Caretaker Minister for Information Murtaza Solangi has refuted the reports regarding the government’s plan to hand over Gilgit-Baltistan to China for 50 years.

“This item has not been printed in any newspaper. People who have fabricated it and who are spreading this false information for nefarious purposes will be dealt with according to the law,” he wrote on X while sharing the “fabricated news item.”

The news item, widely shared on social media, claimed that the government discussed handing over the region to China amid deteriorating conditions in Pakistan.

It went on to claim that a Chinese Think Tank has given a nod to the proposal after which China will be able to deploy its armies in the region.

It is pertinent to mention that at least nine were killed and 26 injured when unidentified armed men opened fire on a bus in Chilas city of Gilgit Baltistan earlier this month.

Several passengers hailing from Kohistan, Peshawar, Ghizer, Chilas, Skardu, and Sindh were traveling in the bus which was traveling from Ghizar district to Rawalpindi.