Latest news with #KashmirRegion
NHK
21 hours ago
- Politics
- NHK
An uneasy peace in Kashmir, one month on
It's been a month since India and Pakistan came to the brink of war. Their latest clash centered on Kashmir. A ceasefire is in place, but calm is elusive for people in the disputed region as tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbors remain high. The Indian military fired missiles at the Pakistani side on May 7 after a deadly attack on tourists in India-administered Kashmir in April. Islamabad denies involvement. The situation quickly escalated into a tit-for-tat exchange of missiles and drones. The two sides declared a truce, but India says it's only temporary. India-controlled Kashmir used to be bustling with tourists. Not anymore. Tariq Ghani, secretary general of Jammu and Kashmir Hoteliers Club, says bookings are "about 10 to 15 percent" of the level before the confrontation. He thinks the tensions will hurt the local economy. Meanwhile, people in the Pakistan-controlled region of Kashmir worry India may resume its offensive. Shaukat Hussain Mughal's home was destroyed in an Indian attack. He's prepared water, medicine and other necessities in case he has to evacuate to a shelter. His family has already fled. "My life has completely changed," Hussain says. "I'm always feeling fearful." Last month's hostilities left more than 50 civilians dead across both sides.
BBC News
15-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Line of Control: How India and Pakistan share one of the world's most dangerous borders
To live along the Line of Control (LoC) - the volatile de facto border that separates India and Pakistan - is to exist perpetually on the razor's edge between fragile peace and open recent escalation after the Pahalgam attack brought India and Pakistan to the brink once again. Shells rained down on both sides of the LoC, turning homes to rubble and lives into statistics. At least 16 people were reportedly killed on the Indian side, while Pakistan claims 40 civilian deaths, though it remains unclear how many were directly caused by the shelling."Families on the LoC are subjected to Indian and Pakistani whims and face the brunt of heated tensions," Anam Zakaria, a Pakistani writer based in Canada, told the BBC."Each time firing resumes many are thrust into bunkers, livestock and livelihood is lost, infrastructure - homes, hospitals, schools - is damaged. The vulnerability and volatility experienced has grave repercussions for their everyday lived reality," Ms Zakaria, author of a book on Pakistan-administered Kashmir, and Pakistan share a 3,323km (2,064-mile) border, including the 740km-long LoC; and the International Border (IB), spanning roughly 2,400km. The LoC began as the Ceasefire Line in 1949 after the first India-Pakistan war, and was renamed under the 1972 Simla Agreement. The LoC cutting through Kashmir - claimed in full and administered in parts by both India and Pakistan - remains one of the most militarised borders in the world. Conflict is never far behind and ceasefires are only as durable as the next provocation. Ceasefire violations here can range from "low-level firing to major land grabbing to surgical strikes", says Happymon Jacob, a foreign policy expert at Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). (A land grab could involve seizing key positions such as hilltops, outposts, or buffer zones by force.)The LoC, many experts say, is a classic example of a "border drawn in blood, forged through conflict". It is also a line, as Ms Zakaria says, "carved by India and Pakistan, and militarised and weaponised, without taking Kashmiris into account". Such wartime borders aren't unique to South Asia. Sumantra Bose, a professor of international and comparative politics at the London School of Economics, says the most well-known is the 'Green Line' - the ceasefire line of 1949 - which is the generally recognised boundary between Israel and the West Bank. Not surprisingly, the tentative calm along the LoC that had endured since the 2021 ceasefire agreement between the two nuclear-armed neighbours crumbled easily after the latest hostilities."The current escalation on the LoC and International Border (IB) is significant as it follows a four-year period of relative peace on the border," Surya Valliappan Krishna of Carnegie India told the along the India-Pakistan border is not new - prior to the 2003 ceasefire, India reported 4,134 violations in 2001 and 5,767 in 2003 ceasefire initially held, with negligible violations from 2004 to 2007, but tensions resurfaced in 2008 and escalated sharply by 2013 and early 2021, the LoC and the IB witnessed sustained high levels of conflict. A renewed ceasefire in February 2021 led to an immediate and sustained drop in violations through to March 2025. "During periods of intense cross-border firing we've seen border populations in the many thousands be displaced for months on end," says Mr Krishna. Between late September and early December 2016, more