Historical Book Excerpt; Governance of Azad Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan

[Saiyan0321]

Ok... Below is an Excerpt from a book i am writing titled

The Codification of Laws​

The Azad government knew that they needed to implement a system not just to bring order to the territory but also to strengthen their hold on the territory they now governed. To do this the Azad Kashmir government passed the Courts and Law Code 1948. This 62 section law began a process of codification of laws within the territory of Azad Kashmir. The Azad government acted as a temporary authority due to which a lot of its actions were not through the legislative but through the executive government and Pakistan government in power. The law was made to extend to the areas of Azad Kashmir as well as the territories that would make part of Azad Kashmir in the future. The law highlighted that all pending cases will be transferred to the courts that were mentioned in the code. The code began the implementation of some laws that were in force in the territory of British India such as the Code of Criminal Procedure 1898 or the Civil Procedural Code 1908 along with other codes which centered on the formation of courts and their working. The Azad Kashmir code created district courts and High courts however, it must be noted that it did not create a Supreme Court despite renaming the codes as Azad Kashmir and its application in only the territory of Azad Kashmir. Here there were two differences. The code itself was framed as if it was the code of a separate entity yet there was no Supreme Court. This further proves that the Azad Government saw itself as temporary. This was again mentioned in the notification passed by the Azad Kashmir government dated 16-12-1949 which stated that in accordance to the International law, the people of a territory have a right to form their own representative government for the maintenance of order and ease of administration and thus all laws mentioned in the ‘Appendix A’ shall be in force and the words ‘His Highness’ or ‘Government’ shall be replaced with ‘Azad Kashmir Government’. This codified over 90 laws most of which belonged to the ‘Minor act’ category along with some ‘Major act’ like the Companies act or the Contract act.

Now the area of Azad Kashmir was mostly tribal where Muftis had governed the legal system and legal code of Shariat and the people were Azad Kashmir were not about to accept a British legal system and the Azad government knew that any rash action would invite chaos and perhaps civil war against them thus the Azad government decided to create a position of Mufti and Ala Mufti where the former would help the subordinate court in implementing Shariat and the latter would help the High Court in implementing Shariat. We can say that it was formed similar to how the Federal Shariah court of Pakistan would be formed later on. Never the less this did help the implementation of the legal system and there was no widespread discontent yet still without a proper constitution such duality would only impede the legal system. However this was only the beginning and the Azad government was well aware that it would have to pass multitude of such acts to implement a proper legal system and it had to be done soon.

To do this the Azad Kashmir territory passed the Adaption of Laws Resolution 1948 which codified several procedural laws implemented in West Punjab along with the Legal Practitioners act 1948 resolution to create position for legal practitioners to practice law in courts. The most interesting of these resolutions was Resolution no. 638 which codified the police rules and was named as The Jammu and Kashmir Police Rules of The Old Regime 1948. Now here and in the act, we can see the term ‘Old Regime’ is used and this was passed on 30th December 1948 which means that the Azad government saw itself as a separate revolutionary government and the regime of the Dogra as the old regime that had lost its mandate and trust of the people and by claiming itself as the new regime in power, the Azad government openly declares itself as the legitimate government of the entire state of Azad Kashmir. The rules themselves simply implemented the Police Rules Act 1934 in the region. The Azad government also revised the Courts and Law Code 1948 with the Courts and Law Code 1949 which revised a few sections and most notable of the revision was the addition of the Chief justice for High court. The Azad government was now looking to implement more and more laws to create a pure legal system in the region however the biggest impediment to this process was the absence of the constitutional setup. The Constituent Assembly of 1947 drew its legitimacy and power from the 1947 Indian Independence Act and according to that act, the two countries were not left without a constitution but had a temporary one in place to organize and run the country and that was the 1935 Constitution of India. The region of Azad Kashmir had no such constitution and were little more than under the temporary dictatorship of the Azad government and while the excuse of no set up could be made when the region was fighting a war, however the Azad government did not move towards any constitutional setup even post the end of the 1947 war. This could be that they thought their government was temporary in nature since the dispute would be resolved soon and Azad Kashmir would become part of Pakistan which would also explain the absence of a High Court however such thinking led to the crisis that would engulf the region soon enough.

Constitutions are a form of shield and sword that protect the people of the region. They defend the people and their rights and the constitutional evolution enables those rights even more so and they fight against undemocratic forces that would see the constitution become their tool for exploitation. Without a constitution the region of Kashmir had no defense against any person that would fight for their personal power. The impact of no constitutional defense immediately arrived when the Azad government decided to pass The Azad Kashmir government Legal Proceedings Abeyance Act 1949 which held all proceedings against the Azad Kashmir government in abeyance till the resolution of the Kashmir dispute. This was done so that the government could not be called to question on any act that it may have done or may be looking to do. With a legal system comes restrictions and responsibilities and the Azad government was simply not willing to bring any restriction upon themselves nor make themselves answerable to any failure in their responsibilities. The government was able to do this since there was no constitutional setup in the region. The Constituent Assembly could not pass any such act since they were under the restriction of the Constitution of 1935. The Azad government continued to pass laws through cabinet and the action of the Azad government looked more like a monarchy and less like a democratic government. This again came into highlight when the Azad government realized that the old Azad Kashmir Government Legal Proceedings Abeyance Act 1949 was incomplete and did not protect the Azad government from legal proceedings thus to correct this the Azad government decided to pass a more complete law since they faced two major problems. First they couldn’t keep themselves from the responsibilities that had accrued from the old Dogra regime and secondly they couldn’t access nor take the amounts deposited in the accounts of the Dogra regime and were liable for its payment. Thus the Azad government decided to pass The Azad Kashmir Old Liability Abeyance Act 1950 which stated that any legal proceedings against the Azad government that were done due to the responsibility accrued from the old regime were to be held in abeyance till the resolution of Kashmir dispute and this was held for the financial responsibilities as well.

