Ultimately, both Pakistan and India will have to hold a plebiscite in Kashmir if ever the issue is resolved under the aegis of the United Nations. But whether the people of Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan will choose one of them or remain independent will be the question of that hour. The answer to this question lies in the treatment meted out to them by both states in the last seventy years. If this is set as a parameter, then the plebiscite result will become a blow to both nations because the people of Kashmir on both sides have been facing state aggression in one way or another since their occupation.

The people of IoK Kashmir have been under Indian atrocity since the bifurcation of British India. Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed so far by the Indian military in the occupied territory. The occupying force has continuously violated the fundamental rights of the people of the region under the pretext of maintaining the so-called states’ writ. The situation worsened after 5 August 2019 when New Delhi revoked Article 370 of the Indian constitution, which gave the region special status. Since then, the area has been under a severe lockdown.

The Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), enacted in Gilgit Baltistan in 1997, has also usurped the basic rights of the people like FCR. The ATA was brought primarily to deal with terrorism in the country; later, it exacerbated the miseries of the innocent citizens of GB.

Thankfully, the Pakistani side of the occupied region has not faced such issues, but, the black laws have been at work here too. For decades, the state has brought such laws to keep its stronghold over the region and its populace. This has seemed to be the shortest resort for the state rather than fulfilling the political and economic demands of the people. This pretext has worked for the state but at the cost of regional autonomy and prosperity, which has engendered strong feelings........

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