President Asif Ali Zardari on Saturday said that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) had brought new opportunities to Gilgit-Baltistan (GB).

“The CPEC has brought new opportunities for livelihood, trade and connectivity to GB. Our collective task is to ensure that these opportunities reach every valley and every village, creating shared prosperity for all,” he said, while speaking at a ceremony marking the 78th anniversary of the region’s freedom from Dogra rule.

“As we celebrate your independence day … let us renew our collective resolve to make GB a model of development, justice equality. Your region offers the best to the rest of the country and the world at large,” he said.

He also talked about the people of occupied Kashmir, saying: “While you enjoy liberty and rights under the flag of Pakistan, they continue to face occupation … we stand with them until they too can live in freedom in accordance with the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council and the aspirations of the Kashmiri people.”

He further said that over the past seven decades, the people of GB had marched “shoulder to shoulder” with the rest of Pakistan.

“You have guarded our borders, advanced our progress, carried our flag to the world’s highest peaks. This region is not only the crown of Pakistan, but also our northern gateway and a symbol of our lasting friendship with China,” he said, adding that the Karakoram Highway stood as a “living memento” of the partnership with China.

In his remarks, the president said that the PPP had always extended a “loving hand and heart” toward the people of GB.

“Our priorities are pure. You should receive education, you should be healthy, and [in] every valley … there should be schools,” he said.

He highlighted the region’s strengths, including its capacity for hydroelectric power generation and the “limitless” potential for tourism.

“I was just talking to the commander sahib today, and I was thinking that the kinds of planes in which I came here — they are not very expensive. So if GB gets its own airline, then what’s the harm in that?” he asked, adding that his party’s efforts and intentions were to promote the region.

He concluded his remarks by saying: “May the people of GB continue to play their full part in building a progressive, prosperous Pakistan.”