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Pakistan-administered Kashmir refers to a disputed region between India and Pakistan in South Asia that is under the de facto administration of Pakistan. A part of this area of the former princely state of Kashmir, the trans-Karakoram tract was ceded to China and the remaining area was amalgamated into two regions Northern Areas and the Azad Kashmir. Both nations had a war in 1947 over the former kingdom. India refers to this region as "Pakistan Occupied Kashmir" (PoK).
It borders the Pakistani Punjab and North-West Frontier provinces to the west, the Wakhan Corridor of Afghanistan to the north west, the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of People's Republic of China to the north and Indian-administered Kashmir to the east.
Indian position
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Maharaja Hari Singh, King of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir agreed to Governor-General Mountbatten's suggestion to sign the Instrument of Accession India demanded accession in return for assistance. After accession, India recovered part of the territory of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir east of the present Line of Control from the tribal invaders. India claimed that the whole territory of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir had become Indian territory (India's official posture) due to the accession , it claims the whole region including Pakistan controlled Kashmir territory as its own. Pakistan has a different perspective on this interpretation.
Pakistan position
The Pakistan Declaration of 1933 had envisioned the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir as one of the "five Northern units of India" that were to form the new nation of Pakistan, on the basis of its Muslim majority. India has a different perspective on this interpretation.
History
Kashmir in 1947
Main article: History of KashmirDuring the partition of British India into the Dominion of Pakistan and the Republic of India, the Princely states had the options of joining either India or Pakistan. The Maharaja of Kashmir however wanted independence.
In 1947 tribal invaders arrived in Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan has always claimed that its government was not behind these raids and that these were spontaneous expressions of Muslim sentiment following reports of killing of Muslims in Jammu and Kashmir. India disputes this citing the book "Raiders in Kashmir" in which Major General Akbar Khan, a Pakistani states the following "I wrote out a plan under the title 'Armed Revolt inside Kashmir'. As open interference or aggression by Pakistan was obviously not desirable it was proposed that our efforts should be concentrated upon strengthening the Kashmiris internally—and .. to prevent arrival of armed civilian or military assistance from India into Kashmir...". American journalist Margaret Bourke-White describes the plunder by the raiders: "Their buses and trucks, loaded with booty, arrived every other day and took more Pathans to Kashmir. Ostensibly they want to liberate their Kashmiri Muslim brothers, but their primary objective was riot and loot. In this they made no distinction between Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims"."The raiders advanced into Baramulla, the biggest commercial centre of the region with a population then of 11,000, until they were only an hour away from Srinagar." Unable to prevent the advance the Maharaja, on October 24, 1947, appealed for military assistance from the Government of India. The Indian Government argued that in order for assistance the state would have to accede to India.
According to the Indian embassy:
Whereupon the Maharaja signed the Instrument of Accession on October 26, 1947. A simultaneous appeal for assistance and for the state’s accession to the Indian Union was also made by Sheikh Abdullah, leader of the National Conference, and the undisputed leader of the people, who had for his views been imprisoned by the Maharaja’s government into September ’47 and released only under pressure of India’s Prime Minister. On receipt of the signed Instrument of Accession from the Maharaja, preparations were made to fly Indian troops to the State. The formal letter of acceptance of the Accession was signed by Lord Mountbatten on October 27 making Jammu and Kashmir an integral part of India even as Indian forces were airlifted to Srinagar.
Pakistan disputes this and according to the BBC
Recent research, from British sources, has indicated that Hari Singh did not reach Jammu until the evening of 26 October and that, due to poor flying conditions, V P Menon was unable to get to Jammu until the morning of 27 October , by which time Indian troops were already arriving in Srinagar. In order to support the thesis that the Maharaja acceded before Indian troops landed, Indian sources have now suggested that Hari Singh signed an Instrument of Accession before he left Srinagar but that it was not made public until later. This was because Hari Singh had not yet agreed to include the Kashmiri leader, Sheikh Abdullah, in his future government."
U.N.intervention
Jawaharlal Nehru, then Prime Minister of India asked the UN to intervene. The United Nations asked for a ceasefire and the present 'Line of Control' was created. The area which remained under the control of Pakistan became the Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
Administered divisions
1947 To 1970
The whole area of Pakistan-administered Kashmir was administered as it was before independence.
