India-Pakistan conflict
What caused the partition of British India?
Why is Kashmir a major point of dispute between India and Pakistan?
How many wars have India and Pakistan fought since independence?
In August 1947 the Indian Independence Movement culminated in the end of British rule over the Indian subcontinent. However, the ecstasy of freedom was attended by the agony of partition, in which India and Pakistan were created as separate countries. The partition was engineered by Lord Mountbatten as a solution to rising Hindu-Muslim tensions. Although it allowed Muslims to exert self-determination, the partition gave birth to decades of bitter territorial disputes, brutal wars, and immense human suffering. The geographical division was further complicated by the distance of West Pakistan, created from the northwestern portion of the subcontinent, from East Pakistan, created by splitting the eastern region of Bengal—two halves separated by about 1,000 miles (1,600 km) of Indian territory. More than 75 years later, the complex and tumultuous equation between India and Pakistan continues to shape their political, economic, and cultural relations.
In April 2025 fresh tensions erupted between the countries after more than two dozen people were killed in a terror attack near the resort town of Pahalgam in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Both India and Pakistan said they would suspend existing bilateral agreements. India, which accused Pakistan of supporting insurgents in Kashmir (a charge that Pakistan denied), launched a series of missile strikes on multiple targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir on May 7, describing the strikes as retaliation for the terror attack. This led to a state of escalation in both countries, in which they exchanged fire and traded accusations. On May 10, after a retaliatory operation by Pakistan, a ceasefire was announced. However, the status of suspended bilateral agreements remained unresolved.
These events are just the latest chapter in the history of India-Pakistan relations. To understand this complex conflict, it is crucial to explore the driving forces behind the turbulence in the Kashmir region and the strained relationship between India and Pakistan.
The origin of the India-Pakistan conflict
A blood-soaked beginning: Muslim separatism began to develop in the 1930s, stemming from the Indian National Congress’s demand for independence. Calls for a Muslim homeland coalesced into the creation of Pakistan as a separate country for Muslims in 1947. A hastily drawn boundary, known as the Radcliffe Line, delineated Indian territory from Pakistani territory. An unprecedented transfer of population followed, accompanied by devastating communal violence that caused an estimated 200,000 to 2,000,000 deaths.
The Kashmir issue: In 1947 the Indian subcontinent consisted of territory directly administered by the British raj and more than 500 princely states, which were nominally autonomous principalities that had accepted British suzerainty. All states eventually integrated into either India or Pakistan, although some initially attempted to remain independent. One of these was the Muslim-majority region of Kashmir, which was ruled by a Hindu king, Hari Singh. However, when Pashtun tribesmen from Pakistan invaded the region, Hari Singh signed the Instrument of Accession to the Indian union in return for military assistance. This was the core of the conflict between India, which intended to confirm the act of accession, and Pakistan, which considered the Kashmir region to be a natural extension of Pakistan.
Wars fought by India and Pakistan
1947 India-Pakistan War: The first of four wars between India and Pakistan was triggered by Hari Singh’s accession to India following the tribal insurgency in the Kashmir region. Fighting ended in 1948, but the conflict formally ended with a United Nations–brokered ceasefire in 1949. India and Pakistan have administered separate portions of Kashmir ever since (China has administered a portion of the northeastern part of the region since the Sino-Indian War of 1962).
1965 India-Pakistan War: This was the second war fought over Kashmir. Large-scale fighting began when Pakistani troops infiltrated Indian-administered Kashmir as part of Operation Gibraltar. India responded by launching major offensives along the border with Pakistan. The war formally ended when Indian Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri and Pakistani Pres. Mohammad Ayub Khan signed the Tashkent Declaration in January 1966.
1971 India-Pakistan War: This war was rooted in the Bangladeshi liberation movement, which opposed West Pakistani rule in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). As a Pakistani military crackdown in East Pakistan produced widespread violence, India supported Bangladeshi nationalist efforts, covertly at first. After an influx of refugees from East Pakistan to India, tensions escalated and war broke out between India and Pakistan. The war led to the creation of Bangladesh as a separate country.
Kargil War (1999): This war started when Pakistani troops infiltrated and occupied strategic areas in the Kargil district in India-administered Kashmir.
