INDIA AND PAKISTAN'S HISTORY OF STRIFE

 

INDIA AND PAKISTAN'S HISTORY OF STRIFE

India announced on Wednesday that it conducted airstrikes against nine sites in Pakistan, including locations within the disputed territory of Kashmir. The strikes were in response to the killing of 26 people—most of whom were tourists—last month in Indian-administered Kashmir, which India blamed on Pakistan. Islamabad responded by stating that it was currently working on its response to the Indian missile strikes.

This latest escalation marks yet another chapter in the long-standing military tension between the two nuclear-armed neighbors. Over the years, India and Pakistan have engaged in multiple conflicts, particularly over the Kashmir region, which remains a highly sensitive and disputed territory. The history of clashes includes several wars, skirmishes, and military confrontations, underscoring the fragile and volatile nature of their relationship. 

Some of the key conflicts between India and Pakistan include the Indo-Pakistani wars of 1947, 1965, 1971, and the Kargil Conflict in 1999. These conflicts have stemmed largely from territorial disputes, ethnic and religious tensions, and broader geopolitical issues, often resulting in significant casualties and ongoing instability in the region. The recent strikes continue this tense pattern, highlighting the persistent risks of escalation between the two nuclear powers.

1947: FIRST WAR OVER KASHMIR

Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan were born in August 1947 after the British ceded colonial control of the subcontinent, and months later the two new countries were at war for control over the scenic Himalayan territory of Kashmir.

India claimed Kashmir as its then Hindu ruler acceded to Delhi, while Pakistan cited popular support from the region's Muslim majority as a basis for its claim.

Fighting raged for months, until the United Nations intervened to establish a ceasefire line in 1949, leaving both countries with control of a part of the territory. Both still claim the entire region.

1965: SECOND WAR OVER KASHMIR Still seeking control over Kashmir, Pakistani forces crossed into India's portion of the disputed region, in response to which India launched a military incursion across the boundary. The fighting spread outside Kashmir into many settled boundary areas, seeing pitched battles involving both ground and air forces, and some of the biggest tank battles in history.

1971: WAR OVER EAST PAKISTAN The neighbours fought their third war over Pakistan's eastern wing, where regional groups were seeking independence from the federal government. Thousands of people died in the conflict, which ended in India helping the region secede, creating the independent country Bangladesh.

1999: KARGIL WAR The countries faced off in the high-altitude region of Kargil after Pakistani troops infiltrated Indian-administered Kashmir. It was the first clash since both officially gained nuclear weapons capability, raising the risks of a catastrophic war. Both sides suffered hundreds of casualties before Indian forces reclaimed the territory, and international intervention stopped the fighting.

2016: URI ATTACK India said it conducted "surgical strikes" on alleged Islamist militant launchpads in Pakistani territory after gunmen stormed an Indian military base in Kashmir's Uri region. Islamabad said there had been no Indian incursion into its territory and there was no retaliation by Pakistani forces.

2019: PULWAMA ATTACK India conducted air strikes on what it said was a militant training camp near the Pakistani town of Balakot in response to a suicide car bombing in Kashmir's Pulwama area. Pakistan, which said the planes had bombed an empty hillside and not a camp, launched a retaliatory incursion into Indian airspace that led to a dogfight between the two air forces, leading to the capture of an Indian pilot. The situation cooled after he was released days later.

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