Since its independence, 72 years ago, the dispute over the mountainous region, poisoned the relationship between India and Pakistan. An Overview of the interlocked positions and important events in a period of conflict.
Like so many conflicts in this world, the dispute over Kashmir, with the independence from the colonial began powers. In 1947, great Britain bowed to the pressure of the non-violent independence movement of Mahatma Gandhi and the Muslim League, and gave up its colony of British India. The retreating British, leaving two States: the secular Indian Union and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
The princely state of Jammu and Kashmir in the Northern border area of the two new States with the division of the former colony faced with a Problem: Traditionally, a Hindu Maharajah ruled, the population was majority Muslim. Maharaja Hari Singh hoped to be able to be field independent, explain, and hesitated, therefore, the affiliation to one of the two new States. However, the specific constellation in the Kaschmirtal was for both countries of interest: India sees itself today as a secular Nation where several religions live together, therefore, the only province with a Muslim majority is a important component. Pakistan in mind, however, as a state of all Muslims in South Asia – the state’s founder, Mohammed Ali Jinnah, drew the image of a Muslim and a Hindu Nation on the subcontinent (until 1971 was also one of the East of India location Bangladesh to Pakistan).
The Kashmir Wars
While the Maharaja hesitated, tried Pakistani irregulars in 1947, to establish the facts and to bring the Principality of Kashmir under their control. Hari Singh of India called for help, and a short time later, the troops of both sides faced each other. The first Kashmir war ended on may 1. January 1949 with a de-facto division of the princely state, along the “Line of Control”, the current unofficial boundary line. The UN sent at that time a mission of observers, which is up to today. Pakistan controlled since 1949, the Northern special province of Gilgit-Baltistan and the Crescent-shaped part of the region of Azad Kashmir, the Indian part was in 1957 in the state of Jammu and Kashmir.
The following decades were characterized by two-sided Upgrade. India began the development of a nuclear bomb, Pakistan launched a veritable nuclear program, to the all-powerful neighbours to stand up for ourselves. Today, India and Pakistan estimated to be around 140 or 150 nuclear warheads. India has excluded, in contrast to Pakistan, the first strokes already explicitly. In terms of economic performance, Pakistan’s expenditures are for the nuclear program is very high and is intended to serve, the military is not behind the neighbours to fall back.
In 1965 Pakistan tried again, to change this border with military force, but failed because of the Indian military. In 1971, the neighbours clashed for the third Time, this time in Kashmir, but was rather a side theatre of war the struggle for independence in the 2000 kilometres away in Bangladesh. India supported the Bengali independence fighter, beating Pakistan this time. Subsequently, both countries, in 1972, signed the Shimla agreement, in which they strengthened the meaning of the “Line of Control”, and for bilateral negotiations, dispense, in which the claims on the Kashmir Region should be clarified once and for all.
From 1984, there were new battles around the of India occupied Siachen glacier and in 1999, both sides fought to a military post on the Indian side of the “Line of Control”. In 2003, India and Pakistan concluded a new truce, however, since 2016, and become brittle.
Soldiers in control of in April 2018, the city of Srinagar in the Indian part of Kashmir
The third neighbor
Also the third residents, the people’s Republic of China, plays a role in this conflict. They captured in 1962, a Kashmir territory of India and concluded an Alliance with Pakistan. The newly-built Karakoram Highway that connects Pakistan on the Western Kashmir-a territory with China, drive both countries to trade. The corridor is to be expanded in the Wake of the Chinese expansion policy under Xi Jinping: The former gravel road will be expanded to a year-round navigable multi-lane asphalt road. China invests US $ 57 billion in Pakistani infrastructure and energy projects, as much as in any other South Asian country. The economic Alliance with the powerful neighbor, cemented Pakistan’s claims to the Himalayan foothills.
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Insurgents and attacks
The governments of the bordering States are not the only parties to the conflict in Kashmir. On both sides of the “Line of Control” at least since the 1980s, the militant groups that want to break the Status Quo with violence. You make the security situation is becoming increasingly complicated. In the case of terrorist attacks, have been killed in the past 30 years, at least 45,000 people. The total number of dead in the conflict, according to human rights organizations in the case of at least 70,000.
Pro-Pakistan insurgency groups often have an Islamist Background. India accuses Pakistan’s covert support to militant groups such as Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) or Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). At times it was feared that the IS-militia sets in Kashmir. Lashkar-e-Taiba to be, among other things, for the terrorist attack in Mumbai in November 2008. To the recent attacks in February 2019, the JeM is known, which was tied up in their early days, in turn, closely associated with Al-Qaeda. India makes JeM for the attack on the Parliament in New Delhi in 2001, with 14 deaths.
In the Pakistani port city of Lahore to celebrate people shooting down of two Indian military aircraft
Since a car bomb attack by the JeM on may 14. February, were killed in Srinagar, a minimum of 40 Indian security forces, has escalated the conflict again. India retaliatory attacks in Pakistan, flew part of Kashmir, to which, in turn, Pakistan shot down two Indian fighter aircraft and one of the pilots took into custody. The deepening falls in the midst of the Indian election campaign: this spring, a new Parliament is elected. The hindu-nationalist BJP of Prime Minister Narendra modi drove a hard line in the Kashmir conflict. Pakistan Prime Imran Khan had already called for moderation. If the BJP adopts in the melee his latest offer of talks remains to be seen.