Pakistan’s Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar has just answered a question about the independence of the Gilgit-Baltistan region, which was originally part of the Jammu and Kashmir State under the British Raj.

Kakar was asked the question at the Aga Khan University in Karachi.

The caretaker prime minister drew students’ attention to the provisions of the Indian Independence Act of 1947, which granted independence to Pakistan and India.

Kakar said under the act the princely states were given the option to join either India or Pakistan. There was no third option, he said.

The caretaker prime minister said that Gilgit-Baltistan, which he described as a ‘geographically important’ region, was part of Pakistan and would remain so.

He said that the government was taking steps to bring the GB region into the mainstream.

Kakar has engaged with students at various universities in recent weeks. His question-and-answer session at the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) generated social media debate.