in Gilgit Baltistan, he said, "Of course, there are at least three terrorist organisations that are giving training to terrorists.