A prominent News Channel has claimed to have accessed a top secret communication between British officials in Islamabad and Foreign and Commonwealth Office, which mentions of Pakistan’s admission that “it has no right on Kashmir”.

The first letter was written on April 23, 1985, in which British ambassador in Islamabad informed the UK that the additional foreign secretary of Pakistan, Dr Haider, told him that “they had no constitutional rights in Azad Kashmir”.

“Additional foreign secretary Dr Haider said Pak was having difficulties in looking for men in Azad Kashmir, where they had no constitutional rights,” an excerpt from the letter reads.

The second letter is written by SG Falconer, another British diplomat in Islamabad to the UK, who talks about how another official from the Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs has claimed that Kashmir was not legally a part of Pakistan.

Viewpoint

Azad Kashmir by virtue of its name (AZAD) cannot be part of Pakistan. Pakistan has also accepted this position in the UN resolutions of August 13, 1948 and January 5, 1949  and accepted referendum in Kashmir.

However, current geo-political and economic changes have forced Pakistan to dilute their age old stand. The proposal to make Gilgit Baltistan as fifth province of Pakistan keeps surfacing of and on. China is pressurising Pakistan to legalise its hold on Gilgit Baltistan for the security of CPEC. Indian Home Minister has already indicated its willing ness to solve Kashmir issue.

With Geo-Political-Economical pressure building up on India and Pakistan to accept and legalise the status quo, is a permanent solution to Kashmir around the corner?