The Londoner

By Sikander Hayat Kashmir is slowly being gobbled up by India by ethinic cleansing and population transfer from the rest of India to Kashmir. Pakistan’s options are limited in terms of taking it back from India through an open armed conflict given the disparity between the two countries in terms of economy and resources. Pakistan can only play a long game by improving its economy, get richer, have good relations with richer/influential nations and wait for the Kashmiris to fight for their right of self determination .  Pakistan has made some good progress in terms of constitutional clarity for the people of Gilgit Balistan and Azad Kashmir both of which are effectively now fifth and sixth provinces of Pakistan. Azad Kashmir is now a semi autonomous region with its own President ( Masood Khan ) , Prime Minister ( Raja Farooq Haider Khan ) and Supreme Court. Azad Kashmir has its own constitution to provide international clarity in terms of status of Indian occupied Kashmir vis ...

Mir Ghazanfar Ali Khan took oath as Governor Gilgit-Baltistan in Gilgit today (Tuesday), the  Radio Pakistan reported.  Chief Judge Supreme Appellate Court Dr. Rana Mohammad Shamim administered the oath. The oath-taking ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Minister for Kashmir Affairs Barjees Tahir, and Gilgit-Baltistan Chief Minister Hafiz Hafeezur Rehman attended. Mir Ghazanfar Ali, a sitting member of the region’s legislative  assembly  from Hunza  district , had served as the first chief minister of Gilgit-Baltistan, at the time when General (retd) Pervez Musharraf was president.  The decision to appoint him as Governer of Gilgit Baltistan was taken by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. During his visit, the Prime Minister will also meet quake affected people in the region and distribute financial assistance cheques among them. Read the full story here. Home 

Former chief justice of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Supreme Court has sought provincial status for the two disputed territories of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B). Justice (retd) Manzoor Hussain Gilani, chairman of the Association for the Rights of People of Jammu and Kashmir, told  The Express Tribune that both G-B and AJK are parts of the disputed state of Jammu and Kashmir, under control of Pakistan. He said the present de-facto provincial arrangements in G-B and AJK need to be formalised in the Constitution. The lack of this formalisation has hampered the commitment of the Pakistani government, and retarded democratic growth of the areas, while denying them their legitimised status under the country’s constitution, he stressed. “Both territories need similar, simultaneous constitutional reforms to be empowered as ‘special territories of Pakistan akin to provinces’, with representation in all policy and decision-making institutions under...

By Sikander Hayat Skardu is located in the Skardu Valley at the confluence of the Indus River and the Shigar River . Skardu is situated at an altitude of nearly 2,500 m. The town is surrounded by grey-brown coloured mountains, which hide the 8,000 metre peaks of the nearby Karakoram Range. Skardu, along with Gilgit, are the two major tourism, trekking and expedition hubs in Gilgit Baltistan . The mountainous terrain of the region, including four of the world's fourteen (8,000 m and above) peaks, attracts the attention of tourists, trekkers and mountaineers from around the world. The main tourist season is from April to October; except this time period, the area can be cut off for extended periods by the snowy, freezing winter weather. Accessible from Skardu by road, the nearby Askole and Hushe are the main gateways to the snow covered 8,000 m peaks including K2, the Gasherbrums, Broad Peak and the Trango Towers, and also to the huge glaciers of Baltoro, Biafo and Trango. T...

By Sikander Hayat Azad Kashmir borders the Indian-controlled state of Jammu and Kashmir to the east Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province to the west, Gilgit Baltistan to the north, and Pakistan's Punjab Province to the south. With its capital at Muzaffarabad , Azad Jammu and Kashmir covers an area of 13,297 square kilometres (5,134 sq mi) and has an estimated population of about four million. In October 1947, Azad Kashmir was liberated from India. Azad Kashmir Day is celebrated in Azad Jammu and Kashmir on October 24, which is the day that the Azad Jammu and Kashmir government was created in 1947. Pakistan has celebrated Kashmir Solidarity Day on February 5 of each year since 1990 as a day of protest against India 's de facto sovereignty over its State of Jammu and Kashmir .That day is a national holiday in Pakistan. Azad Jammu and Kashmir is predominantly Muslim. The majority of the population is culturally, linguistically, and ethnically related to the people o...