Rules of Business​

During this period it was becoming apparent that there was fierce political rivalry between Sardar Ibrahim and Ghulam Abbas and both looked to limit the role of the other. This reached its height when the government of Sardar Ibrahim was sacked by the Pakistani government in May 1950 which led to a serious uprising in Azad Kashmir. Although this uprising was suppressed, however it showed to Pakistan that it will have to create effective control in the area to have effective control in the area and that the rivalry between Ghulam Abbas and Sardar Ibrahim will never allow Azad Kashmir to offer a unified front. During this period Ghulam Abbas drafted the ‘Rules of Business 1950’ which was to act as an administrative law of the region and this act was enacted on 28th December 1950. The act vested full executive and legislative powers to the Supreme Head of the State and this position was entrusted to the Supreme Head of the Azad Kashmir Movement which was the Muslim Conference. The supreme head could appoint the president and the members of the council of ministers, who would be collectively responsible to him as well as the Chief Justice and other judges of the Azad Kashmir High Court, who would hold office at his pleasure which meant the supreme head had the power to appoint and remove all judges of High Court and the chief Justice as well. Legislations needed prior approval of the supreme head before being passed. The supreme head was basically a sovereign in the region. This position was undemocratic but it was under the control of the Kashmiris since the Supreme Head was Ghulam Abbas however by now Pakistan had formulated the Ministry for Kashmir Affairs and Pakistan knew that the best way to control the region was to have the Ministry gain as much power as it was possible and so Pakistan amended the Rules of Business in 1952 and abolished this position and the Ministry of Kashmir affairs gained full powers and all powers now vested with the joint secretary of the Ministry of Kashmir Affairs. Practically the law stated they were overseeing however they were effectively in complete control as wherever the rules spoke of administrative, legislative or executive power, the Ministry of Kashmir Affairs was always present there and it would begin a long period of time where the affairs of Kashmir were under the hands of middle-ranked bureaucracy whose ego did not allow him to visit the area but insist that the President make an appointment to meet him in the capital of Pakistan. Ironically in all of this bitter fight for power, the people were not given any power to elect anybody and were ignored constitutionally and this period would wreak such havoc upon the constitutional evolution of Azad Kashmir that to this day the region struggles to break the chains of control that Pakistan had placed in 1952. Azad Kashmir was little more than a mix of a princely state and a Colony. To make sure no unified front was offered against this step, Pakistan started to play a political merry go around with Sardar Ibrahim and Sardar Abdul Qayyum Khan and this would continue well into the 90s and Ghulam Abbas would also play a role here. The political and administrative damage this had caused would scar the region for decades to come. With the revision in 1952, all the powers now vested in the joint secretary of the ministry of Kashmir Affairs and all appointments into judiciary or government could only be made after due consultation with the ministry of Kashmir affairs. The biggest problem was the absolute rift between Ghulam Abbas and Sardar Ibrahin which saw Pakistan take all powers under its own central control. This attempt at trying to create a balance of power led to all powers to be vested with the Ministry of Kashmir Affairs rather than to the people. With these new vested rules, the Ministry weakened the grip of the Muslim Conference and strengthened its own grip on the region. The appointment of president was the sole prerogative of the Muslim Conference and duly recognized by the Ministry. Above all, the appointment of the heads of government departments, and the judiciary, was necessary to have Ministry’s consent. This arrangement created disturbance as well as ill-will against the federal government. These revisions reduced the status of AJK government to that of a municipality. The local political groups expressed their anger vociferously and organized several protests to demand democratic rule. These mass protests fell on deaf ears and fizzled out due to the simple reason that there existed no central unity between the political parties. Before we go any further, we must also study the rivalry between Ghulam Abbas and Sardar Ibrahim to understand how the situation came to this position.

Sardar Ibrahim had laurels behind him as the first president of Kashmir, was recognized as the sovereign head of the entire state of Kashmir by Pakistan and was credited with the military operations in Azad Kashmir whereas Ghulam Abbas enjoyed the status of being the largest and only political party in the region was credited as the sole political party that represented all the people of the state of Jammu and Kashmir. The Abbas-Ibrahim clash was a reflection of ideological and political beliefs as well as the future ambitions of the two factions. In fact, the two leaders held two very different sets of opinions on how to conduct the affairs of Azad Kashmir. Ghulam Abbas, a towering leader of the Muslim Conference from Jammu City, had enjoyed good relations with Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah (1876-1948) and the then ruling elite of Pakistan. He was not in favor of establishing a democratic set-up as he thought that electoral politics would take leaders, parties and the people away from the cause of liberation. Above all, the Azad Kashmir politics revolved around a clan system, and Ghulam Abbas, being from the other side of the LoC, had no roots in the area. Critics maintain these were the reasons for Ghulam Abbas’ mindset. A large number of refugees from Jammu and a handful of ethnic Kashmiri political activists settled in various cities of Pakistan. With a bitter legacy, these people tried hard to succeed in the political arena at each other’s expense. Those from the Kashmir Valley wholeheartedly backed Sardar Ibrahim, while those from Jammu stood by Ghulam Abbas. The ethnic and linguistic divides also impacted negatively on the local polity, eventually pitching the local people and the refugees against each other. Sardar Ibrahim had a huge support base and was a popular leader of his time. He was one of the few local people who were highly educated and articulate. His rich background and sudden rise to the top position made him a hard bargainer and unflinching in matters of principle. Summarily, the infighting and the petty politics of power lessened the two leaders’ leverage and made them personae non grate in the corridors of Pakistan’s Ministry of Kashmir Affairs. The fears of Ghulam Abbas resonated with the fears of the early Pakistani leadership. Most of the leadership was politically based in the areas that would go on to become India whereas they had little to know political clout in Pakistan. The average joe in a small city may know who the great Jinnah was but he did not know who the remaining leadership was especially considering the hard fact that most of the leadership of the Muslim League worked under the shadow of the towering giant named Jinnah and had little to no political achievements that would enthrall the people of Pakistan. Ghulam Abbas was in the same water. Sardar Ibrahim was the hero of the Kashmir that became Pakistan and was crowned with the same laurel as Quaid-i-Azam was which was Bab-i-Kashmir i.e. Father of Kashmir. The same was not given to Ghulam Abbas and him and his refugees felt that their political career was about to come to an end the moment the locals would demand political power thus Ghulam Abbas worked towards centralizing power towards him rather than give it to the people. The result of this fear was that the power, they had tried to maintain in their hands, was now under the control of the Ministry of Kashmir Affairs and even the protests would not shake the Ministry since the discussion again went to whether the political power should be kept solely in the hands of the Muslim Conference or should it be given to the people which may result in the end of the Muslim Conference.

