Since Imran Khan was ousted as prime minister of Pakistan on April 9, the future of the long disputed and war-torn Kashmir region, on the borders of India and Pakistan, is at the forefront of many minds.
Khan had made little headway in resolving the Kashmir conflict, despite his ambition to do so. Under the partition plan provided by the Indian Independence Act in 1947, Kashmir was given the right to accede to either India or Pakistan. The region has been a source of tension between India and Pakistan since even before both countries became independent in 1947.
Significantly, Pakistan’s newly-appointed prime minister Shehbaz Sharif raised Kashmir in his first speech and urged India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, to join him in addressing this issue. Sharif said that a peaceful settlement was “indispensable”.
