Elections are to be held in Jammu and Kashmir after 10 years. There is talk of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir regarding the elections and PoK is also in discussion. Actually, 24 seats in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly are reserved for PoK and such a system has been in place there since 1956. After the mention of seats reserved for PoK in the elections, PoK is being discussed in many ways. You must have heard a lot about PoK, but do you know whether Hindus live in Pakistan or not and how PoK is different.
Do Hindus live in POK?
POK is an integral part of India, which is currently under the occupation of Pakistan. In Pakistan, this region is called ‘Azad Kashmir’. 4.5 million people i.e. about 45 lakh people live in POK. The situation here is that about 7 lakh youth are unemployed and about 20 lakh people live abroad. If the population of POK is seen on the basis of religion, then Muslims are in the highest number here. Many reports also claim that about 100 percent or more than 99 percent of the population here is of Muslims.
According to a report of Joshua Project, 100% of the population in PoK is Muslim. According to a report of Centre for Joint Welfare Studies, 100% of the population in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir is Muslim. But, it has been written in many reports that at the time of independence, people of other religions were also present here in large numbers. It is said that at the time of independence, the Muslim population here was 20% and now there are very few Hindus living here. Since the partition of India and Pakistan, people of other religions have migrated here in large numbers.
Many reports say that 100% of the population here is Muslim, but some reports claim that 1000 to 1500 Hindus still live here and there are some Christians as well. Apart from this, some houses are also said to belong to people who earlier followed the Baha’i religion.
What is the status of POK?
The total area of POK is about 13 thousand square kilometers. POK has many divisions, which include Muzaffarabad (Jhelum Valley, Neelam Valley), Poonch Division (Poonch, Haveli, Bagh, Sudhanoti), Mirpur (Mirpur, Kotli, Bhimbhar) etc. Gujjars, Abbasis, Sudhans, Kashmiris are present here in large numbers. The people of POK are mainly dependent on agriculture. Maize, wheat, forest products and animal husbandry are the main sources of income here. If we talk about the common people, a large section of the people is upset with the policies of the government in POK.
The people here are not even a part of Pakistan. The constitution of Pakistan still considers these places as disputed. The people here neither participate in the elections of Pakistan nor elect their MP. But, these people go abroad only through Pakistani passport.
Source (PTI) (NDTV) (HINDUSTANTIMES)