The US Ambassador to Pakistan, Donald Blome, has made a statement that draws an inference that the disputed Gilgit-Baltistan is a part of Pakistan.

The Gilgit-Baltistan region is considered by India as part of Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (POK) and the US assertion runs counter to the projected strategic ties between the two countries.

India is yet to react on the issue and a specific query did not elicit a response from the Ministry of External Affairs till filing of the report.

However, the office of the National Security Adviser Ajit Doval is seized of the matter.

During a public speech in Pakistan, Blome said he wants to travel from Karachi to Lahore and Peshawar to Gilgit-Baltistan. Blome has also posted a one minute 25 seconds video of his speech on Twitter. The speech begins with Arabic greeting as-salamu alaykum and concludes with thanks in the same language as a shukriya.

From the verified official Twitter handle @usembislamabad, the US Embassy in Islamabad tagged a video of Blome’s speech, saying, “We have a long-standing partnership and rich history with Pakistan. Ambassador Donald Blome has a message for Pakistan and Pakistanis near and far as he begins his tenure as the US Ambassador to Pakistan.#PakUSAt75”

The tweet was posted at 12.30 pm on Saturday.

 In his speech, Blome said, “As-salamu alaykum! I am  Blome and I am honoured to represent the United States as the new Ambassador to Pakistan. We are proud of our longstanding partnership with Pakistan. In fact, our relationship began 75 years ago, very shortly after Pakistan gained its Independence.

“We live today in a world full of challenges. We can address those challenges most effectively by working together side by side.

:I look forward to deepening the connections between the Pakistani and American people which have a rich history and an even brighter future. I also look forward to exploring Pakistan from Karachi to Lahore, Peshawar to Gilgit Baltistan and other places in between…..Shukriya”

The move is an explicit doublespeak of the US which considers Jammu and Kashmir as a disputed territory but terms the portion of Kashmir under the control of Islamabad as a territory of Pakistan.