Zahra BhattiJanuary 11th, 2011

Indo-Pak Relations onthe Kashmir Issues

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Table of Contents

Brief History...................................................................................2

Whose part Kashmir should have been?..........................................2

Kashmir Conflict.............................................................................3

Blame Game .....................................................................................4

Attempts for Improved relationship...............................................5

Bitter Relations .............................................................................8

Indo-Pak Wars ..................................................................................8

Current Scenario ..........................................................................10

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Brief History

In 1947, the sub-continent that was governed by British Raj was partitioned in the name

of two nation theory; mainly Pakistan and India by the British crown, where India

became the place for Hindus and Pakistan become the Muslims country. The Partition of

India came about in the aftermath of World War II, when both Great Britain and British

India were dealing with the economic stresses caused by the war and its demobilization.

It was the intention of those who wished for a Muslim state to come from British India

to have a clean partition between independent and equal "Pakistan" and "Hindustan"

once independence came. The partition itself, according to leading politicians such as

Mohammed Ali Jinnah, leader of the All India Muslim League, and Jawaharlal Nehru,

leader of the Indian National Congress, should have resulted in peaceful relations.

However, the partition of British India into India and Pakistan in 1947 did not divide the

nations cleanly along religious lines. Nearly 50 percent of the Muslim population of

British India remained in India. Inter-communal violence between Hindus, Sikhs, and

Muslims resulted in between 500,000 to 1 million casualties.

Whose part Kashmir should have been?

Princely-ruled territories, such as Kashmir and Hyderabad, were also involved in

Partition. Rulers of these territories had the choice of joining India or Pakistan. The ruler

of Kashmir, which had a Muslim majority population, joined India by signing the

Instrument of Accession and India acquired Hyderabad in accordance with the wishes of

the people of Hyderabad. However, Pakistan laid its claim on Kashmir and thus it

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became the main point of conflict, whereas some of Kashmiri people want an

independent state.

Kashmir Conflict

The conflict of current territorial dispute is over the Kashmir region, The countries

disputing are India, Pakistan, China, and the Kashmiri people.

India claims the entire state of Jammu and Kashmir and as of 2010, administers

approximately 43% of the region, including most of Jammu, the Kashmir Valley, Ladakh,

and the Siachen Glacier. India's claim is contested by Pakistan, which controls

approximately 37% of Kashmir, namely Azad Kashmir and the northern areas of Gilgit

and Baltistan. China controls 20% of Kashmir, including Aksai Chin, which it occupied

following the brief Sino-Indian War of 1962, and the Trans-Karakoram Tract (also known

as the Shaksam Valley), which was ceded by Pakistan in 1963.

India has officially stated that it believes that Kashmir is an integral part of India.

Pakistan says that Kashmir is a disputed territory whose final status must be determined

by the people of Kashmir. China states that Aksai Chin is a part of Tibet, which is a part

of China. Certain Kashmiri independence groups believe that Kashmir should be

independent of both India and Pakistan.

India and Pakistan have fought at least three wars over Kashmir, including the Indo-

Pakistani Wars of 1947, 1965 and 1999. India and Pakistan have also been involved in

several skirmishes over the Siachen Glacier.

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Blame Game:

Since 1987, disputed State elections have resulted in some of the state's legislative

assembly forming militant wings, creating a catalyst for insurgency. The Indian-

administered Jammu and Kashmir has been the site of conflict between the Indian

Armed Forces, militants, and separatists. India alleges these militants are supported by

Pakistan. The turmoil in Jammu and Kashmir has resulted in thousands of deaths, but

has become less deadly in recent years. There have been protest movements in Indian

Administered Kashmir since 1989. The movements were created to voice Kashmir's

disputes and grievances with the Indian government, specifically the Indian Military.

Elections held in 2008 were generally regarded as fair by the United Nations High

Commissioner for Refugees, had a high voter turnout in spite of calls by militants for a

boycott, and led to the pro-India Jammu & Kashmir National Conference forming the

government in the state. According to Voice of America, many analysts have interpreted

the high voter turnout in this election as a sign that the people of Kashmir have

endorsed Indian rule in the state.