Additionally, a part of Hunza-Gilgit called Raskam and the Shaksgam Valley of Baltistan region, ceded by Pakistan to the People's Republic of China in 1963 pending settlement of the dispute over Kashmir. This ceded area is also known as the Trans-Karakoram Tract.
Post 1970
Pakistan-administered Kashmir is administratively divided into two parts:
- Azad Kashmir;
- The Northern Areas, consisting of the regions of Gilgit and Baltistan. Gilgit was an agency leased by the Maharaja to British Government. Baltistan was western district of Ladakh province which was annexed by Pakistan in 1948. The area is part of the disputed Jammu and Kashmir region.
1980S
Siachen conflict occurred. India does not consider the Siachen glacier region to be part of "Pakistan occupied Kashmir".
Recent
Pakistan is contemplating to give more administrative powers and democratic rights to the areas under Pakistan control.
Aksai chin
Pakistan administered Kashmir does not include Aksai Chin, the area of the former Princely state of Kashmir and Jammu that is under Chinese control since 1962.The cease-fire line that separates Jammu and Kashmir from the Aksai Chin is known as the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
Constitutional status
Elections were held to the 49-seat Legislative Assembly of Pakistan-Administered Kashmir on July 11 to the eighth Legislative Assembly since 1970 (seventh since 1974 when Pakistan granted the region a parliamentary system with adult franchise). "Azad" Kashmir is categorised as an "autonomous" region. But critics claim titles such as Prime Minister and President for the region's elected political leadership are misleading as candidates are required to sign an affidavit of allegiance to Kashmir's accession to Pakistan.
On September 14, 1994, the Supreme Court of Pakistan-administered Kashmir ruled that "the Northern areas are a part of J&K State but are not a part of Azad J&K as defined in the Interim Constitution Act 1974". The Northern Areas presently has no officially named status in Pakistan. Pakistan does not consider this area as a "province" of Pakistan or as a part of "Azad Kashmir". They are ruled directly from Islamabad through a Northern Areas Council. A chief executive (usually a retired Pakistani army officer), appointed by Islamabad is the local administrative head. This area presently has no representatives in both the Azad Kashmir Assembly and in Pakistan’s parliament. Northern Areas’ Legislative Council was created with a membership of 29(later increased to 32), but its powers are restricted. On May 11,2007 the NA’s chief executive, who also happens to be the Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Northern Areas Affairs, declared that the region had a right to be represented in the National Assembly. Others demand that it should be given the status of a province. The changes made in 1994 in the local bodies’ ordinance gave more representation to women and delegated some administrative and financial powers to the local administration. However, the people of the region do not enjoy fundamental rights, because it continues to be governed by the Legal Framework Order of 1994.
See also
Jammu Kashmir Regions
- Azad Kashmir : Muzaffarabad
- Northern Areas : Gilgit , Skardu
- Siachen
- Trans-Karakoram tract
- Aksai Chin
- Jammu and Kashmir : Jammu, Srinagar, Leh
Conflict related
- Indo-Pakistani Wars
- Indo-China War
- Kashmir conflict
- Line of Control (LoC)- dividing Indian and Pakistani administered territories.
- Line of Actual Control (LAC)- dividing Indian and Chinese administered territories.
References
- Rediff.com
- Viscount Louis Mountbatten, the last Viceroy of British India, stayed on in independent India from 1947 to 1948, serving as the first Governor-General of the Union of India.
- Stein, Burton. 1998. A History of India. Oxford University Press. 432 pages. ISBN 0195654463. Page 368.
- Kashmir: The origins of the dispute - BBC
- United Nations Resolution 13 AUGUST 1948
- http://www.thehindu.com/2006/08/15/stories/2006081503691000.htm
- http://www.thehindu.com/2006/08/15/stories/2006081503691000.htm
- http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl2324/stories/20061215002104600.htm
- http://www.indianembassy.org/policy/kashmir/Kashmir_MEA/Northern_Areas.html
- http://www.dawn.com/2007/10/23/ed.htm
External links
- Kashmir - An Indian perspective
- BBC article, Kashmir: The origins of the dispute
- An article on human rights in Pakistani Kashmir by the Hindu - an Indian Newpaper
- Conflict in Kashmir: Selected Internet Resources by the Library, University of California, Berkeley, USA; University of California at Berkeley Library Bibliographies and Web-Bibliographies list