Pakistan, July 20 -- The historic road from Srinagar to Rawalpindi is more than a strategic route. The rivers flowing from Kashmir are much more than water. These are the living arteries of a civilisational, economic, geographic, and emotional bond that led Quaid-e-Azam to describe Kashmir as Pakistan's 'jugular vein.' The depth of the political, cultural, and emotional bond made 19 July 1947 a defining moment in history, remembered as Youm-e-Ilhaq-e-Pakistan (Day of Accession to Pakistan). For nearly eight decades, this historic resolution endures. It symbolises a political aspiration and civilisational affinity that coercion could neither suppress nor erase.

On this day, 82 years ago, military deployments and diplomatic deadlocks came ...