Amid massive speculation, Islamabad denies it is planning to merge PoK with Pakistan

Islamabad: The government of Pakistan has denied that it is planning to merge Pakistan-occupied Kashmir with the rest of the country. The government said it is not mulling over any such proposal.

The clarification from the Pakistan government came amid reports in the local media about the same.

Pakistan’s respected newspaper Dawn had reported that there had been speculation on the Pakistan-PoK merger for about six weeks now.

The speculation had started after it was reported that Farooq Haider Khan had been told he would be the last “prime minister” of the PoK. According to Dawn, the speculation was fuelled by the move wherein one of the bureaucracy’s service group was renamed by the government.

However, Foreign Office spokesperson Aisha Farooqui commented on the speculation: “There is no such proposal under consideration.”

The official also denied that the Imran Khan government was planning to introduce new regulation to alter the status of Gilgit-Baltistan. “It is media speculation. I do not wish to comment on it,” she told the media.

A trend has been seen in Pakistan wherein such speculation on PoK merger makes it to the mainstream media in the run-up to any key event on Kashmir. On February 5, Pakistan is set to observe ‘Kashmir Solidarity Day’.

The rumours on PoK merger had speculated last year also after India revoked Jammu and Kashmir’s special status on August 5 by abrogating Article 370 of the Constitution. Post that move, there was speculation that Pakistan could follow the same path.

India has maintained that PoK, illegally occupied by Pakistan, is its territory and it one day expects to have physical jurisdiction over it. Such assertion has been made several times post the August 5 decision.