MEA & MoHA keeps tab on proposed constitutional status shift for PoK and Gilgit-Baltistan?

Pakistan is actively evaluating significant structural changes to the constitutional status of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Gilgit-Baltistan. Under discussion is a proposal to grant both territories an interim, province-like status. This administrative transition could be introduced either through the proposed 28th Constitutional Amendment or via separate, specialized legislation.

As part of this legal reassessment, officials in Islamabad are examining whether Article 1(2) of the Pakistani Constitution—which explicitly defines the national boundaries and territories comprising Pakistan—requires modification. Amending this provision would legally align the two regions more tightly with the federal governance structure, despite the framing of the status as temporary.

These deliberations have drawn immediate scrutiny from New Delhi. India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) are keeping a close watch on the situation.