India and Pakistan: The Turbulent History of Division and Conflict

India and Pakistan, nuclear-armed foes with a history of mutual accusations, often claim that the other supports groups aimed at undermining their stability, particularly within the disputed territory of Kashmir, which both nations partially control in the Himalayas.

Delhi frequently accuses Islamabad of supporting militants in Kashmir, where an uprising against Indian troops has been ongoing since 1989.

Islamabad refutes supporting the insurgents, stating it only endorses the struggle of majority-Muslim Kashmir for self-determination.

The murder of 26 individuals in Indian-administered Kashmir on Tuesday marked a significant intensification of hostilities -- aimed at both civilians and the region’s crucial tourism sector -- representing a departure from the usual minor skirmishes between insurgents and armed forces.

On Wednesday, India implemented several diplomatic actions against Islamabad, such as closing major border crossings and halting a water-sharing agreement.

Pakistan subsequently called for a session of its National Security Committee, which is convened exclusively when facing an external threat or significant assault.

These are significant occurrences during their tumultuous relationship.

- 1947: Division and conflict

On August 15, 1947, two hundred years of British rule come to an end, resulting in the division of the subcontinent primarily between predominantly Hindu India and Muslim-majority Pakistan.

The inadequately planned partition triggers violence resulting in potentially over a million deaths and displacement of 15 million individuals.

Kashmir's ruler wavers between accepting governance under India or Pakistan.

However, following the quelling of the rebellion against his authority, militants backed by Pakistan launch assaults. In response, he requests assistance from India, which leads to a full-scale conflict between the two nations.

In January 1949, a truce monitored by the UN established a 770-kilometer (478-mile) division in Kashmir, referred to as the Line of Control.

- 1965-71: Wars in Kashmir and Bangladesh

In August 1965, Pakistan initiates a second conflict by invading Kashmir.

The clash concludes seven weeks later following a truce facilitated by the Soviet Union, with thousands of troops deceased on either side.

Pakistan deploys troops at the start of 1971 to suppress a growing independence movement in what is now Bangladesh, which it had governed since 1947.

An estimated three million people are killed in the nine-month conflict and millions more flee into India.

India invades Bangladesh, forcing Pakistan's surrender in 1971.

- 1989-90: Uprising in Kashmir

A rebellion erupts in Kashmir in 1989 when deep-seated complaints about Indian governance finally overflow.

Over the subsequent year, Hindus and other minority groups leave the area due to targeted killings, attacks, and threats perpetrated by insurgent combatants.

In the subsequent decades, tens of thousands of troops, insurgents, and non-combatants lose their lives in confrontations between military units and armed groups.

India charges Pakistan with financing the insurgents and assisting in their weapon training.

- 1998-99: Nuclear arms and the Kargil dispute

In 1998, Pakistan carries out its initial publicly acknowledged nuclear weapon tests, after India had done so for the first time in 1974.

Militants supported by Pakistan entered Indian-controlled Kashmir in 1999, capturing military outposts in the frigid Kargil mountain region.

Raja Mohammad Zafarul Haq, a prominent figure within Pakistan's governing party, asserts that the nation will not hesitate to use nuclear weapons as a safeguard for its security when needed.

Pakistan gives in under intense pressure from Washington, which was spurred by intelligence indicating that Islamabad had moved portions of its nuclear weapons closer to the battlefield.

At the time, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif attributes the outbreak of the conflict, which resulted in at least 1,000 deaths within a span of ten weeks, to Army Chief Pervez Musharraf acting independently without informing him. Months afterward, Musharraf stages a coup that leads to Sharif being ousted from power.

- 2008-Present: The Mumbai Attacks and Modi

In 2008, Islamist militants assaulted Mumbai's financial center, resulting in the deaths of 166 individuals.

India accuses Pakistan's intelligence agency of being behind the attack and halts peace negotiations. Diplomatic contacts restart in 2011, yet the scenario remains disrupted by intermittent clashes.

In 2015, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi unexpectedly visits Pakistan, yet this diplomatic warming period proves brief.

A 2019 suicide attack kills 41 Indian paramilitary troops in Kashmir and prompts Modi to order airstrikes inside Pakistan.

The resulting stand-off between the two nations is swiftly defused and Modi is re-elected months later, partly on a wave of nationalist fervour spurred by the military response.

Subsequently, Modi's administration revokes Kashmir's limited self-governance, a swift move that was followed by widespread detainments and an extended period of internet shutdowns and restricted communication.

In 2021, both nations reaffirm a 2003 ceasefire, but Pakistan insists that peace talks can resume only if India reinstates Kashmir's pre-2019 autonomous status.

bur-sai/pjm/fox