The president shall hold office during the pleasure of All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim conference, duly recognized as such by the government of Pakistan in the ministry of Kashmir affair.

The above was added and the reign of the Ministry of Kashmir Affairs officially started. In 1958 ‘The Rules of Business’ were again amended to incorporate some massive changes in the administrative system to contain the power balance in the region. The powers of the Ministry were again increased and the situation was not very good. The most interesting to note is that by this period the Pakistani state had a constitutional setup installed which was the 1956 Constitution even if the country was in an absolute mess of it. The 1958 amendment was met in the backdrop of 6 years of direct Ministry rule where the Ministry alone would elect the president and it was seen as another blow to the Kashmiri democratic effort. During this period the people of Azad Kashmir were severely displeased with the Pakistani government and the usurpation of their democratic rights and the Pakistan witnessed a shocking event in 1955.

Poonch Revolt 1955​

“In 1955 when police was brought in from the Punjab what it did here is a black stain on our history… When in 1956 I became the president I got a chance to reduce their grievances. Hence a number of people who were in prison and suffering distress were released…. but those whose homes were burnt out were not compensated. Although to reduce their sorrows in sympathy, I gave them bits of money.” (Sardar Abdul Qayyum; Kashmir Case P; 22-23)

In 1950, the government of Sardar Ibrahim was dismissed in 1950 as he went back to his supporters especially in the localities of Rawalkot and Pallandri, where he declared a separate government from the Muslim Conference Supreme Head. The Sudhanians were his greatest supporters. The Pakistani government was wary of Sardar Ibrahim as they felt his loyalty was more to the region of Kashmir than to Pakistan and we can see that with the quote of Sheikh Abdullah where he stated;

“They (the Pakistanis) were trying to portray Sardar Ibrahim as the real representative of the Kashmiri people against me. Hence they were playing up his name feverishly. But either they had doubt on the capabilities of Sardar Sahib or they did not trust his loyalty. Hence they got the picture of Muhammad Din Taseer (an important bureaucrat of the Pakistani state from a Kashmiri background) printed in the name of Sardar Ibrahim. It was Mr. Taseer who was shown around as Sardar Ibrahim. When Sardar Ibrahim saw all this he returned home the next day in sheer disgust.” (Sheikh Abdullah; Flames of Chinar, an Autobiography; P. 480)







The above is piece from the book that is in working condition right now and it will start straight from the governance post the Kashmir war, Karachi agreement and then move on and on to the 1974 Constitution, its Amendments and then battle for autonomy all the way to the 13th amendment. the book is divided into 3 parts and about 10 chapters. where 2 parts and 6 chapters deal with Azad Kashmir and the last part and 4 parts deal with Gilgit Baltistan. so how does it look? Despite the chapter names, its not that legal. I mean its legal but it does not go that deep because i did not want it to be a law book but a commentary on governance history so i am trying to balance history and law.

I am gonna have another nightmarish problem with Gilgit baltistan. Anyhow, i think the chapter itself would make for a good read. What do you guys think?

@Joe Shearer @Nilgiri @Kaptaan @VCheng @T-123456 @Saithan @Yankeestani @Cobra Arbok @Combat-Master @Blackeyes90

To Pakistani members that we have here, do you think this book is harsh?

 

[Saiyan0321]

Due to there being a 30k character limit, i will have to continue the excerpt here