than 27,000 people were displaced from border areas due to ceasefire violations and cross-border firing. It's looking increasingly hairy and uncertain flared after the Pahalgam attack, with India suspending the key water-sharing treaty between India and Pakistan, known as the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT). Pakistan responded by threatening to exit the 1972 Simla Agreement, which formalised the LoC - though it hasn't followed through yet."This is significant because the Simla Agreement is the basis of the current LoC, which both sides agreed to not alter unilaterally in spite of their political differences," says Mr Jacob says for some "curious reason", ceasefire violations along the LoC have been absent from discussions and debates about escalation of conflict between the two countries."It is itself puzzling how the regular use of high-calibre weapons such as 105mm mortars, 130 and 155mm artillery guns and anti-tank guided missiles by two nuclear-capable countries, which has led to civilian and military casualties, has escaped scholarly scrutiny and policy attention," Mr Jacob writes in his book, Line On Fire: Ceasefire Violations and India-Pakistan Escalation Jacob identifies two main triggers for the violations: Pakistan often uses cover fire to facilitate militant infiltration into Indian-administered Kashmir, which has witnessed an armed insurgency against Indian rule for over three decades. Pakistan, in turn, accuses India of unprovoked firing on civilian argues that ceasefire violations along the India-Pakistan border are less the product of high-level political strategy and more the result of local military dynamics. The hostilities are often initiated by field commanders - sometimes with, but often without, central approval. He also challenges the notion that the Pakistan Army alone drives the violations, pointing instead to a complex mix of local military imperatives and autonomy granted to border forces on both experts believe It's time to revisit an idea shelved nearly two decades ago: turning the LoC into a formal, internationally recognised border. Others insist that possibility was never realistic - and still isn't. "The idea is completely infeasible, a dead end. For decades, Indian maps have shown the entire territory of the erstwhile princely state of Jammu and Kashmir as part of India," Sumantra Bose told the BBC."For Pakistan, making the LoC part of the International Border would mean settling the Kashmir dispute - which is Pakistan's equivalent of the Holy Grail - on India's preferred terms. Every Pakistani government and leader, civilian or military, over the past seven decades has rejected this."In his 2003 book, Kashmir: Roots of Conflict, Paths to Peace, Prof Bose writes: "A Kashmir settlement necessitates that the LoC be transformed - from an iron curtain of barbed wire, bunkers, trenches and hostile militaries to a linen curtain. Realpolitik dictates that the border will be permanent (albeit probably under a different name), but it must be transcended without being abolished." "I stressed, though, that such a transformation of the LoC must be embedded in a broader Kashmir settlement, as one pillar of a multi-pillared settlement," he told the 2004 and 2007, turning the LoC into a soft border was central to a fledgling India-Pakistan peace process on Kashmir - a process that ultimately fell the border has reignited, bringing back the cycle of violence and uncertainty for those who live in its shadow."You never know what will happen next. No one wants to sleep facing the Line of Control tonight," an employee of a hotel in Pakistan-administered Kashmir told BBC Urdu during the recent was a quiet reminder of how fragile peace is when your window opens to a battlefield.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Kashmir: India and Pakistan's conflict explained
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. India launched missiles into Pakistan on Wednesday in an escalation of tensions after militants opened fire on tourists in the disputed Kashmir region last month. The attack took place in the Indian-administered part of the region and the 26 victims were mostly Indian tourists. Though Pakistan denies responsibility, the Indian defence ministry said its "Operation Sindoor" hit targeted sites within Pakistani territory used by the perpetrators – a group known as Kashmir Resistance. Control over Kashmir is split mainly between India and Pakistan. India controls a little over half of the region, while roughly a third is administered by Pakistan. China controls the remaining 15% – the desolate northeastern region of Aksai Chin, through which it built a strategically valuable road in the late 1950s connecting Xinjiang with the recently annexed Tibet in the south. Kashmir is hotly disputed and has been since the partition of British India in 1947, with the first armed conflict between Pakistan and India taking place that year. Delhi and Islamabad claim rightful ownership