Pakistan Occupied Kashmir

POK Full Form in English, letter by letter

POK is the term India uses for the part of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir that Pakistan administers, called Azad Kashmir by Pakistan.

POK Full Form in Indian Languages

In Indian official language, the part of Kashmir administered by Pakistan is called POK, or Pakistan Occupied Kashmir. Here is the name in six Indian languages, with the history and geography behind it.

What POK covers on the map

Pakistan Occupied Kashmir, commonly shortened to POK, is the portion of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir under Pakistani administration. India's official position is that the entire territory belongs to India and that this part has been under illegal occupation since 1947.

The area Pakistan calls Azad Jammu and Kashmir covers roughly 13,000 square kilometres of mostly mountainous terrain, with three divisions (Muzaffarabad, Mirpur and Poonch) and about ten districts, including Muzaffarabad, Neelum, Bagh, Poonch, Kotli, Mirpur and Bhimber. Gilgit-Baltistan, another area Pakistan administers, is governed separately and is also claimed by India as part of the former state.

How 1947 created the territory

The Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir, Hari Singh, initially wanted to keep his princely state independent as British India was partitioned. Tribal militias backed by Pakistan entered the state in October 1947, and the Maharaja signed the Instrument of Accession with India on 26 October 1947, after which Indian troops were sent to Kashmir.

The first war ended with a United Nations-brokered ceasefire that took effect on 1 January 1949, dividing the state along a ceasefire line. After the 1971 war, the line was adjusted and became the Line of Control under the Shimla Agreement of 1972. A UN Security Council resolution in 1948 called for a plebiscite after conditions were met, and it has never been held.

Administration: autonomy in name

Pakistan calls its administered area Azad Jammu and Kashmir. It has its own president, prime minister, Legislative Assembly with 53 seats (45 elected directly and 8 reserved) and courts, including a Supreme Court and a High Court.

Pakistan's federal government controls defence, foreign affairs and currency, and has a large military presence in the region. Critics point out that this limits the area's autonomy. Gilgit-Baltistan is administered through a separate arrangement that Pakistan has changed several times since 2009, and India rejects those changes as having no legal basis.

Economy and daily life

The economy is largely agricultural, with wheat, maize, fruit and vegetables as main crops. Tourism in scenic places such as the Neelum Valley brings seasonal work, and limited industry keeps unemployment high.

Mirpur has a distinctive history: the Mangla Dam project of the 1960s displaced a large number of people, and many families from the Mirpur area moved to Britain, forming a large diaspora whose remittances matter to the local economy.

India's position and the living debate

India's position is set out in the unanimous resolution passed by Parliament on 22 February 1994, which states that the whole of Jammu and Kashmir, including the areas under Pakistani occupation, is an integral part of India and calls for their return. Official Indian maps show the territory within India's boundaries.

There was a period of limited contact. The Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus began in April 2005, the Poonch-Rawalakot service followed in 2006, and cross-LoC trade opened in 2008 as confidence-building measures. These were suspended in 2019 and have not resumed, so ordinary people cannot cross the Line of Control in either direction.

India prefers to resolve bilateral issues under the Shimla framework, while Pakistan calls for a UN-backed plebiscite. For readers, the practical point is that the term POK states India's legal claim, while Azad Jammu and Kashmir is the name used on the Pakistani side.

POK in exams and news: terms to keep straight

Quiz and exam questions often test a few look-alike terms. POK refers to the area administered as Azad Jammu and Kashmir. Gilgit-Baltistan is a separate area, also in Pakistani hands. Aksai Chin is a different territory in the east of the former state, administered by China, and the Shaksgam Valley was handed by Pakistan to China in 1963.

The Line of Control divides Indian-administered and Pakistan-administered Kashmir, while the Line of Actual Control is the boundary with China. Keeping these four apart avoids most confusion in map-based questions.

POK is one of the most sensitive issues in South Asia, with real administrative structures, a distinct economy and millions of residents between two national claims. Knowing the terminology and the geography makes news from the region easier to follow.

POK Full Form: Common Questions