A U.S. State department travel advisory issued on February 13 has drawn attention here as it described Pakistan Occupied Kashmir as ‘Azad Kashmir’. This indicated a change in the U.S. terminology as PoK is usually described in U.S. official declarations as Pakistan Administered Kashmir.
The travel advisory refers to increased risk of terrorism in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) province of Pakistan and informs that there is risk of ‘terrorism and the potential for armed conflict” in PoK. Though the advisory was issued hours before the attack in Pulwama, it indicates that the U.S. had been aware of worsening security scenario in South Asia.
KPK has been witnessing protests due to ongoing agitation by Pashtun groups who are demanding political rights from Islamabad.
