Since this is an attempt to answer directly, rather than getting into the deep details of history, it has to be as succinct as possible.
Pakistan did not ‘gift’ any Kashmiri land to China. In fact, it gained 1942 sq kms (750 miles) from the Chinese, in the 1963 Sino-Pakistan boundary agreement. In fact, the Trans-Karakoram Tract, that Delhi claims- has been ‘gifted’ by Islamabad to Beijing, was not under Pakistani control that they could have vacated it and given it to China.
As much as I would want to make it less of a dry history lesson, some of it becomes imperative at times. We need to understand that China had a border dispute with British-India since the 19th century, much before Pakistan was born. In the Treaty of Amritsar in 1846, the border with China was not specified. In fact, the end of the princely state of J&K was not delineated/marked on that side. One W.H Johnson, in the 1860s, a British survey officer proposed his line showing the Trans Karakoram Tract & Aksai Chin region with British India. When the news reached Calcutta- the capital of British India, they were deeply perturbed and Johnson was rebuked and was conveyed in plain terms that his proposal was not acceptable to British-India. Authors like Christopher Snedden and Alastair Lamb say that Johnson was already unhappy with his British employers, who as per him, did not value him much. He had changed his allegiance from British to Maharaja, who had offered him employment. He had increased the area of Maharaja’s kingdom in his map, to impress him. This was proven when Maharaja appointed him as the Wazir (Governor) of Ladakh in 1872. So, this line was rejected by the British-India itself, let alone by the Chinese.
The British-India then went ahead by appointing another Britisher- Sir Claude MacDonald, whose note was even forwarded to the Chinese government on 14th March 1899 by the Indian government, saying that to peacefully agree on the borderline, and in order to avoid disputes in posterity, a clear understanding of our border, is a must. The Government of India proposed that China should relinquish her ‘shadowy claims’ on Hunza (now Gilgit-Baltistan), and the Indian government, on the other hand, would relinquish its claims to Raskam (Trans Karakoram Tract), Taghdumbash districts. This line was called MacDonald line. In yet another communique, from Indian government to China, it said, “we strongly recommend that the Chinese Government should be informed that, as they have not shown any reasons for disagreeing with the proposals placed before them in Sir Claude MacDonald’s despatch of the 14th March 1899, we shall henceforth assume Chinese concurrence and act accordingly”.
The problem arose when India in 1954 published a map claiming to hold onto the Johnson line (apparently because it increased its area) and learned in 1957 that the Chinese have built a road in the said area connecting Tibet with Sinkiang. These claims and counterclaims- wherein China honored the MacDonald line (also referred to as McCartney-MacDonald line), while India stuck to Johnson line – lead to the 1962 Sino-India war, in which India was conclusively defeated, and Aksai Chin area was completely taken by China in its control, as per MacDonald line. If we go by the logic of Maharaj having sent his troops to Aksai Chin in 1860s for some time as the basis of the claim, then his troops had also made barracks in Shahidulla/Xaidullah area of Sinkiang/Xinjiang, at one instance. Delhi should then also claim the Xinjiang province of China?
Pakistan, being a sovereign country, did not necessarily have to go by JL Nehru’s stance or interpretation of what constituted the Dogra Kashmir and what did not. It recognized the MacDonald line, cartographically not physically. That’s all it has done. It has not given any part of Kashmir or Pakistan to Beijing (In fact, it received the territory that was actually controlled by China), let alone talking about ‘gifting it’. When as per them, the area in question, was not Kashmir, where did the question of giving a slice of Kashmir arise? Despite that, in its 1963 boundary agreement with Beijing, Pakistan proposed and was successful in securing the right of Kashmiris, or/and the authority that Kashmiris will recognize, after their political dispute is settled, in Article(6) of the agreement which reads as follows:
“Article 6 The two parties have agreed that after the settlement of the Kashmir dispute between Pakistan and India, the sovereign authority concerned will reopen negotiations with the Government of the People’s Republic of China on the boundary as described in Article. Two of the present agreement, so as to sign a formal boundary treaty to replace the present agreement, provided that in the event of the sovereign authority being Pakistan, the provisions of the present agreement and of the aforesaid protocol shall be maintained in the formal boundary treaty to be signed between the People’s Republic of China and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.”
This was a massive diplomatic victory for Kashmir & Pakistan, because, the line- so sacrosanct to Beijing, for which it waged an all-out war against India in 1962, formally admitted and accepted the right of Kashmiris or the dominion Kashmiris choose for themselves, to question it, and reopen negotiations about it. There is nothing for Kashmiris to complain about. Yes, Delhi can complain since as per them neither is Kashmir disputed nor is their boundary with China. It’s so simple for them.
Although it is clear that MacDonald line prevails over Johnson line when it comes to historicity, that’s not the primary focus here. Irrespective of the boundary you feel is right, it is definitely not the way naysayers have spread the rumor to advance their shenanigans and chicanery, that one fine morning Pakistan decided to cut the Kashmir cake, and offer a slice of it to China. This infuriated me the first time I heard it, thinking ‘Who is Pakistan to gift my land to somebody?’. However, it turned out to be a myth; a lie peddled by Delhi and its lackeys in Kashmir. This is not just about politics, this is about getting the history right. Next time, somebody tells you this lie, ask him to explain the Johnson line and MacDonald line. If you don’t get an answer, then s/he is one of the victims of this rumor mill.
Now, that only British and Australian authors have been referred to, let us also quote a celebrated Indian author A.G Noorani, in the end, who said:
‘There is one statement, however, which is untrue. It concerns the Shaksgam Valley and asserts: “Area ceded by Pakistan to China”. Pakistan ceded no territory to China under their agreement of March 2, 1963. On the contrary, it received from China 750 square miles of administered territory beyond the watershed, the traditional grazing ground for people in Hunza.” AG Noorani (2012).
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