over the entirety of Kashmir to this day, and tensions between the two nuclear states have increased in the last decade. In 1947, Britain's former Indian colony was split into two independent states: Pakistan, a predominantly Muslim nation, and India, which is majority Hindu. The then ruler of Kashmir, Maharaja Hari Singh, ceded control to India in exchange for security guarantees. But the region was then attacked by militants from Pakistan, sparking the First Kashmir War. That conflict, also known as the Indo-Pakistani War, lasted two years before the United Nations stepped in to negotiate a ceasefire. This resulted in a de facto division of Kashmir between India and Pakistan, called the Line of Control. The line was meant as a stopgap, "pending a more permanent political settlement", said The New York Times. With no long-standing political resolution, there have been two further wars over the region. The second Kashmir war took place in 1965, sparked by a covert operation by the Pakistani military into Indian Kashmir. The conflict was brutal but lasted only a few weeks, with the US and Soviet Union helping to broker a ceasefire. The most recent official conflict took place in 1999, though insurgencies and attacks had been a common feature in Kashmir in the intervening period. The Kargil War again began after Pakistani forces infiltrated Indian Kashmir. Although it was a short war – with India ultimately regaining control of the area – it was fierce, resulting in hundreds of casualties for both nations. India and Pakistan also went to war in 1971 over the independence of Bangladesh, a conflict that led to talks aimed at improving relations between the two powers. One upshot of those talks was that the Line of Control in Kashmir was made permanent. Although there have been no further wars in Kashmir since 1999, the area has been blighted by small-scale insurgencies and terror attacks. In 2019, Delhi stripped Kashmir of its semi-autonomous status, as part of a wider security clampdown that attracted criticism from human rights groups. The Pakistan-controlled area, called Azad Kashmir, is officially self-governing but economically and administratively dependent on Pakistan. The recent strikes by India represent the "most significant military actions in recent years", said India Today. Islamabad has called the attacks a "blatant act of war", leaving the prospect of further conflict in Kashmir on a knife-edge.
ABC News
11-05-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
India-Pakistan ceasefire appears to hold after early claims of violations
A ceasefire between India and Pakistan appears to be holding after both nations blamed the other for initial violations of an agreed-upon truce, as United States President Donald Trump vowed to help the arch-rivals find a solution on the disputed Kashmir region. The ceasefire took effect on Saturday and followed four days of intense fighting between the nuclear-armed neighbours. In the worst fighting since India and Pakistan's last open conflict in 1999, the countries fired missiles and drones at each other's military installations, killing almost 70 people. Diplomacy and pressure from the US helped secure the ceasefire deal, but within hours of its coming into force, artillery fire was witnessed in Indian-administered Kashmir — the centre of much of last week's fighting. Blasts from air-defence systems boomed in cities near the border under a blackout, similar to those heard during the previous two evenings, according to local authorities, residents and Reuters witnesses. Late on Saturday, India said Pakistan had violated the ceasefire, while Pakistan said it was committed to the agreement and blamed India for the violations. The fighting and explosions died down by dawn, according to Reuters witnesses, and power was restored in most border areas in India after a blackout on Saturday night. India's army chief on Sunday then granted "full authority" to army commanders for "counteraction in the kinetic domain" to any violation of the "understanding" between the countries, the army said in a statement. President Trump praised the leaders of both countries for agreeing to halt the aggression and said he would "substantially" increase trade with them. "I will work with you both to see if … a solution can be arrived at concerning Kashmir," he said in a post on his Truth Social platform. Shortly after, India's foreign secretary said New Delhi had retaliated after Pakistan's "repeated violations" of the truce. Pakistan said it "remains committed" to the ceasefire and that its forces were handling violations by India with "responsibility and restraint". Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan each rule a part of Kashmir but claim it in full, and have twice gone to war over the Himalayan region. India blames Pakistan for an insurgency in its part of the territory, but Pakistan says it provides only moral, political and diplomatic support to Kashmiri separatists. Pakistan's Foreign Ministry welcomed Mr Trump's statement and added that "any just and lasting settlement of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute … must ensure the realisation of the fundamental rights of the Kashmiri people, including their inalienable right to self-determination". Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said in a post on X that he was "extremely grateful" to Mr Trump for his "most valuable offer to play a greater role in bringing lasting peace to South Asia". Among those most affected by the fighting were residents in border areas on either side, many of whom fled their homes when the fighting began on Wednesday, two weeks after a deadly attack in Indian Kashmir's Pahalgam that India said was backed by Islamabad. Pakistan denied the accusation. In the Indian border city of Amritsar, home to the Golden Temple revered by Sikhs, people returned to the streets on Sunday after a siren sounded to signal a return to normal activities following the tension of recent days. "Ever since the terrorists attacked people in Pahalgam, we have been shutting our shops very early and there was an uncertainty," Satvir Singh Alhuwalia, 48, a shopkeeper in the city, said. "I am happy that at least there will be no bloodshed on both sides." In some border areas, however, people were asked not to return home just yet. In the Indian Kashmir city of Baramulla, authorities warned residents to stay away due to the threat posed by unexploded munitions. "People here are hosting us well but just as a bird feels at peace in its own nest, we also feel comfortable only in our own homes, even if they have been damaged," said Azam Chaudhry, 55, who fled his home in the Pakistani town of Khuiratta and has now been told to wait until Monday before returning. In Indian Kashmir's Uri, a key power plant that was damaged in a Pakistani drone attack is still under repair. "The project has suffered minor damage … We have stopped generation as the transmission line has been damaged," an unidentified official from state-run NHPC, India's biggest hydropower company, said. Even with the ceasefire in effect, the Indian Air Force said in a midday post on X that operations were ongoing. The air force's description of operations in such situations includes active monitoring, assessment and state of readiness. Pakistani officials said there had been some firing in Pakistani Kashmir's Bhimber overnight but nowhere else, and that there were no casualties. AFP/Reuters
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
India and Pakistan ceasefire shaken by border fighting in disputed Kashmir
A ceasefire to end the conflict between India and Pakistan was shaken by overnight border fighting in the disputed Kashmir region. People on both sides of the line of control, which divides the territory, reported heavy exchanges of fire between Indian and Pakistani troops, though the fighting subsided by Sunday morning. The two countries agreed to a truce on Saturday after talks to defuse the most serious military confrontation between them in decades, which was sparked by a gun massacre of tourists that India blames on Pakistan, which denies the charge. As part of the ceasefire, the nuclear-armed neighbours agreed to immediately stop all firing and military action on land, in the air and at sea. They accused each other of repeatedly violating the deal just hours later. Drones were spotted on Saturday night over Indian-controlled Kashmir and the western state of Gujarat, according to Indian officials. In the Poonch area of Indian-controlled Kashmir, people said the intense shelling from the past few days had left them traumatised. 'Most people ran as shells were being fired,' said student Sosan Zehra, who returned home on Sunday. 'It was completely chaotic.' In Pakistan-controlled Kashmir's Neelum Valley, which is three kilometres from the line of control, people said there were exchanges of fire and heavy shelling after the ceasefire began. Resident Mohammad Zahid said: 'We were happy about the announcement but, once again, the situation feels uncertain.' US President Donald Trump was the first to post about the deal, announcing it on his Truth Social platform. Indian and Pakistani officials confirmed the news shortly after. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a high-level meeting on Sunday with top government and military officials. India, unlike Pakistan, has not said anything about Mr Trump or the US since the deal was announced. Nor has India acknowledged anyone beyond its military contact with the Pakistanis. Both armies have engaged in daily fighting since Wednesday along the rugged and mountainous line of control, which is marked by razor wire coils, watchtowers and bunkers that snake across foothills populated by villages, tangled bushes and forests. They have routinely blamed the other for starting the skirmishes while insisting they were only retaliating. India and Pakistan's two top military officials are due to speak again on Monday.
