00:00Tensions between India and Pakistan are rising after the Pahalgam terror attack.
00:05The POK, Pakistan Occupied Kashmir, is in the limelight once again
00:09as demands are on the rise to reclaim POK by India.
00:13So POK is a part of UT, Union Territory, Jaman Kashmir and Ladakh in India,
00:18illegally occupied by Pakistan.
00:21Let's run you through the history of this region.
00:24Pakistan Occupied Kashmir is comprised of Muzaffarabad, Poonch, Mirpur and Girgit, Baltistan.
00:31Let's begin from the very beginning, the independence of India in 1947
00:35when Jammu and Kashmir was actually the largest among the 562 princely states
00:40spanning an area of 218,779 square kilometers.
00:47Now as per the Indian Independence Act of 1947,
00:50the Maharaja of Kashmir, Hari Singh, was given the option
00:53either to join Pakistan or to join India during the partition.
00:57But the Maharaja agreed to have a standstill agreement with both India and Pakistan
01:01to postpone making a decision.
01:04However, only the state signed this agreement with Pakistan.
01:08The Indian government refused to sign any standstill agreement.
01:12Maharaja Hari Singh was facing regular intervention in Pooch district
01:15and lost control in several western districts
01:18because you had these provinces being attacked by Pakistan's tribal militia groups.
01:24This happened on October 22, 1947 and that's when it started.
01:28Thousands of Pashtun tribesmen, also called Kabbali tribes,
01:32backed by the Pakistani army, invaded Jammu and Kashmir,
01:35capturing key towns and inflicting brutalities on common civilians,
01:40burning down villages completely.
01:41The local tribal groups and Pakistani forces tried to capture the capital city of Srinagar as well,
01:48but was stalled after reaching Baramullah.
01:50So the Maharaja panicked, made a plea to Indian government for help.
01:54And India was very clear, we sent a clear message,
01:56if you want our soldiers, you have to be a part of our country.
01:59And so offered assistance subject to signing the instrument of accession to India.
02:04This essentially led to the first Indo-Pak war.
02:08The princely state of Jammu and Kashmir joined the Indian Union on 26th October 1947.
02:14Now following the war between India and Pakistan,
02:17the United Nations intervened, establishing the UNCIP,
02:21which is United Nations Commission for India and Pakistan.
02:25The idea of setting up this commission was to investigate and mediate, as they put it.
02:29The UN Security Council also passed a resolution, Resolution 47,
02:34which called for the withdrawal of Pakistani forces from Kashmir.
02:38Pakistan never actually lived up to that,
02:40despite claiming to agree to some of the provisions of that resolution.
02:45Later, the Karachi Agreement of 1949, mediated by the UN,
02:49established the ceasefire line, which is now known as the Line of Control, the LOC,
02:54effectively dividing Kashmir, occupied by Pakistan, from India.
02:58And that area is called Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
03:03It has a Muslim-majority population right now.
03:06So other than Pakistan-occupied Kashmir,
03:08let's just break down the division for you of Jawan Kashmir.
03:12In 1963, you had the Shaksgam Valley region,
03:16located in POK, being captured by China,
03:18under a boundary agreement with Pakistan, known as the Sino Park Agreement.
03:23The Aksatrin area is also among other areas part of Ladakh,
03:27stands occupied by China.
03:29The Shaksgam Valley region and Aksatrin are together also known as
03:33China-occupied Kashmir, or COK, besides POK.
03:38India, of course, still has most of Jaman Kashmir,
03:41an area of 1,06,566 square kilometres,
03:45as part of Indian soil.
03:46POK is much smaller at 72,935 square kilometres land,
03:51that's illegally occupied by Pakistan.
03:53Shaksgam area covers about 5,180 square kilometres,
03:58then you have Aksatrin at about 37,555 square kilometres,
04:03those two under Chinese control.
04:05And that's why India's vowed to get back POK,
04:08to free the people of POK from the shackles of Pakistan.
04:19Protests also have raged on for decades
04:22against the Pakistan army in Girgit, Baltistan,
04:24and other parts of POK.
04:26Residents, locals, have repeatedly voiced the opposition
04:29to the illegal occupation of their land.
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