Muhammad Din Taseer was an important figure in the Urdu literature movements and he was the one that told Sheikh Abdullah that Kashmir must become part of Pakistan.The areas of Rawalkot and Pallandri became his place of administration and from a period of 1951-1956, the region of Poonch saw two administrations. One led by Sardar Ibrahim and the other by the Azad government under the Ministry of Kashmir affairs. This situation was starting to become extremely complicated however the military experience of Sardar Ibrahim and the rallying of the people of Poonch behind him, allowed him to take on the Azad forces and maintain his administrative control. He amassed support and strength and with the 1952 amendment joined the protests but due to the differences between political parties, the political protest was unable to yield any result however the people were becoming more and more agitated. During this the President of the Azad Kashmir was Colonel Sardar Sher Ahmed Khan from the period of 1952-1956 and during this time, the situation deteriorated as the president was merely a figurehead. The good colonel was part of the Ibrahim government before its dismissal as he held the portfolio of Defense, Education and Health and he was one of the top guerilla commanders in the Azad Kashmir movement. He resigned with the fall of Ibrahim’s government and with the situation calming by 1951 however that was merely the calm before the storm as the people of Poonch were preparing for a revolt for democracy and to protect their leader Ibrahim. Sher Khan also felt that he could not continue in the Cabinet without Ibrahim and although Pakistan did try to have him stand as a rival to Ibrahim, however that did not work. Before the revolt, the Sudhanian and the contingents of Pakistani soldiers deployed there clashed resulting in the deterioration of the situation and it was becoming abundantly clear to the central government of Azad Kashmir that the situation could no longer be contained and by 1955, the Azad Kashmir local forces were helpless against the Sudhanians, most of whom had played an important role in the liberation of Kashmir. The declaration for the revolt could be seen from the attempted assassination of Sher Khan, who was no president in 1955 and for the next seventeen months, Poonch would be in a state of revolt. The attempt was in February 1955 and with that the protests became severe for democracy and the district police was helpless. With Poonch about to be lost, the Punjab constabulary and the 12th division of Pakistan army located at Murree headquarters were immediately deployed. There are little to know records about the conflict but locals pointed out that the Sudhanians fought equally and at one point even took 150 Punjab constabulary soldiers and their weapons as prisoners. The army and the constabulary were brutal in their methods many were prosecuted with little to no trial and legal system. The people who had fought against the Indian army and the Dogra, were now fighting against the Pakistan army and their objective was the same as it was then. Right to democracy and freedom. The fighting ended by October 1956 with Sardar Ibrahim and his men surrendering with the peace deal and giving their arms to the government of Pakistan and this disarming was don’t under Mushtaq Ahmed Gurmani. The revolt was a painful chapter in the history of Pakistan which was subsequently removed and this was never brought to question as to why the people most loyal to Pakistan were forced to raise arms against that very country itself. The poor governance of the area and the repeated usurpation of the democratic rights of the people of Kashmir had brought the situation to this juncture.

In May 1956, Sher Ahmed was removed and Mirwaiz Yousaf Shah, who was one of the founders of the original All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference. He was the Mirwaiz (spiritual head) of Kashmir till his death in 1968 and he was a temporary President in 1952 and then again in 1956 for a few months until Sardar Abdul Qayyum would be made President of Kashmir. Abdul Qayyum was known as ‘Mujahid-i-Awal’ which means the first holy warrior since it was widely believed that he was the first one to fire a shot in the 1947 Kashmir war. He joined the Muslim Conference in 1951 and was elected a record 14 times as the president of the Muslim Conference. He would pick up from where the Ibrahim-Abbas rivalry ended and would continue the Ibrahim-Qayyum rivalry all the way to the 90s. In 1954, Sardar Ibrahim had passed repeated resolutions for the creation of the Azad Kashmir Legislative assembly however that dream would not come true for nearly two decades.

Post the revolt, the Ministry of Kashmir rather than give democratic power to the people of Kashmir, decided to strengthen its hold on the area by revising the ‘Rules of Business’ with another amendment which made sure that the government of Azad Kashmir could not create a post that was above a pay scale of 150 rupees and could only spend one lakh per annum (be advised that the currency value are of that era). The Muslim Conference had sole discretion in the appointment of the president and any person who enjoyed the confidence of the working committee of the Muslim Conference could enjoy his appointment as president however the last say remained with the Ministry of Kashmir Affairs. The rules amended the Joint Secretary to Chief Advisor which was elected by the Ministry of Kashmir Affairs and the Ministry made sure that all the real powers were held under its control. Some historians highlight that the rise of Qayyum during this period was due to the absence of opposition to Sardar Ibrahim and Ghulam Abbas, most Ibrahim who had showcased a dangerous daring by starting the Poonch revolt of 1955. The Ministry was able to do this fairly easily, despite the dangerous rebellion, due to the infighting between the two major political powers. Their fiery statements and infighting made the headlines in Kashmir and the Muslim Conference was officially split into two camps. Analyzing this situation, the renowned Kashmiri historian Yousaf Saraf has so aptly written;

“Abbas group was straining every nerve to deprive the Azad government of as much power as possible. It also seemed to suit the convenience of the MKA. Mr. M.A. Gurmani, the minister without portfolio who was in charge of Kashmir affairs, had his permanent office in Rawalpindi. He was playing one group against the other. As a result of these intrigues and counter-intrigues, the Azad Kashmir government was deprived of important powers.”

This would remain so till 1960 with the enactment of the ‘Basic Democracies Act’ however one thing remained the constant that the power of the Ministry of Kashmir Affairs only grew. During this period the Ministry would re-elect Sardar Ibrahim from 1957-1959 so that the Sudhanians and Azad Kashmir would remain passive and satisfied however Sardar Ibrahim was severely against the Ministry stated in his words;

“The Ministry played havoc with the Azad Kashmir movement and had it finally liquidated to the satisfaction of all bureaucrats in Pakistan.”

He would later on state;

“It is like hell. It is the worst example of democracy…. It has not served Kashmiris at all. It has always divided and made them fight amongst themselves.”1

In 1958, Pakistan underwent a military coup which saw Ayub Khan usurp power from the Pakistani central government and become the Chief Executive of the country. Ayub Khan was never one to like politicians and he was certainly not impressed by the massive political and administrative mess the region of Azad Kashmir was undergoing. Now during the period of 1950-1958, Azad Kashmir government did pass several laws including the ‘Local Bodies Election Act 1953’ however none were able to bring forth a democratic setup during this period due to the constant interference of the Ministry of Kashmir Affairs and the constant infighting between the political setup made sure that those laws only worked as a display that the government was actually doing something.

