An area in southwestern Asia whose sovereignty is disputed between Pakistan and India; Also called: Cashmere.
(modern) Pakistan-occupied area, 30,445 sq mi/78,900 sq km, in the NW of the former state of Kashmir, now Jammu and Kashmir. Azad (“free”) Kashmir in the W has its own legislative assembly based in Muzaffarabad while Gilgit and Baltistan regions to the N and E are governed directly by Pakistan. The Northern Areas are claimed by India and Pakistan; ; towns and cities; Gilgit, Skardu; features; W Himalayan peak Nanga Parbat 8,126 m/26,660 ft, Karakoram Pass, Indus River, Baltoro Glacier.(former) Former part of Jammu state in the north of British India with a largely Muslim population, ruled by a Hindu maharajah, who joined it to the republic of India 1947. There was fighting between pro-India and pro-Pakistan factions, the former being the Hindu ruling class and the latter the Muslim majority, and open war between the two countries 1965–66 and 1971. It is today divided between the Pakistani area of Kashmir and the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. Since 1990 it has been riven by Muslim separatist violence, with more than 150,000 Indian troops deployed in Kashmir 1993. These were criticized by human-rights groups for torture, rape, and killing. Estimates of casualties 1990–93 range from 8,000 to 20,000.
Kashmir had been under the sway of Hindu India for many centuries when Muslim rule was established by the 14th century. Mogul rule began in the 16th century but was brought to a halt by the Afghan invasion of 1753. This was followed by a period of Sikh overlordship from 1819.