In a 2001 report titled "Pakistan's Role in the Kashmir Insurgency" from the American

RAND Corporation, the think tank noted that "the nature of the Kashmir conflict has

been transformed from what was originally a secular, locally based struggle (conducted

via the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front – JKLF) to one that is now largely carried out by

foreign militants and rationalized in pan-Islamic religious terms." Most of the militant

organizations are composed of foreign mercenaries, mostly from the Pakistani Punjab.

In 2010, with the support of its intelligence agencies, Pakistan has been again 'boosting'

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Kashmir militants, and recruitment of 'martyrs' in the Pakistani state of Punjab has

increased.

Attempts for Improved Relations

Pakistan and Indian government tried to improve their relations for trade and other

aspects of development which involves:

Simla Conference:

It was signed between India and Pakistan on July 2, 1972, which was followed from the

war between the two nations in the previous year that had led to the independence of

East Pakistan as Bangladesh. The agreement laid down the principles that should govern

their future relations. It also conceived steps to be taken for further normalization of

mutual relations. Most importantly, it bound the two countries "to settle their

differences by peaceful means through bilateral negotiations". The Kashmir dispute

again came to the core-issue when India and Pakistan signed the controversial Simla

Accord in July 1972 in the wake of the Indo-Pak war on 1971. The accord converted the

1949 UN "Cease-fire Line" into the Line of Control (LOC) between Pakistan and India

which however did not affect the status of the disputed territory:

"In Jammu and Kashmir, the line of control resulting from the ceasefire of

December 17, 1971, shall be respected by both sides without prejudice to the

recognized position of either side. Neither side shall seek to alter it unilaterally,

irrespective of mutual differences and legal interpretations."

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Both sides further undertake to refrain from threat or the use of force in violation of this

Line. The agreement also paved the way for diplomatic recognition of Bangladesh by

Pakistan. As a gesture of goodwill India decided not to try 90,368 Pakistani prisoners of

war for war crimes and released them.

The agreement has been the basis of all subsequent bilateral talks between India and

Pakistan, though it has not prevented the relationship between the two countries from

deteriorating to the point of armed conflict, most recently in the Kargil War. The treaty

was signed in Simla, India, by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, the President of Pakistan, and Indira

Gandhi, the Prime Minister of India.

Lahore Summit:

Also known as Lahore Declaration, was a bilateral agreement between India and

Pakistan signed on February 21, 1999 by the then-Prime Minister of India Atal Bihari

Vajpayee and the then-Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif at the conclusion of a

historic summit in Lahore, Pakistan. The Lahore Declaration signaled a major

breakthrough in overcoming the historically strained bilateral relations between the two

nations in the aftermath of the nuclear tests carried out by both nations in May 1998,

but would soon lose impetus with the outbreak of the Kargil War in May 1999. The

Lahore Declaration was the first major political agreement between the two nations

since the 1972 Shimla Agreement that formally established peaceful relations in the

aftermath of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 and committed both nations to resolving

bilateral disputes by peaceful dialogue and co-operation. Bilateral relations were

transformed and tensions heightened when India conducted the Pokhran-II nuclear

tests on on May 11 and May 13, 1998, establishing itself as a nuclear weapons power.

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Pakistan soon responded with its own nuclear tests in Chagai Hills, bringing the spectre

of nuclear conflict to South Asia.

On September 23, 1998 both governments signed an agreement recognizing the

principle of building an environment of peace and security and resolving all bilateral

conflicts, which became the basis of the Lahore Declaration. On February 19, 1999 the

Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee embarked on a historic visit to Pakistan,

travelling on the inaugural bus service connecting the Indian capital of New Delhi with

the major Pakistani city of Lahore, establishing a major transport link for the peoples of

both nations. He was received amidst great fanfare and media attention at the

Pakistani border post of Wagah by his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif, with whom

he had been at loggerheads a year before over the nuclear tests controversy. The

summit was hailed worldwide as a major breakthrough and milestone in bilateral

relations and a historic step towards ending conflict and tensions in the region.