The nuclear dimension
India conducted its first nuclear test in 1974 near Pokhran in the Thar desert, Rajasthan. Pakistan also accelerated its nuclear program in the 1970s. Both countries held nuclear tests in 1998.
The risks heightened when the two neighbors became nuclear powers, elevating the territorial conflict into a complex foreign policy concern for the rest of the world.
Other key agreements
India and Pakistan have periodically attempted to maintain friendly relations:
Wagah-Attari Border: The border between the Pakistani village of Wagah and the Indian village of Attari serves as a crossover point between the countries. Since 1959 it has been the site of a daily Beating Retreat ceremony, in which border guards—from India’s Border Security Force and the Pakistan Rangers—participate in a coordinated display of aggressive theatrics that conclude with the lowering of flags and the slamming of gates on either side of the border.
Indus Waters Treaty (1960): India and Pakistan signed the treaty, which was brokered by the World Bank, to share the waters of the Indus River system. The treaty gave control of the waters of the western rivers—the Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab—to Pakistan and those of the eastern rivers—the Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej—to India.
Simla Agreement (1972): India and Pakistan signed this treaty after the war of 1971 to resolve the border dispute and other issues peacefully. The ceasefire line in Kashmir was formalized as the line of control.
Lahore Declaration (1999): This declaration was signed after India and Pakistan conducted nuclear tests in 1998. It aimed to minimize nuclear risks and improve relations.
Agra Summit (2001): Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Pakistani Pres. Pervez Musharraf met at Agra in an effort to improve relations. The talks ended with no concrete outcome largely because of differences over Kashmir and cross-border terrorism.
How militancy and terrorism have shaped the conflict
The rise of militancy in Kashmir during the late 1980s further complicated the conflict between India and Pakistan. Local groups with separatist agendas allegedly enjoy a level of support from Pakistan and continue to shape the rivalry. Civilians have been increasingly targeted by these groups. The persecution of Kashmiri Pandits—Hindu residents native to the Kashmir valley—by such groups led to their mass exodus from the region in 1990. Some key militant organizations involved in the conflict are:
Lashkar-e-Taiba: A Pakistani Islamist group, led by Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, designated as a terrorist organization by the United Nations, India, and other countries, including the United States. The group is believed to be linked to multiple terror attacks on Indian soil, such as the bombings on local trains in Mumbai on July 11, 2006, and the 2008 attacks on several landmark buildings in Mumbai.
Jaish-e-Mohammed: A Pakistani Islamist group listed as a terrorist organization by the United Nations, India and other countries, including the United States. The group is believed to be connected to several terror attacks in India, such as the 2001 attack on the Indian Parliament and the 2019 suicide bombing in Pulwama, Jammu and Kashmir.
Hizb ul-Mujahideen: A separatist group that was particularly active in the 1990s and played a pivotal role in the expulsion of Kashmiri Pandits from the region. The group has also been linked to a 2016 attack on an Indian Air Force base in Pathankot.
Key figures in the conflict
Here is a list of key figures in the conflict:
Narendra Modi: The prime minister of India (2014− )
Shehbaz Sharif: The prime minister of Pakistan (2022–23; 2024– )
Asim Munir: Pakistan’s chief of Army Staff
Jawaharlal Nehru: India’s first prime minister; oversaw Kashmir’s accession in 1947 and the first India-Pakistan war
Mohammed Ali Jinnah: The founder and first governor-general (1947–48) of Pakistan
Indira Gandhi: Prime minister of India (1966–77 and 1980–84) during the 1971 India-Pakistan War; signed the Simla Agreement in 1972
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto: President (1971–73) of Pakistan; signed the Simla Agreement in 1972
Atal Bihari Vajpayee: Indian prime minister (May 16–June 1, 1996; 1998–99; 1999–2004) during the Kargil War in 1999 and the Agra Summit (2001)
Nawaz Sharif: Pakistani prime minister (1990–93, 1997–99, and 2013–17) during the Kargil War in 1999
Pervez Musharraf: Pakistan’s army chief during the Kargil War (1999) and president of Pakistan during the Agra Summit (2001)