Although marginalised in the national media sphere, this time around Gilgit-Baltistan is making news in media discourse on how the current regime is all set to change the longstanding limbo of the region, formally making Gilgit-Baltistan a constitutional and legal part of Pakistan. Various reasons could be stated for the change in the established position of Pakistan vis-à-vis Gilgit-Baltistan at this point in time. However, what really matters for the populace of Gilgit-Baltistan is the ending of its current status of ‘disputed territory’ and its formal recognition and inclusion in the larger polity of the country having political and economic rights, a long lasting demand of the people of the area after it got itself liberated from colonial powers back in 1947 as a result of a local revolt against the Dogras, annexing it to the newly formed state of Pakistan unconditionally. What happened to the area after 1947 is a painful account that many have termed as changing the mode of control from colonialism to post-colonialism. Since then, the area of Gilgit-Baltistan has been implausibly linked to the Kashmir dispute, which has brought nothing fruitful to the cause of Kashmir and nothing to the people of Gilgit-Baltistan. This has been the long stated position of the people of Gilgit-Baltistan: that they have nothing to do with the Kashmir dispute having no linguistic, cultural and historical roots with Kashmir and the issue of Kashmir. Yet, over the years, the area has been deprived of economic and political rights for no convincing reasons. Over an extended history of almost 70 years, successive regimes, both elected and nonelected, have brought numerous political packages to the region that have never satisfied the demands of the people of Gilgit-Baltistan who want to be fully included in Pakistan with representation in the Senate and National Assembly (NA), and greater legislative powers to the elected members of parliament. This time around, the current regime seems to be righting a historic wrong, thus declaring it as the fifth legal and constitutional part of Pakistan. This will end the growing economic and political frustration of the area. The area has frequently witnessed sectarian conflicts in the recent past and one of the possible reasons for this malaise is the lack of political and economic rights to the region. It is yet to be publicised officially whether Gilgit-Baltistan gets full autonomy as a province having representation in the power corridors of the country, including parliament, or whether it will be gifted with another ‘political package’ of mere observer status in Pakistani parliament. The people of the region have long demanded their full inclusion in the polity of the country from the very outset of the freedom they got without any external assistance in 1947. Since then, various regimes in the country have ‘gifted’ the area with their political packages avoiding letting it enjoy full political and economic rights as enjoyed by the citizens of the other four provinces, including Azaad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) due to the skewed understanding of the history of the region of Gilgit-Baltistan and unnaturally linking it to the issue of Kashmir. The area is of pivotal significance to the geo-economic and geo-strategic interests of Pakistan. Currently, it embodies important national, regional and international mega development projects including the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and the constitutional protection of the area as a legal entity is inevitable. People have attached great expectations with the ruling party of the PML-N both in Gilgit-Baltistan and the Centre in meeting their perennial demands of ending the constitutional limbo of the region and promulgating it as the fifth province of the country. Anything less than this will not appease the sentiments of the alienated people of the region. The time is opportune for the PML-N leadership to act and make history for the region by bringing it into the national mainstream. The writer hails from Gilgit-Baltistan and has an interest in media and foreign policy. He is also a PhD scholar at Shanghai University, China