The deteriorating situation in Kashmir also forced the government and the Ministry to pass security laws such as the ‘Azad Kashmir Public Safety Act 1953’, ‘The Pallandhri Distrubances Special Tribunal Act 1955 and 1956’, ‘The Control of Goondas Act 1956’, and ‘The Azad Kashmir Recovery of Abducted Persons Act 1953 and 1956’. The 1953 public safety act was an amendment to current act of 1948 but the words substituted held that any person to whom the security forces or the government deem to be acting against public safety could be arrested without a warrant and the person will be detained by the authority so empowered or by the government and he or she will not be brought to court but to the government and over there the government may direct the person, through a written order to be detained for a period that should not exceed 6 months. Now the section was written as such;

(3) The Government may, by order in writing, commit any person arrested or directed to be arrested under this Section to such custody as it may deem fit, for such period as may, subject to the provisions of this section, be specified in the order and the Government may, from time to time, extend the period of such detention:

Provided that no order of detention or extension of the detention shall be passed for a period of more than six month at a time.

(4) No person shall, unless the Government by special order otherwise directs, be detained in custody for a period exceeding one month.

If you notice the above section 3 the government is empowered to extend the period from ‘Time to Time’ which means that the extension can happen more than once and after which it states that the period shall not be more than 6 months at a time. Which means that the government had no bar on the time limit but on the maximum time it could detain a person at a single passed order which was six months and if no special order is passed then the person could not be detained more than a month. It must be stated that this was not a court detention but detention done by the executive. It was not judicial and there was no protection of rights. The government could pass an order to detain a person for 6 months where he could be placed under any conditions and then it not satisfied the government could extent that detention for another 6 months. This allowed for the Azad government to start targeting political dissidents most notably those that supported Sardar Ibrahim and Ghulam Abbas as well. The Ministry also saw to it that therein start a strong reign of terror. The Pallandhri act, although named after a tehsil of Poonch, was enforced over all of Azad Kashmir and it pertained to the disturbances in Poonch where the special tribunal could trial summarily anybody who was brought before the court and the judgment of the court could neither be appealed nor be revised. There were three things in this act that made more than an axe court that would pass guilty judgment. Firstly, unlike the present legal system at that time in Azad Kashmir, the accused would not get a Jury for trial but would have to plead his case to the judge. This was done so that the accused could not speak to the people of Azad Kashmir and justify his acts as fighting for independence. The state had done that to make sure no accused would go unpunished. The courts were also told to pass judgments in haste and with immediate effect. Secondly, it was stated that the court could pass conviction on any person without reading him his charge, if witness and evidence points to his involvement. Normally, no person could be prosecuted without a formal reading of charge and attachment of the charge sheet which was then used by the accused to prepare his defense however in the tribunal, the court could remove this action and pass judgment on anybody even if he was not present in the court. Thirdly the court allowed for prosecution to add witness to the list of witnesses provided in the middle of the proceedings without having it make any impact on the court and the innocence of the accused. The courts through these became a court that declared many people guilty and became the terror in Azad Kashmir. It was amended again in 1956 where in case the judges were divided, the president of the tribunal shall decide the verdict. This weakened the legal system in the region greatly and impeded the minimal constitutional growth the region was witnessing. The entire system was in a state of collapse.

During this period the Azad government also passed the ‘Azad Kashmir Interpretation of Laws Act 1954’. This law was passed due to the legal history of the Dogra rule and the British laws in place. There were acts and precedents and military orders and acts which needed to be correctly implemented. For this purpose the Azad Kashmir government passed this law which held that the words ‘Dogra Regime’ or ‘Hari Singh’ or ‘State forces’ shall be replaced with Azad government and apart from those laws that have been repealed by the Azad government, they shall be considered to be inforce as if they were passed by the Azad government and the military related ones would be considered to mean the Azad forces or the Pakistan forces and they shall be interpreted in the same legal sense as they were enforced.

 

[VCheng]

Will need some time to digest enough to be able to comment ... ... but let me just say that truth is quite often harsh.

 

[Saiyan0321]

Will need some time to digest enough to be able to comment ... ... but let me just say that truth is quite often harsh.

It really is. This doesnt make for a good read especially when you look at things legally.

 

[Saithan]

It really is. This doesnt make for a good read especially when you look at things legally.

Very nice. Once again muslim mindset ? Has managed to screw over the most patriotic people.

But how much of the past is relevant when you look at the current situation. You’d need to have the entire kashmir-jammu region to rise up for independence and who’ll champion their cause ?

Given past occurrance kashmir-jammu region should be an independent democracy free of india and pakistan. Fully not halfbaked.

Unfortunately I don’t see how that region is going to rise up when they are already down 70 years abuse.

 

[Saiyan0321]

Very nice. Once again muslim mindset ? Has managed to screw over the most patriotic people.

But how much of the past is relevant when you look at the current situation. You’d need to have the entire kashmir-jammu region to rise up for independence and who’ll champion their cause ?

Given past occurrance kashmir-jammu region should be an independent democracy free of india and pakistan. Fully not halfbaked.

Unfortunately I don’t see how that region is going to rise up when they are already down 70 years abuse.

