In 1947, when Maharaja Hari Singh of Kashmir signed the Instrument of Accession, he stated that after the war is over and Jammu and Kashmir is fully secured, referendum will be held to know the opinion of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
Later the Kashmir issue reached to the United Nations in 1948, it stated the Resolution 47 for the condition of referendum. These conditions need to be fulfilled sequentially.
- 1. Pakistan needs to remove its forces from whole Jammu and Kashmir, which will be monitored by United Nations.
- 2. India needs to do the same as Pakistan, removing their forces from Jammu and Kashmir, though India is allowed to deploy some minimum amount of forces for it’s security in whole Jammu and Kashmir (including POK).
- 3. Referendum needs to be held in the whole Jammu and Kashmir.
Even if the first two points are fulfilled, the third point won’t be fulfilled, as China is already occupying Aksai Chin and Pakistan too gifted some part of Gilgit and Baltistan to China in the 1960s.
Moreover, the original inhabitants of Kashmir, Kashmiri Pundits were forced to move out of the valley and state in the 1990s due to terrorism. They need to settle back in Kashmir before casting their vote.
This clearly shows, the option to conduct referendum lies in the hands of Pakistan and China, not India, as propagated by Pakistani and Chinese Media.
