Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Lawmakers in the National Assembly on Thursday voiced concern over the depiction of Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) as part of India instead of Pakistan in Google and other internationally recognised maps.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) Shahryar Afridi initiated the debate on the issue and said that Pakistani students and researchers were forced to use maps showing Gilgit-Baltistan as Indian territory.

“If India has no right to show Gilgit-Baltistan as its territory, then what action has our Foreign Office taken so far to address the issue?” he asked.

Responding to the concerns, Minister for States and Frontier Regions Abdul Qadir Baloch said that anti-Pakistan elements were behind such issues.

He explained that the United Nations was the final authority to decide the geographical boundaries of the countries. “We are responsible if such things happen in the maps of United Nations. However, if the same is being depicting by private firms, then I cannot say anything except that we should be more vigilant,” he said.

Chief whip of PTI Shireen Mazari also criticised the Survey of Pakistan for not providing up to date maps on its website. “If India can pursue Google and other search engines to show Gilgit-Baltistan as its part, then why cannot we contact them?” she asked.

Published in Daily Times, January 26^th 2018.