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After the Independence of India and Pakistan in 1947, Kashmir was given a chance to join either of these countries. According to United Nations resolutions passed in 1948, Pakistan was asked to withdraw from occupied areas. However, after three wars and several skirmishes, it is still under the control of Pakistan. The territory under Pakistani rule is known as Pakistan-administered Kashmir or Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (POK). It borders Azad Kashmir to its east and north, Northern Areas to its north-west and Gilgit-Baltistan to its west. It is about 906,000 km2 in area, where its capital city is Muzaffarabad.
Part of Kashmir unlawfully occupied by Pakistan:
In September 1947, India and Pakistan started a war for Kashmir. The war was accepted on 1st October 1947 as the Pakistani army crossed into Indian territory. On 26th October 1949, United Nations Security Council passed a resolution to cease hostilities on Indo-Pak borders, especially in the Kashmir region. After the ceasefire, both India and Pakistan declared that they had captured some part of Kashmir from their enemy.
Instrument of Accession:
The Indian government agreed with Maharaja Hari Singh to avoid war with Pakistan. The maharaja agreed to join the Indian Union. India got back East Pakistan but lost a part of Kashmir due to the war with Pakistan.
The signing of Instrument of accession:
The rulers of Jammu and Kashmir signed the instrument of accession with India on 26th October 1947. After this, India accepted the United Nations Security Council to place a plebiscite in Kashmir on 20th April 1948.
History of Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir:
The Line of Control (LOC) runs south to north, dividing POK into two parts. Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), Gilgit-Baltistan, and the Northern Areas are territories within Pakistan de facto incorporated into the country. POK is often referred to as Azad Kashmir by many Pakistani sources.
Most POK is Muslim; however, minority communities such as the Hindu Pandits, Buddhists and Sikhs live in many parts of the territory.
Kashmir was a part of the region of Greater Hindustan before the partition and was ruled by India till 1947. The Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir acceded his kingdom to India in accession on October 27, 1947. On October 26, Azad Kashmir declared independence from India. The Pakistani National Assembly passed the Instrument of Accession on October 27 1947. The Maharaja issued a Proclamation on October 28 1947, accepting Kashmir’s accession to India.
On September 27 1948, the Fronts (Pakistan and India) agreed that the demarcation of the boundaries between Northern Areas and Azad Kashmir would be completed in 1949. Consequently, on April 6 1949, the Line of Control was drawn up between AJK and POK. The two sides agreed that the distinction could be adjusted in four months. In 1965, Pakistan and India agreed on a ceasefire and on July 10, the Tashkent Declaration was signed between Ayub Khan (President of Pakistan) and Lal Bahadur Shastri (Prime Minister of India). This agreement also established an independent inquiry commission to determine the actual control of forces in the Hyderabad sector. The commission ruled that Pakistan had effective control over this area since 1947. The Pakistan Army maintains a presence in the area, which it refers to as Local Area Security.
On September 1 1970, the Resolution of 1972 reaffirmed that the final resolution of the dispute over Jammu and Kashmir lay with the United Nations Security Council. The Government of India accepted this and stated that it would allow a third party to determine Kashmir’s future following its own choice. In 1974, India recognised Bangladesh’s right to self-determination under Article 4 of the Charter of the United Nations. However, India did not accept the inclusion of the people of Kashmir in Bangladesh’s right to self-determination.
Article 370 was adopted on May 16 1953, under which Jammu and Kashmir acceded to India. Article 370 has been described by Indian jurist B. N. Rau as “one of the most remarkable provisions” in any Indian Constitution, giving the state a very large measure of autonomy. It aims to safeguard the interests of the people of Jammu and Kashmir in matters concerning their state and nation. The Indian Supreme Court, in its judgement delivered on January 9 1978, has observed that Article 370 does not confer substantive powers on the state legislature. It includes only a few extra-constitutional articles related to the powers and functioning of the Legislative assembly.
Conclusion:
Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (POK) in the region of Jammu and Kashmir is under the rule of Pakistan. The area is also called Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK), or Pakistan-administered Kashmir by India and its independence supporters. POK was part of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir during the rule of Dogra ruler Maharaja Hari Singh under the British Raj. In 1947, the Dogra rulers signed a treaty, and in pre-independence, Jammu and Kashmir agreed to be annexed by India. However, India remained reluctant to enforce the agreement because it was afraid that this would increase its internal divisions and adverse international reactions.
