Saturday, March 27, 2010

What is Pakistan occupied Kashmir?


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Pakistan-Administered Kashmir (PAK), which India refers to as Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (POK) is a disputed territory claimed by India but controlled by Pakistan and China. After the Partition of India in 1947, the princely states were given the option of joining either India or Pakistan. However, Hari Singh, the maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir, wanted Jammu and Kashmir to remain independent. In order to buy some time, he signed a stand-still agreement, which sidestepped the agreement that each princely state would join either India or Pakistan. The raiders from North-West Frontier Province and the Tribal Areas feared that Hari Singh might join Indian Union. In October 1947, supported by the Pakistani Army, they tried to take over control of Kashmir. Initially Hari Singh tried to resist their progress but failed. When requested for help, India responded that it will not help unless Kashmir joined India. Finally he agreed but Indian Army could not recover all the area that was under Pakistani control. The area that was left under Pakistani control after the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947 came to be known as Pakistan occupied Kashmir.
It is administratively divided into three parts:
  1. Azad Kashmir
  2. The Northern Areas, consisting of the regions of Gilgit and Baltistan. Gilgit was an agency leased by the Maharaja to British Government. Both regions are administered as a de facto "Federal Territory" of Pakistan by a Pakistani minister. As the area is part of the disputed Jammu and Kashmir region, the local population is denied the right to vote or send representatives to the Pakistani parliament
  3. Raskam and the Shaksam Valley of Baltistan region, ceded by Pakistan to the People's Republic of China in 1963
The picture below above is an interesting one. Just check the part of Kashmir we actually own, compared to what is shown usually in maps. 
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