G-B, Sinkiang to be declared twin regions

GILGIT: Gilgit-Baltistan will officially be declared a “twin province” of China’s Sinkiang region, the region’s chief minister said on Friday.

Mehdi Shah made this statement in the Gilgit-Baltsitan Assembly Hall during a media briefing about his recent visit to China. Shah led an official delegation to China to participate in a three-day trade fair in Sinkiang.

Pakistan’s only road link with China is through Khunjerab Pass and Sinkiang is the trade hub for Pakistan’s business community.

“Our visit to China has strengthened Pakistan-China bilateral ties and I hope trade between the two countries will flourish in the future through the Karakoram Highway,” Shah said, adding that Sinkiang and Gilgit-Baltistan will officially be declared “twin provinces” to boost trade between the two friendly countries.

“We have discussed issues Pakistani businessmen are facing in China and invited them to invest in Gilgit-Baltistan,” he Shah, adding that a Chinese delegation would visit G-B in August to explore investment opportunities. He said land routes with Laddakh-Kargil will be opened in future to boost trade in the region.

On the Attabad lake, Shah said the spillway would be further widened after August. Around Rs27 billion would be spent on the construction of a road along the lake to reconnect Gojal village with the rest of the country.

He expressed his inability to increase the compensation amount for thousands of people affected by the Attabad lake, saying that the government has already done whatever it could to facilitate the affected people. “The government has already done a lot for them and we have no more funds to accept their demands,” Shah told journalists. He refused to comment on a proposed long march and sit-in by the affected people.

The chief minister expressed his displeasure over some media reports wherein his recent visit to China was described as “embarrassment”. “Let me tell you that the language used by a section of media about our visit isn’t acceptable,” he said.

Shah also defended his government’s decision to boycott the Shandur polo festival. “This wise decision has brought the longstanding territorial controversy into the limelight,” he said. “Our decision also triggered serious debate on the issue which wasn’t that much important for rulers in the past,” he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 10^th, 2010.