Thank you. Well it didnt help the situation however the problem wasnt the muslim mindset, it was predatory policies. You see Pakistan wanted to keep control on the region since it always saw that the plebiscite was about to happen however post 1971, it became abundantly clear that the Kashmir would not witness any changes prompting Pakistan to pass the 1974 Constitution of Kashmir

Frankly The Pakistani side is not interested in any separation from Pakistan. Sure they want more autonomy but they are pretty patriotic and see themselves as Pakistanis and the same for gilgit baltistan. This is the Pakistan Administered Kashmir. The Indian kashmir dont want to join up with Pakistan despite what many think. their struggle is largely on independence and they lay claim to the Pakistani Kashmir. Now their another problem. the center of Administration in Azad Kashmir is Muzaffarabad and the center of Indian Kashmir is Srinagar and neither will accept the domination of the other.

Independence is a no go. Think of it this way the most strategic region where the rivers that feed the two countries is locked between China, Pakistan and India. It will never happen. Besides the Azad Kashmiri in Pakistan are loyal to Pakistan and the people of gilgit to Pakistan as well. Autonomy is the name of the struggle and that is different from independence.

 

[Joe Shearer]

A stunning read, also a most disturbing one.

There is a movement that is alive and well, but very weak and hardly given any time by the Pakistani administration; from the writings of its leaders in social media, it was known for some time now that all was not to the liking of the people of the erstwhile Azad Kashmir (writing as an Indian, that appellation is not unreasonably put within quotation marks). The details were not known. After reading these two excerpts, it is painfully clear what happened, and also, to some extent, why.

The conclusions are unfortunately stark.

Democracy has shallow roots in the Indian sub-continent. While the narrative is about Azad Kashmir, and from hints within the text reproduced, about Gilgit-Baltistan in some little time on, the picture that we see is uncomfortably close to what is visible within India. The one single reason that turned the Kashmiri (=Koshur speaking) man in the street against India and for independence from both India and Pakistan was the constant interference of the New Delhi bureaucrats, who made it an item of honour to add to whatever had been perpetrated on the hapless citizen-as-victim.

This interference, coupled with the Indian politicians' unquenchable thirst for politics of a different kind, and with the supple-spined willingness of the local Kashmiri leader to butter their bread on all four sides (those who have not had the pleasure of meeting these most elegant and courteous of leaders will not understand readily how to them a slice of bread mysteriously acquires topological impossibilities like four sides).

Again, the ham-handed spectacle of a panicked central bureaucracy trying to bury its mistakes is to be seen on this side of the LOC. The Central Armed Police were sent in; the bulk of the genuine graves in Kashmir belong to victims of the CRP, the erstwhile Crown Police of the Raj.

This mournful exercise could go on and on. Suffice it to say that this masterly post throws light into most dimly lit areas, and similarly into most dark areas that we never knew existed.

 

[TR_123456]

Looks like the Azad Kashmiris did this to themselves(the leaders),had they been united,things could have been different.

 

[Kaptaan]

Once again muslim mindset ?

While this is not the thread for it but in South Asia "Muslim mindset" is actually the cowardly strain left over from the defeat by British imperialists fused with mumbo jumbo of religion. A perfect toxic potion that works wonders on the ignorant masses to keep them sedated in ignorance. It's purveyors are our mullahs, it's defenders our elite who have made a alliance with this curse to keep their political and economic position secure.

And hello @Joe Shearer

@Saiyan0321 this would require some reading which I will do when I get time.

 

[Saithan]

Looks like the Azad Kashmiris did this to themselves(the leaders),had they been united,things could have been different.

Poor leadership, and lack of strong local identity. I would hardly fault the people for the mistakes of leaders.

I seriously doubt India would accept a referandum vote in that area, even if it was done city/village by village. I get the impression Pakistan wouldn’t mind it so much considering Kashmiris majorly identify themselves as pakistan.

But Modi is getting inspiration from Israel, unfortunately I don’t see any other way of resolving the conflict, unless the little man gets their fingers on nukes,

Would be a first, give me liberty or give me nukes. I mean they’ve been in a pickle for the past 70 years.

While this is not the thread for it but in South Asia "Muslim mindset" is actually the cowardly strain left over from the defeat by British imperialists fused with mumbo jumbo of religion. A perfect toxic potion that works wonders on the ignorant masses to keep them sedated in ignorance. It's purveyors are our mullahs, it's defenders our elite who have made a alliance with this curse to keep their political and economic position secure.

Exactly, I’d claim those swimming in oil are prime examples of this (arabs)

 

[Kaptaan]

perfect toxic potion

I give you a perfect example of the victims of this "toxic potion". On my recent visit to Pakistan I stayed with a cousin in Pakistan who is a civil engineer in the Public Works Department. He had built a small bungalow near where he worked for his part time use. In the bungalow he had two 'servants'. Both were religious. Soon after getting to know me and finding me quite free to talk to they began to preach me virtues of pray, Islam etc. These guys were clockwork with prayers. Five times a day they walked to the mosque about mile away and back. In between they were clockework with sleep. They literally slept all the time. I would never believe a man could sleep so much and these were young men in their late 20s. They had zero work ethic.

But no problem. If they are work shy it's not position to lecture them. One day I asked my cousin that how did he manage to find such lay abouts and why was he still employing them. The reason. They were actually PWD employees and instead of being in the road units clearing the drains or filling in holes they slept under buzzing fans and did the occasional cooking or cleaning.

And these two cnuts had the galls to talk about god, prayers, redemption when they were clearly screwing the taxpayers while snoozing ....

Ps. This is one end [the lesser evil] with the other end when they blow themselves up.

 

[Saithan]

Dostoyevsky - Idiota comes to mind.

 

[Nilgiri]

Will need some time to digest enough to be able to comment ... ... but let me just say that truth is quite often harsh.

