Why PoK Is Still a Flashpoint 75 Years Later | India-Pak tensions
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00:00I think the part we are waiting for is the return of the stolen part of Kashmir
00:04which is under illegal Pakistani occupation.
00:07What's Pakistan Occupied Kashmir?
00:09For India, POK isn't disputed territory.
00:12It's a piece of land illegally occupied.
00:15But for over 75 years, that land has remained outside India's control.
00:19But how did it get here and why hasn't been this conflict resolved?
00:23It started in 1947.
00:25India had just gained independence
00:27and the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir,
00:30which hadn't yet joined either India or Pakistan,
00:32suddenly became a battleground.
00:34Pakistani tribal militias with army support invaded Kashmir.
00:38The Maharaja of Kashmir signed an instrument of accession
00:41to join India in exchange for military protection.
00:44India accepted and war broke out.
00:47In 1949, a ceasefire line was drawn.
00:50India controlled about two-thirds of the state.
00:52Pakistan controlled the rest.
00:54What we now call Pakistan Occupied Kashmir.
00:57In 1949, the UN passed a resolution.
00:59Pakistan must vacate POK first.
01:02We hear Pakistan referring to UN Security Council resolutions on Kashmir,
01:06Jammu and Kashmir, but it very conveniently forgets its own obligations
01:10under the very first of those resolutions
01:12to first vacate its illegal occupation of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
01:16Over time, Pakistan changed the map.
01:18POK was split into Azad, Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit, Baltistan,
01:22run separately from Islamabad, but not independently.
01:26In 1994, the Indian parliament unanimously passed a resolution.
01:30POK is an integral part of India.
01:32That hasn't changed.
01:34In 2019, Home Minister Amit Shah revoked Article 370,
01:44ending Jammu and Kashmir's special status.
01:46Since then, the rhetoric has only gotten louder.
01:57Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly even has reserved 24 seats for people from POK.
02:02These have always remained vacant.
02:04And the POK has remained vacant.
02:07And the POK has remained open for 24 seats for people.
02:10Because we believe that the people who want to say,
02:13the people who want to say, the POK is our country,
02:16and our country is ours.
02:18And we have no choice.
02:19But while POK dominates political speeches,
02:22some leaders argue the conversation is incomplete.
02:25He's referring to Aksai Chin, the north-eastern chunk of Ladakh,
02:40that's under Chinese control, adding another layer to an already complex issue.
02:44Because it's not just about land.
02:46It's about identity, geopolitics and international power games.
02:50And for locals, caught between cross-border shelling, politics and propaganda,
02:55it's their homes, their futures at stake.