Article 257 is the Constitution’s promise about Kashmir — short, conditional, and central to Pakistan’s legal position. Here is what it says and means.
Quick answer: Article 257 provides that when the people of the State of Jammu and Kashmir decide to accede to Pakistan, their relationship with Pakistan shall be determined in accordance with their wishes.
In this guide
The constitutional text (summary)
Article 257 — titled “Provision relating to the State of Jammu and Kashmir” — states that when the people of Jammu and Kashmir decide to accede to Pakistan, the relationship between Pakistan and that State shall be determined in accordance with the wishes of the people of that State. It is a single-article chapter, and one of the shortest substantive provisions in the Constitution.
What it means
The article makes Pakistan’s constitutional claim conditional on the Kashmiris’ own decision — the domestic-law counterpart of Pakistan’s international demand for a plebiscite under UN resolutions. It deliberately leaves the form of the future relationship open: accession could mean various constitutional arrangements, to be settled by the people’s wishes at the time.
Status today
The condition the article sets — a free decision by the Kashmiri people — has never been fulfilled, so the article remains dormant but operative: a standing constitutional commitment rather than an active administrative provision. It is routinely cited in Pakistan’s statements on Kashmir at the UN and in parliament.
Frequently asked questions
What is Article 257 of the Pakistan Constitution?
The provision that when the people of Jammu and Kashmir decide to accede to Pakistan, the relationship shall follow their wishes — the constitutional basis of the plebiscite demand.
Does Article 257 claim Kashmir for Pakistan?
Conditionally — only upon the Kashmiri people’s own decision to accede, whenever that occurs.