Ditto. Will get back to this thread a bit later, I just got through the 1st part.

There is lot of underlying info I had no idea about, kudos to @Saiyan0321 to be kind enough to share from his upcoming book here.

 

[Saiyan0321]

This mournful exercise could go on and on. Suffice it to say that this masterly post throws light into most dimly lit areas, and similarly into most dark areas that we never knew existed.

Its amazing how a little information and a large book called law codes of Azad Kashmir can do and frankly it was there for all to see. Sardar Ibrahim boasted the poonch rebellion and even if we call it some foreign propaganda then what you cant avoid is the 2+2 that when the revolt started there was the Phalndhari Act which was enacted at that time and it had draconian powers so there was a revolt and the acts passed are evidence of such.

Ofcourse there is more and the process of taking autonomy continues for sometime even when the Constitution came since the Constitution itself originally was pretty autonomous, not as much as after the 13th amendment but for its time, it was pretty autonomous but as amendments were made the autonomy was taken in a very unfair but legal manner

Looks like the Azad Kashmiris did this to themselves(the leaders),had they been united,things could have been different.

Leadership problems were the major reasons. The Azad Kashmir political leadership was never united and was not able to formulate a front however Pakistan was also a master of divide and rule and we made sure that the leadership would remain divided. By the time the Plesbiscite Party of Amanullah Khan, there were three factions and it was a mess.

@Saiyan0321 this would require some reading which I will do when I get time.

Looking forward to it.

I give you a perfect example of the victims of this "toxic potion". On my recent visit to Pakistan I stayed with a cousin in Pakistan who is a civil engineer in the Public Works Department. He had built a small bungalow near where he worked for his part time use. In the bungalow he had two 'servants'. Both were religious. Soon after getting to know me and finding me quite free to talk to they began to preach me virtues of pray, Islam etc. These guys were clockwork with prayers. Five times a day they walked to the mosque about mile away and back. In between they were clockework with sleep. They literally slept all the time. I would never believe a man could sleep so much and these were young men in their late 20s. They had zero work ethic.

But no problem. If they are work shy it's not position to lecture them. One day I asked my cousin that how did he manage to find such lay abouts and why was he still employing them. The reason. They were actually PWD employees and instead of being in the road units clearing the drains or filling in holes they slept under buzzing fans and did the occasional cooking or cleaning.

And these two cnuts had the galls to talk about god, prayers, redemption when they were clearly screwing the taxpayers while snoozing ....

Ps. This is one end [the lesser evil] with the other end when they blow themselves up.

hahahaha i need no example but the one in my neighbor who is super islamic and acts as if he is a sufi but i wouldnt be surprised if one day the guy has a pitchfork and horns. He is that evil but he wears the cloak of religion in such a manner that the early hypocrites in Medina would be shocked.

Ditto. Will get back to this thread a bit later, I just got through the 1st part.

There is lot of underlying info I had no idea about, kudos to @Saiyan0321 to be kind enough to share from his upcoming book here.

Looking forward to it

 

[Joe Shearer]

While this is not the thread for it but in South Asia "Muslim mindset" is actually the cowardly strain left over from the defeat by British imperialists fused with mumbo jumbo of religion. A perfect toxic potion that works wonders on the ignorant masses to keep them sedated in ignorance. It's purveyors are our mullahs, it's defenders our elite who have made a alliance with this curse to keep their political and economic position secure.

And hello @Joe Shearer

@Saiyan0321 this would require some reading which I will do when I get time.

So good to see you here. I sincerely believe that you will get on this forum the respect and attention that your views deserve.

 

[Joe Shearer]

Leadership problems were the major reasons. The Azad Kashmir political leadership was never united and was not able to formulate a front however Pakistan was also a master of divide and rule and we made sure that the leadership would remain divided. By the time the Plesbiscite Party of Amanullah Khan, there were three factions and it was a mess.

There are many reasons behind the position that I take on Kashmir; it is difficult to launch into these reasons on every occasion that the subject comes up, and as a result, many hyperpatriots (on both sides, it is pleasant to recall) are outraged at my contumely towards this major subject.

Your note allows it to be mentioned that if an artificial creation of the Dogra rulers dissolves into its original components, that is only to be expected, and, in fact, is the most reasonable outcome.

Most reasonable since there are several parties interested in the matter. This reservation is needed to forestall those enthusiasts who might draw an invalid parallel and point to India herself.

 

[Nilgiri]

Anyhow, i think the chapter itself would make for a good read. What do you guys think?

I just got done with part 2...

Honestly I think you have done a fine job overall and you might be overthinking it w.r.t if you want to go a more legal jargon approach vs higher narrative approach etc...I think you have a natural balance right now that's "you".

The best authors to me (that I have read and stick out in memory) when giving analysis like this generally can strike balance intuitively and I feel they don't overthink.

This will be a great publication in the end I feel.

On the subject at hand, it was interesting to get more details on this subject by what you have graciously provided here, grounding and context is always welcome in my opinion (to be frank I was not too interested in this subject at this level for longest time compared to others...but you live lot closer to the cause and effect than I do so it makes sense that you are).

....Overall I am not too surprised by anything though given what the narrative and haste of partition involved and was, all intrinsically hazily intertwined with the national genesis that had to take shape and fill voids left behind.

Thus it was not a well thought out bottom-up logical process...but rather results driven one with copy-paste filler...largely top-down...and thus quite hotch-potch in comparison to the best world references I have studied at depth on this matter. But we inherit it all downstream regardless...and far too many of us just take things as is when we shouldn't...or we deflect to blaming more easier scapegoats...or are just easily deflected to do so. So nothing is really fundamentally questioned by enough people.

