Offical version on Northern Areas

Published in The News Pakistan
NAs not part of Kashmir, report author told

ISLAMABAD: While the controversy over Baroness Emma Nicholson’s report on Kashmir is yet to die down, for reasons known to the government, Pakistan’s Ambassador to Brussels Saeed Khalid has written to Nicholson asserting new claims over the whole of Northern Areas as these were not part of the Jammu and Kashmir state in 1947.As quickly as she received the letter, Nicholson informed the ambassador in a seven-page reply that she was unable to comment on the Pakistan government’s new position to the European Parliament. Interestingly, while this was the lead story in Thursday’s The Hindu newspaper, New Delhi has yet not reacted to Pakistan’s fresh claims. This has given rise to speculation that prior to Saeed Khalid’s writing the letter, there had been tactical understanding with New Delhi.The ambassador in his letter, according to the report, insisted that the UN resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir “do not, in any manner, apply to any part of the Northern Areas”. As such, he argues, “integration of the Northern Areas with Pakistan is also not prohibited” — a suggestion likely to irk not just India, but many politicians in the sensitive frontier region.“Pakistan’s claims mark a break with decades of established foreign policy. Although it ceded a small part of the region to China in 1963, Pakistan has historically been reluctant to formalise its de facto direct rule in the Northern Areas. Pakistani diplomats believed that India would use such an act to strengthen its case for institutionalising the status quo in Jammu and Kashmir,” comments The Hindu.Experts contacted by The Hindu also expressed surprise at Pakistan’s position. Navnita Chadha-Behera, a professor at New Delhiís Jamia Milia Islamia University and author of two books on the conflict, said she was “astounded by the new claims.” Intriguingly, Ambassador Khalid’s claims fly in the face of Pakistan’s own judicial position on the Northern Areas. In a judgment delivered in September, 1994, the Supreme Court held that while the Northern Areas are “not part of Azad Kashmir as defined in the Azad Kashmir Interim Constitution Act,” the region was indeed “part of Jammu and Kashmir state” as it existed before 1947. As a result of Pakistan’s ambiguous position on the Northern Areas, the region had neither elected assembly nor representation in the National Assembly until 1994. Only in 2000 did a Supreme Court judgment lead to the establishment of a body with powers to legislate even on local matters. However, the federal minister for Kashmir Affairs continues to be the chief executive of Northern Areas Legislative Council.