Agra Summit:

The Agra summit was a two-day summit held on July 15th and 16th, 2001 between

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf and Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. It

was organized with the aim to resolve long-standing issues between India and Pakistan.

However, the summit collapsed after two days and no formal agreement could be

attained. The two sides remained inflexible on the core issue of Kashmir, despite five

long and arduous one-to-one rounds between the two leaders and hours of discussion

between the two delegations. Despite the failure of the talks, General Pervez Musharraf

joined Vajpayee to call on the two countries to bury their past. He also invited the Indian

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Prime Minister to visit Pakistan as he felt that the issues between Pakistan and India

were much more complicated and could not be resolved in a short time.

Bitter Relations: the Indo Pak Wars

1947 War:

This is also called the First Kashmir War. The war started in October 1947 when

the Maharajah of the princely state of Kashmir and Jammu was pressured to accede to

either of the newly independent states of Pakistan or India. Tribal forces prompted by

Pakistan attacked and occupied the princely state, forcing the Maharajah to sign the

"Agreement to the accession of the princely state to India". The United Nations was

then invited by India to mediate the quarrel. The UN mission insisted that the opinion of

the Kashmiris must be ascertained. The UN Security Council passed Resolution 47 on 21

April 1948. The war ended in December 1948 with the Line of Control dividing Kashmir

into territories administered by Pakistan (northern and western areas) and India

(southern, central and northeastern areas).

1965 War:

This war started following of Pakistan's Operation Gibraltar, which was designed

to infiltrate forces into Jammu and Kashmir to precipitate an insurgency against rule by

India. India retaliated by launching an attack on Pakistan. The five-week war caused

thousands of casualties on both sides and was witness to the largest tank battle in

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military history since World War II. It ended in a United Nations (UN) mandated

ceasefire and the subsequent issuance of the Tashkent Declaration.

1971 War:

The war was unique in that it did not involve the issue of Kashmir, but was rather

precipitated by the crisis brewing in erstwhile East Pakistan. Following Operation

Searchlight and the 1971 Bangladesh atrocities, about 10 million Bengalis in East

Pakistan took refuge in neighboring India. Because of the impending humanitarian crisis

and its own interest in dismembering Pakistan India intervened in the ongoing

Bangladesh liberation movement. After a failed pre-emptive strike by Pakistan, full-scale

hostilities between the two countries commenced. Within two weeks of intense

fighting, Pakistani forces surrendered to India following which the People's Republic of

Bangladesh was created. This war saw the highest number of casualties in any of the

India-Pakistan conflicts, as well as the largest number of prisoners of war since the

Second World War after the surrender of nearly 90,000 Pakistani police and civilians.

1999 War:

Commonly known as Kargil War, this conflict between the two countries was

mostly limited. Pakistani troops along with Kashmiri insurgents infiltrated across the

Line of Control (LoC) and occupied Indian Territory mostly in the Kargil district. Pakistani

government believed that its nuclear weapons would deter a full-scale escalation in

conflict but India launched a major military campaign to flush out the infiltrators. Due to

Indian military advances and increasing foreign diplomatic pressure, Pakistan was forced

to withdraw its forces back across the LoC.

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Current Scenario

Pakistan has been blamed for the involvements in various terrorist activities.

The 2001 Indian Parliament attack almost brought the two nations on the brink of

a nuclear war.

2008 Mumbai attacks resulted in a severe blow to the ongoing India-Pakistan

peace talks.

Most of the militant organizations are composed of foreign mercenaries, mostly

from the Pakistani Punjab.

In 2010, with the support of its intelligence agencies, Pakistan has been again

'boosting' Kashmir militants, and recruitment of 'martyrs' in the Pakistani state of

Punjab has increased.