 

[Joe Shearer]

Thus it was not a well thought out bottom-up logical process...but rather results driven one with copy-paste filler...largely top-down...and thus quite hotch-potch in comparison to the best world references I have studied at depth on this matter. But we inherit it all downstream regardless...and far too many of us just take things as is when we shouldn't...or we deflect to blaming more easier scapegoats...or are just easily deflected to do so. So nothing is really fundamentally questioned by enough people.

With the greatest goodwill in the world, and at the cost of transforming this very agreeable site into yet another battlefield between intransigent Indian and obdurate Pakistanis, I have to disagree with your views. This is why:

1. It had been thought through; one side did not want to accept the consequences of their non-involvement/late-stage involvement, and sought to convert it into something that they, in their then state of mind, thought more equitable than the stark mechanism of the transfer of power.
2. There was a movement for independence, that started as a revolt against British military predominance, and against her consequent grip on natural resources and sources of commercial wealth. This went back to those struggles that the British Whig historians described as the 'Anglo-Whoever' wars.
3. In 1885, there was a landmark event, the birth of the Indian National Congress, ironically, with a British Civil Servant, and a European eccentric as midwives. This was not a communal, parochial movement; indeed, some of the early path-breakers were Parsi.
4. In 1920, there was another landmark event, a most disruptive one, and one that has not yet played itself out even today. One of the 'people like them', in Nancy Mitford's phrasing, burst through the genteel, petitioning claques of well-spoken, normally rather well-off lawyers who then led the Congress, and converted that petition-machine into a mass movement. Gandhi and his ways never sat comfortably with the elite of the colony of India, and the greatest compliment to his political relevance is the progressive acquisition of his name and aura by those who hate him the most.
5. In 1930 and thereabouts, a series of bi-partisan meetings took place. The princes under the domination of the British Crown agreed in principle to merge with the Crown Colony when it should become a Dominion. It was understood that such a Dominion would be formed; nobody (other than the Congress was dreadfully keen to pin down the rulers to a date.

This was the background.

There will be a note on the specifics of your evaluation but it will be nice if these are considered, in the abstract, so to speak, before going further.

 

[Nilgiri]

With the greatest goodwill in the world, and at the cost of transforming this very agreeable site into yet another battlefield between intransigent Indian and obdurate Pakistanis, I have to disagree with your views. This is why:

1. It had been thought through; one side did not want to accept the consequences of their non-involvement/late-stage involvement, and sought to convert it into something that they, in their then state of mind, thought more equitable than the stark mechanism of the transfer of power.
2. There was a movement for independence, that started as a revolt against British military predominance, and against her consequent grip on natural resources and sources of commercial wealth. This went back to those struggles that the British Whig historians described as the 'Anglo-Whoever' wars.
3. In 1885, there was a landmark event, the birth of the Indian National Congress, ironically, with a British Civil Servant, and a European eccentric as midwives. This was not a communal, parochial movement; indeed, some of the early path-breakers were Parsi.
4. In 1920, there was another landmark event, a most disruptive one, and one that has not yet played itself out even today. One of the 'people like them', in Nancy Mitford's phrasing, burst through the genteel, petitioning claques of well-spoken, normally rather well-off lawyers who then led the Congress, and converted that petition-machine into a mass movement. Gandhi and his ways never sat comfortably with the elite of the colony of India, and the greatest compliment to his political relevance is the progressive acquisition of his name and aura by those who hate him the most.
5. In 1930 and thereabouts, a series of bi-partisan meetings took place. The princes under the domination of the British Crown agreed in principle to merge with the Crown Colony when it should become a Dominion. It was understood that such a Dominion would be formed; nobody (other than the Congress was dreadfully keen to pin down the rulers to a date.

This was the background.

There will be a note on the specifics of your evaluation but it will be nice if these are considered, in the abstract, so to speak, before going further.

I understand where you are coming from.... I am just pained at how things have turned out and what forces seemingly have the greatest final involvement in the political setup we have inherited today in the region (I am in no way dismissing all the action preceding it that was indeed one of the greatest if not the greatest modern call to action from the ground up by Bapu and all the efforts that preceded that too)

....my focus is there I suppose,...that painful and most consequential final fumbling of the ball approaching the endzone...rather than all the quite extraordinary persistent action that brought the play there (that still make the overall recollection noteworthy as you indeed are correct to summarise)....

I should have stated that clearly. It leaves immense ripples today, covering the nature of the deeper ocean beyond it....and all too many prefer it this way or are accustomed or desensitized to this being the dominant perception and reality.

How many people truly study the independence movement in the depth it should be...compared to the time they spend living the effects and having thoughts consumed by this partition that has made seeming near-eternal happy putty and wonder clay for the politicians and the most intense immediately harnessed human nature?

Being a stickler for first principles, there is no other way for me to explain how doggedly so many people in our region refuse to think of another one as a human being as the default, give a fair benefit of the doubt to another with as little prejudice as possible....and build up impression from there bottom-up.....rather than the top-down consequence that has enforced top-down collectivist prejudices and judgement of the "others".

The region already had enough material to burden our societies with this already....but it has been saddled even more.

The costs are truly phenomenal when I have moments of clarity to think of what could have been....it is very saddening subject.

 

[Saithan]

I am looking at this map, and wonder if there can ever be found a solution. I don't think anyone is going to be able to wrestle the lands back from China.

What matters is probably the political will to find a peaceful solution to the area. Exchange of lands and such, but I do not think either of the two countries can do that.