User:Nichalp/Kashmir

Pakistan-administered Kashmir (termed Pakistan-occupied Kashmir by India) refers a region in South Asia that is under the de facto administration of Pakistan. The area, part of the former princely state of Kashmir, is locked in a bitter territorial dispute between India and Pakistan over the past sixty years, with both nations having gone to war in 1948 over the former kingdom.

The area borders the Indian-administered state of Jammu and Kashmir to the south and south west; the Wakhan Corridor of Afghanistan to the north west; the Pakistani provinces of Punjab to the southwest, and North-West Frontier Province to the west; and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China to the east.

Background
After the United Kingdom agreed to grant undivided India independence, British India was to be partitioned into two nation-states&mdash;a Muslim-majority nation of Pakistan, and a Hindu-majority India. Kingdoms that were not part of British India were given the option of joining either nation, or choosing to remain independent. Kashmir was one such princely state, it had a Muslim-majority population, but was ruled by a Hindu monarch. Strategically located in northern South Asia, both nations were eager to secure the kingdom. Soon after independence in 1947, pro-Pakistan tribal chieftains began to invade the western and northern portion of Kashmir. With the militia reaching the outskirts of the capital Srinagar, the Maharaja, Hari Singh signed the Instrument of Accession formally approving his nation's merger with India. The legality of the Instrument of Accession was staunchly contested by Pakistan. After going to war in 1947, the two nations brokered a United Nations-sponsored ceasefire in 1948 under the United Nations Security Council Resolution 47. The ceasefire effectively froze the Indian and Pakistani-held positions.

The areas under the control of Pakistan included the Gilgit Agency, the Baltistan District of the Ladakh Wazarat, and the states of Hunza and Nagar, which were to later coalesced form the Northern Areas in 1970. Also included in the Pakistan-held region was Azad Kashmir or Free Kashmir, the territory established by the pro-Pakistan chieftains in 1947. The territories under the control of India included Jammu, the Kashmir Valley and Ladakh. The three areas were then integrated as the state of Jammu and Kashmir.

Pakistani position
The Pakistani government maintains that the issue of Kashmir needs to be resolved according to the "aspirations of the Kashmiri people", and through dialogue as per the United Nations Resolution 47. The government of Pakistan has stated that they will provide its moral, political and diplomatic support to the people of state of Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan also refers to the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir as Indian-occupied Kashmir and Indian-held Kashmir.

Indian position
The Indian government considers Kashmir to be an integral part of India. India terms the area under the administration of Pakistan as "forcible" and "illegal" and refers to this area as Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). . The Indian government is highly sensitive over the boundaries of Kashmir, and maps that appear in international publications published or sold in India must depict Kashmir as part of India or have the maps prominently stamped as being incorrect by censors. In 1998, the government of India banned the sale of the CD-ROM version of Encyclopaedia Brittanica for incorrectly depicting the Line of Control as the international boundary between India and Pakistan. India also considers the Trans-Karakoram Tract, as a part of the state of Jammu and Kashmir. The area, formerly under Pakistani administration was ceded to the People's Republic of China in 1963. India view this move as illegal. The name of the state of Azad Kashmir or "Free Kashmir" is also contested by India.

United Nations position
The United Nations refers to the Pakistan-controlled region as Pakistan-administered Kashmir, and Indian-controlled region as Indian-administered Kashmir. Under the United Nations Security Council Resolution 47, it calls for a plebiscite to be held to determine the political status of the former monarchy. As per the terms of the conditions laid down, Pakistan would have to withdraw all its nationals from the state to the pre-independence territory, and that India leave only the minimum number of troops needed to keep civil order. The Commission decided to send as many observers into the region as it deemed necessary to ensure the provisions of the resolution were enacted.

Political status
, Pakistan-administered Kashmir consists of two political units, Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and Federally Administered Northern Areas. AJK is constitutionally, an autonomous state with its elected president, prime minister, legislature, high court, and official flag. The Northern areas is governed by the Federal Government of Pakistan.

In addition to the above entities, India considers the Trans-Karakoram Tract, or Shaksgam Valley, a region to the north of Kashmir that Pakistan ceded to the People's Republic of China, as a part of part of the Northern Areas. India does not recognise the transfer.

An additional area, the uninhabited Siachen Glacier is also claimed by the two countries. The 1949 Karachi Agreement and the 1972 Simla Agreement did not clearly mention who controlled the glacier, merely stating that from point NJ9842, or the northern end of the Line of Control, the boundary would proceed "thence north to the glaciers." In 1984, the two nations were involved in a skirmish to claim the glacier. (See also: Siachen Conflict)