Kashmir

A floating market in Kashmir, India.

Disputed area on the border of India and Pakistan in the northwest of the former state of Kashmir, now Jammu and Kashmir; area 78,900 sq km/30,445 sq mi. Physical features include the west Himalayan peak Nanga Parbat (8,126 m/26,660 ft), Karakoram Pass, Indus River, and Baltoro Glacier. Through Kashmir flow the headwaters of the Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab rivers, important sources of water for irrigation of the plains of Pakistan. Azad (‘free’) Kashmir in the west has its own legislative assembly based in Muzaffarabad while Gilgit and Baltistan regions to the north and east are governed directly by Pakistan. The Northern Areas are claimed by India and Pakistan. Cities in the region include Gilgit and Skardu.

Fighting took place between the pro-India Hindu ruling class and the pro-Pakistan Muslim majority involving Indian and Pakistani troops, until a UN ceasefire was agreed on 30 October 1948. There was open war between the two countries 1965–66 and 1971. The area is today officially divided under the terms of the 1972 Simla Agreement between the Pakistani area of Kashmir and the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. However, since 1990 it has been riven by Muslim separatist violence, and in 2002 there was a serious danger of war between India and Pakistan.

Kashmir had been under the sway of Hindu India for many centuries when Muslim rule was established by the 14th century. Mogul rule began in the 16th century but was brought to a halt by the Afghan invasion of 1753. This was followed by a period of Sikh overlordship from 1819. During the Sikh wars of the mid-19th century, a new Hindu-ruled state of Jammu and Kashmir was put together by Maharaja Gulab Singh, a Dogra Rajput, with a home base in Jammu. On 26 October 1947 the Hindu ruler opted to join the Indian Union after Pathan tribesmen from Pakistan had invaded the state following a Muslim declaration of Azad (‘free’) Kashmir. India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, was himself drawn from a Kashmiri Brahmin family.

The main political party in Jammu and Kashmir, the separatist Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), is divided into Indian- and Pakistan-based factions.

Controversy over Kashmir In May 1999 India stepped up its attacks on separatist guerrillas in Kashmir. For the first time in 20 years, India used air-power to attack what it called ‘infiltrators’ in Kashmir. Indian officials maintained that while the 600-odd infiltrators were Afghanis, the operation had been meticulously planned and supplied by the Pakistan Army. In more attacks further north India lost two fighter jets and a helicopter, shot down by Pakistan. With tensions in the disputed region at their highest in nearly 30 years, India's prime minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, said the campaign would continue until the infiltrators were driven out.

The conflict between the two nuclear powers caused concern in capitals worldwide. The USA, Britain, China, the United Nations, and the European Union called for the two sides to show restraint. A full-scale war was averted when, in July, Pakistan announced a truce with India. India's air strikes stopped and Pakistani militants from mountains in Kashmir began to withdraw.

However, in October relations with Pakistan worsened following a military coup that overthrew the Pakistani government, replacing it with a military executive headed by Gen Pervez Musharraf. They worsened again in January 2000, when India accused Pakistan of involvement of a week-long hijacking of an Indian airliner by Kashmiri militants who demanded the release of terrorists imprisoned by India. Pakistan denied any involvement. The Indian government agreed to release three prisoners, including the Islamic religious leader Maulana Masood Azhar, who subsequently appeared in public on Pakistani soil. Later in January another clash caused the deaths of five Pakistanis and one Indian, and in March 2000 US president Clinton's visit to India was overshadowed by the massacre of 35 Sikhs in the Indian part of Kashmir. In response to the massacre, riots between local people and security forces led to more casualties. As a goodwill gesture, in April 2000, India released three jailed Kashmiri leaders.

Pakistani-backed fighters in Kashmir, the Hizbol Mojahedin, declared a three-month ceasefire in July 2000, and expressed willingness to talk to the government. In response to this, the Indian army suspended all offensive operations for the first time in 11 years. However, India refused to allow the involvement of Pakistan in the peace talks, and the mutual ceasefire was cancelled after only 15 days, with rebel activity and retaliation attacks recommencing. However, in November, India announced a unilateral ceasefire to coincide with Ramadan, Islam's holy month. The ceasefire was rejected by militant groups, and despite further killings, India held to its promise, though it was still not prepared to hold talks with Pakistan on the future of Kashmir. It repeatedly extended the ceasefire, in December, January, and February, a move that was welcomed from the All-Party Hurriyat Conference, the main mouthpiece of peaceful Kashmiri separatists. In mid-January, a separatist suicide squad tried to storm Srinagar's airport and the ensuing gun battle with Indian security forces left 11 dead and a dozen injured, and led to large-scale protests.

India unexpectedly ended its six-month-old ceasefire in Kashmir on 24 May 2001, and announced that it would invite Gen Musharraf to Delhi, India, to discuss the future of the disputed territory. The ceasefire had been ignored by militants; the continuing violence had led to the deaths of around 1,200 people since its inception. The offer of talks was seen as a major diplomatic initiative, and the invitation by Indian prime minister Vajpayee was formally accepted by Gen Musharraf. Musharraf, after declaring himself president of Pakistan, arrived in Delhi, India, on 14 July for a three-day visit and his first summit with Vajpayee. Musharraf had repeatedly made it clear the core issue of the discussions would be Kashmir. At the meeting in Agra, talks remained inconclusive but were described as cordial and constructive. The dialogue was due to continue, with Vajpayee accepting an invitation from Musharraf to a meeting in Pakistan. However despite the talks, violence in the region continued: separatist rebels and soldiers who opposed the summit killed 49 people during the preceding two days.

Indian security forces in Kashmir were granted new powers on 9 August in an attempt to curb an increasing number of attacks by separatist groups. Under an extension of the Disturbed Areas Act, forces can detain suspects without a warrant and open fire without civilian authorization.

Around 38 people were killed on 1 October 2001 in bomb and grenade attacks on the state-assembly building in Srinagar, in Indian-administered Kashmir. India blamed the attack on Islamic militants supported and trained by Pakistan. Later in the month India shelled Pakistani positions across the line of control, the most serious outbreak of hostilities for almost a year. 13 people died in shooting incidents in Indian Kashmir, bringing the death toll to at least 150 since protest flared up after US bombing in Afghanistan began. Despite a visit by US secretary of state Colin Powell, tensions remained unresolved. In May 2002, India accused Pakistan of backing Islamic militant incursions into Indian-administered Kashmir, and the two nuclear powers came close to war. Around 1 million troops built up on the border, and Pakistan heightened the tension by test-firing missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads. However in June, under diplomatic pressure from the USA, India announced a series of measures to reduce tension with Pakistan, including withdrawing its navy from waters near Pakistan and ending a ban on Pakistani civil aircraft entering its airspace.