Pak contemplating provincial status for Gilgit-Baltistan - India News and Travel Times Provides India-centric and other News and Features

Gilgit-Baltistan Chief Minister Syed Mehdi Shah has said that the Pakistan Government would constitute a legal committee to determine if the region could be given the status of the country's fifth province. "We are currently working within the given constitutional autonomy, but will raise the matter before the legal committee to determine whether the region can be given the status of a full-fledge province," The Daily Times quoted Shah, as saying. Shah further said that the people of region would never forget the package given to them by President Asif Ali Zardari-led Government, saying that it had removed the sense of deprivation in the region. He also said that he had signed 50 memoranda of understanding on investment during his stay in Lahore, and emphasized that a special conference would be organized in Gilgit-Baltistan region to attract investment opportunities.