An old thread, but very interesting information.
It is not that simple.
Kashmir was always the target even before partition and thats why gurdaspur was given to hindus after Hindu Hari Singh asked mountbatten to give him a route to india. This correspondence has been made public by some researchers.
Some correspondence also indicates, mountbatten and hindus wanted to give away an unworkable Pakistan that will ultimately fail and request union with india on hindu terms.
Another aspect, may be the mistake was made when we refused mountbatten's offer of being Governor General of Pakistan and india for only six months. He did say Pakistan is a weaker party and Pakistan will lose a lot if it rejected the offer. May be that was a mistake. He took it personally. Ian Stephen, a correspondent of statesman, also said Mountbatten became so pro hindu that he started to hate Pakistan and Jinnah and personally directed military movements in Kashmir. Even Gen gracey was surprised to find that out.
Its true Pakistan had a very weak and chaotic leadership. Princely states like Kalat caused problems. Afghanistan was also causing serious problems via ghaffar khan coupled with refugees being deliberately sent and killed. British Army commanders not following Quaid's orders. Quaid then I guess had only one option. Force.
