Kashmir: Should divided Kashmir become an independent country?

 

Kashmir exists as a divided territory - one chunk of Kashmir is under Pakistani administration and another chunk is under Indian administration.

Now, lets compare the geographic size of Kashmir to the geographic size of the United Kingdom.

243.620 km2 - United Kingdom 

222.236 km2 - Kashmir

Slightly smaller than the United Kingdom, Kashmir could become one country and Pakistan and India could reach an agreement to ensure stability. 

From a demographic point of view, about 12.5 million people live in the area controlled by India, while about 2.5 million people live in the area controlled by Pakistan. With about 15 million people would be more populous than many a country in the rest of the world and the inhabitats have a common language - Urdu.

Economically, Kashmir is about services and fundamentally about agriculture. So the main areas of activity are agriculture, tourism and little industrial development. If we look at other economies across the world, comparisons can be made that put Kashmir on a equal footing with many countries. So, as a country, it would be viable. A united and stable Kashmir would mean more stability for the entire Subcontinent.