PAK Occupied Kashmir (PoK) has been in the news for the last one month. It has also become part of the political narrative during the elections. The media has covered the issue extensively but how did a major portion of territory in Kashmir became Pak occupied is something we need to know. Undivided Jammu & Kashmir was a huge princely State measuring about 2,18, 779 sq kms. It had a Hindu ruler in Maharaja Hari Singh at the time of Independence. The State comprised of five regions. The province of Jammu had Hindu majority. The Valley of Kashmir which lay to the north of Jammu had clear Muslim majority. To the east of Kashmir Valley was Ladakh, inhabited by the Buddhists. Further west of Ladakh were two thinly populated States of Gilgit and Baltistan, from Shia and Ismaili branches of Islam. The northern portion of the State was all high mountains and largely inaccessible. There were hardly any roads and these areas remained cut off from the main Valley of Kashmir. The history of accession of Jammu & Kashmir into the Indian dominion is well known. More than 500 princely States had merged with India at the time of Independence but Maharaja Hari Singh wanted independent nation status for his State of Jammu & Kashmir.

 

Post independence on 15 August 1947, the situation in Jammu & Kashmir deteriorated, leading to economic crisis and law and order problems. Pakistan could not accept the fact that a Muslim majority State had not ceded to them. There were Intelligence inputs of Pakistan preparing to send infiltrators in large numbers into Kashmir. Jawahar Lal Nehru, the first Indian Prime Minister, who himself was an ethnic Kashmiri wanted the accession of Kashmir to the Indian Union with the support of Sheikh Abdullah, the tallest leader in the State. There was confusion in the environment and taking advantage of the uncertain situation in the State, tribals aided and abetted by Pakistan invaded the Kashmir from the north on 22 October 1947 and quickly moved southwards towards Srinagar, the capital city. The tribals, basically Pathans from the North West Frontier Provinces numbered anything between 10,000 to 13,000 men were armed with weapons and ammunition provided by Pakistan Army. After carrying out loot, rape and plunder enroute, the tribals reached Baramulla which is just 60 kms from the State capital on 24 October 1947. They indulged in mass loot and rape of the locals and lost sight of reaching Srinagar at the earliest. Under this grave security situation, Maharaja Hari Singh sought military assistance from India on 24 October 1947 and finally signed the ‘Instrument of Accession’ on 26 October 1947.

 

In the wee hours of 27 October 1947, Indian troops flew from Delhi and landed in Srinagar and quickly secured the city, particularly the airport. Indian troops fought some stellar battles with invaders and saved the city in nick of time. After ensuring the security of Srinagar, the Indian troops began to clear other parts of Valley captured by the tribals. By 11 November 1947, the towns of Baramulla and Uri were recaptured and liberated. The Indian troops had the advantage of momentum with them but with the onset of winters, the military operations were temporarily suspended. The military leadership was keen to continue to push ahead but the Prime Minister Nehru wanted to improve the internal affairs of Kashmir under the leadership of Sheikh Abdullah. No one paid much attention to the inaccessible portion of Kashmir, i.e. Gilgit and Baltistan. With the signing of Instrument of Accession, the finality of merger of complete Jammu & Kashmir with the Indian Union was legally achieved, as was the case with other princely States. In the last week of November 1947, Prime Minister Nehru suggested a plebiscite for the whole State to decide which dominion it would join or prefer to remain an independent State. This moral high ground was uncalled for in hindsight as this issue continues to haunt India even today. Pakistan smartly took control of the Gilgit and Baltistan during this period of impasse. So, when India went to the United Nations in January 1948 to stake claim for the Pak occupied northern parts, it was too late. With the ceasefire after 1948 operations, India lost considerable chunk of territory in the west as well.

 

Pakistan prefers to call the entire PoK under their administrative control as the Azad Kashmir. China captured 38,000 sq kms of Aksai Chin in the north east of Ladakh region from India in the 1962 war. Pakistan also handed over 5180 Sq kms of northern portion of PoK to China in 1963 called Trans- Karakoram Tract. Thus, substantial territory of PoK is already under the illegal occupation of China. China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) passes through the POK and India has registered strong protest against it. In essence, the issue of PoK is now also linked to China besides Pakistan. Militarily, the capture of the entire PoK is going to be a long haul. Indian Armed Forces are capable of capturing it when called upon by the political leadership but it would come at a steep cost. With the PoK in complete economic turmoil and dwindling Pak economy, the people in PoK are protesting for basic rights and decent living. They see the vibrant economy of India as also Jammu & Kashmir prospering under the current regime. Time is ripe for India to work towards integration of PoK with the country. Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh has suggested a pragmatic solution by stating that the people of PoK themselves should fight for integration with India. A collective national will backed by some astute diplomacy and military might from India beckons PoK. n