The Himalayan region of Kashmir, at the heart of India-Pakistan enmity

The Muslim-majority Himalayan region of Kashmir, which is claimed in full by both India and Pakistan, has been the site of several wars and diplomatic standoffs.

Here is a look at the region, its history, and why it continues to be a source of tension between the two countries:

PARTITION AND ACCESSION

After partition of the subcontinent in 1947 following independence from British rule, Kashmir was expected to become part of Pakistan, as with other Muslim-majority regions. Its Hindu ruler wanted it to stay independent but, faced with an invasion by Muslim tribesmen from Pakistan, acceded to India in October 1947 in return for help against the invaders.

GEOGRAPHY AND DEMOGRAPHICS

Kashmir ended up divided among Hindu-majority India, which governs the Kashmir Valley, Jammu and Ladakh; Islamic Pakistan, which controls Azad Kashmir ("Free Kashmir") and the Northern Areas; and China, which holds the Aksai Chin region.

Indian-administered Kashmir has a population of around 7 million, of whom nearly 70% are Muslim.

ARTICLE 370

A provision of the Indian constitution, Article 370, provided for partial autonomy for Jammu and Kashmir. It was drafted in 1947 by the then-prime minister of the state, Sheikh Abdullah, and accepted by India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. Although intended as temporary, it was included in India's Constitution in 1949 by the constituent assembly.

WARS AND MILITARY STANDOFFS

India and Pakistan have fought three wars since independence, two of them over Kashmir in 1947 and 1965. A third in 1971 led to the creation of Bangladesh. In 1999, they clashed again in the Kargil region in what was described as an undeclared war. A U.N.-brokered ceasefire line, the Line of Control, now divides the region.

THE INSURGENCY

Many Muslims in Indian Kashmir have long resented what they see as heavy-handed rule by India. In 1989, that bubbled over into an insurgency by Muslim separatists. India poured troops into the region and tens of thousands of people have been killed.

India accuses Pakistan of arming and training fighters, which Islamabad denies, saying it offers only moral and diplomatic support.

REVOKING OF SPECIAL STATUS

In August 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Indian government revoked Kashmir's semi-autonomous status in a move it said would better integrate the region with the rest of India. The state was reorganised into two federally administered union territories - Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh. Pakistan strongly objected, downgrading diplomatic ties.

RECENT YEARS

Modi says his 2019 decision brought normality to Kashmir after decades of bloodshed. Violence has tapered off in recent years, according to Indian officials, with fewer large-scale attacks and rising tourist arrivals. Targeted killings of civilians and security forces are still reported, however.

2024 ELECTIONS

In 2024, Jammu and Kashmir held its first local elections since the 2019 revocation of autonomy. Several newly elected lawmakers urged a partial restoration of Article 370. Key regional parties boycotted or criticised the vote, saying the winners would not get any real political power.

2025

Tensions escalated after an attack on April 22 in the resort town of Pahalgam in Indian Kashmir in which 26 men, mostly Hindus, were killed. India identified two of the three suspected armed fighters as Pakistanis, although Islamabad denied any role.

Among a slew of tit-for-tat reprisals, India suspended the 1960 Indus Water Treaty regulating the sharing of water from the river and its tributaries.

India launched attacks on May 7 on what it said were "terrorist camps" in Pakistan, including in Pakistani Kashmir.

Strikes and counter-strikes against each side's military installations followed.

On Saturday, May 10, after concerted U.S. diplomacy and pressure, the two nations said they had agreed to a "full and immediate ceasefire".