The Kashmir Dispute and Perceptions of Pakistan’s Youth: An Empirical Analysis

Abstract

This study aims to highlight and understand the perceptions of Pakistan‟s educated youth about the Kashmir dispute by analysing responses taken from university students in March and April 2016. The study is not only an attempt to gauge the emotional and intellectual attachment of Pakistan‟s young generation to the Kashmir issue, it also tries to perceive the level of their understanding about the dispute, participation in terms of advocacy and their ideas related to its solution. The research also flags the difference in perceptions among youth from different regions of the country, and the level of satisfaction with government policies in highlighting the dispute nationally and internationally. The results show that majority of Pakistan‟s educated young adults consider Indian Occupied Kashmir (IoK) a part of Pakistan. While there was no majority consensus on the right approach for its resolution, like their forefathers, the youth of Pakistan remain just as firmly committed to the Kashmir cause on humanitarian, legal, political and moral grounds.