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Pakistan says it changeable down Indian drones
New Delhi — A deadly violent attack in Indian-administered Kashmir's picturesque Pahalgam country successful April has brought India and Pakistan erstwhile again to the brink of war. The atomic equipped South Asian neighbors person attacked each different this week with missiles and drones successful a abrupt flare-up of a decades-old feud that's being watched with interest by leaders astir the world.
The bitter rivals person fought 3 wars implicit Kashmir successful the past, and erstwhile again they're informing each different against immoderate moves that could escalate the hostility — and vowing to respond successful benignant to immoderate specified moves with pugnacious subject action.
After a week of aggravated clashes, aerial raid sirens blared successful a mates Indian cities adjacent the Pakistani borderline connected Friday and authorities asked radical to stay indoors. Officials said a pistillate was killed and 4 men injured successful alleged Pakistani cross-border occurrence successful the Kashmiri municipality of Uri, portion each large airports and the superior metropolis of Delhi were connected precocious alert, with immoderate schools unopen and large landmarks evacuated.
Pakistani officials person accused India of sidesplitting astatine slightest 36 radical this week, including 26 it says died successful a Tuesday nighttime rocket onslaught connected aggregate locations, which Islamabad labeled an "act of war." India called the strikes a measured effect to the April violent attack, claiming it had killed 100 terrorists astatine camps and different sites successful Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
An Indian Army conveyance moves done a thoroughfare successful Uri, successful Indian-administered Kashmir, arsenic hostility betwixt India and Pakistan rises May 8, 2025.
Faisal Khan/Anadolu/Getty
The rivalry betwixt the 2 countries goes backmost decades, and astatine the bosom of the quality lies the stunning mountainous portion of Kashmir.
The Kashmir struggle explained
Kashmir is simply a Himalayan portion dotted with snow-capped mountains, pristine lakes, and beauteous meadows. It was antecedently 1 of the galore "princely states" of India, ruled by alleged maharajas, earlier India gained independency from British regularisation successful August 1947.
That independence, however, has ne'er been a elemental matter. As it ceded its assemblage power, Britain partitioned India into 2 nations: Hindu-majority India, and Muslim-majority Pakistan.
The migration of Hindus from the recently carved retired Pakistan into India, and of Muslims from India into Pakistan, was marred by massacres and wide sectarian violence. It is wide considered the deadliest partitioning of a federation successful modern history.
At the clip of partition, Kashmir was a Muslim-majority princely state, and its Hindu Maharaja Hari Singh, chose to stay autarkic of the 2 recently defined nations. But successful October 1947, erstwhile tribesmen from Pakistan invaded Kashmir, the Maharaja sought India's help.
India agreed to travel to his assistance, but lone if Singh would fto India assertion dominion implicit Kashmir arsenic a precondition. The Maharaja agreed.
India sent its service to Kashmir, which drove retired the Pakistani tribesmen and, for each intents and purposes, Kashmir became a semi-autonomous portion of India.
India and Pakistan's wars implicit Kashmir
Pakistan refused to admit Kashmir's accession to India, dismissing it arsenic a fraud. The standoff led the 2 nations into their archetypal warfare that aforesaid year, and it endured into 1948.
India asked the United Nations to intervene. The U.N. recommended that, aft the afloat demilitarization of the portion by some armies, a ballot beryllium held by Kashmir's residents to find its future.
That was ne'er achieved, and successful 1949, India and Pakistan signed a ceasefire statement that divided hotly-contested Kashmir into 2 parts.
Both nations assertion each of Kashmir arsenic their ain territory, but each controls lone portion of it. Another, northeastern information of the portion is administered by China, which has agelong been a constituent of friction betwixt Delhi and Beijing.
In 1965, the hostility implicit the portion betwixt India and Pakistan again erupted into a full-scale war. Thousands of radical were killed connected some sides. About 7 years later, an statement was signed that formally established a Line of Control (LoC) dividing Kashmir, which inactive serves arsenic the de-facto borderline betwixt the 2 rivals.
In 1989, a heavy equipped pro-independence insurgency took basal successful Indian-administered Kashmir, launching deadly attacks against Indian forces. India has agelong accused Pakistan of training, arming and backing those militants — a complaint Pakistan flatly denies.
The three-decade insurgency has near tens of thousands of radical dead.
Damage to a mosque is seen aft Indian strikes successful Muzaffarabad, the superior of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, May 7, 2025.
Zubair Abbasi/Middle East Images/Middle East Images/AFP
Pakistan has consistently denied the allegations that it supports Kashmiri separatists.
In 1999, the 2 countries again engaged successful a little war, fought on the LoC successful bluish Kashmir.
They astir went to warfare again pursuing the deadly panic attack connected India's commercialized superior Mumbai successful 2008, which was carried retired by a militant radical based successful Pakistan-administered Kashmir — with, Indian authorities alleged, the afloat enactment of Pakistani information forces.
India removed Kashmir's autonomy successful 2019
As the insurgency continued, India maintained a dense subject beingness successful Kashmir, making it 1 of the astir militarized zones successful the world. Indian forces person killed hundreds of separatists each twelvemonth successful regular shootouts crossed and astir the LoC, but they person not managed to halt the militants' attacks.
In 2016, gunmen whom India said were based successful Pakistan killed 19 Indian soldiers successful an onslaught connected the municipality of Uri. India responded by launching what it called "surgical strikes" across the LoC, targeting alleged militant bases. Pakistan denied immoderate Indian strikes connected its territory.
In 2019, another attack blamed connected alleged Pakistani gunmen, connected an Indian subject convoy successful Kashmir's Pulwama area, killed much than 40 paramilitary forces.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, furious implicit the attack, ordered airstrikes against Pakistan, sparking retaliatory raids and an aerial dogfight successful which 1 Indian combatant pitchy was downed.
A civilian, who according to section media was injured successful a cross-border shelling adjacent the Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan successful Poonch sector, is rushed to a infirmary successful Jammu, successful Pakistan-administered Kashmir, April 1, 2019.
REUTERS
Later that year, India's national government, nether Modi, revoked Kashmir's peculiar status, lifting the partial autonomy it had enjoyed since 1947, which granted the portion its ain constitution and large decision-making powers.
Modi's authorities faced disapproval for the mode it revoked Kashmir's autonomy. A time earlier his authorities tabled and passed the measure successful parliament, Indian forces launched a large crackdown successful Kashmir. Internet, tv and telephone lines were unopen down, and civilians were ordered to stay indoors. Dozens of people, including section politicians, were placed nether location apprehension arsenic India flew much paramilitary forces into the portion to support a information and accusation lockdown. Some of those restrictions remained successful spot for much than 2 years.
Pakistan objected to the determination and vowed to "exercise each imaginable options to antagonistic the amerciable steps."
Over the pursuing years, arsenic India continued to bolster its information beingness successful the region, militancy waned and tourism returned to Kashmir. Modi's authorities took recognition for transforming the portion from a hotspot for terrorism, into a hotspot for tourism.
But past month's violent onslaught connected Indian tourists successful Pahalgam changed everything. It has erstwhile again enactment the 2 nations connected a warfare footing - and the satellite connected borderline implicit the hazard of different large struggle breaking retired successful already-tumultuous times, and betwixt 2 nations with a agelong past of animosity, and atomic weapons.
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