There has been an increased international focus on the Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) in the recent years, especially after the October 2005 earthquake. A spectrum of credible international reports have appeared since then highlighting the plight of people inside PoK, which includes what Pakistan, calls as “Azad Jammu and Kashmir” and “Northern Areas”. The International Crisis Group (ICG), an independent research organizations based in Brussels, published a report titled Discord in Pakistan’s Northern Areas in March 2007. Earlier in 2006, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) published a report titled “With Friends Like These...” Human Rights Violations in Azad Kashmir. Again in 2006, Baroness Emma Nicholson authored a report titled Kashmir –Present Situation and Future Prospects; the draft report was
submitted to the European Union Parliament, which passed the same in May 2007, with an overwhelming majority.