Historical legacy of suspicion

Conflicting claims over Kashmir

Impact of the Cold War

Wars of 1965 and 1971

Limited progress in bilateral relations

Implications of Indo-Pakistani dispute

Historical legacy of suspicion

At the heart of Ido-Pakistani discord lies a territorial dispute over Kashmir which developed in the wake of the hurried partition of the Indian sub-continent folloing the British decision to grant independence to their colonial possessions there in 1947.

Conflicting claims over Kashmir

The Indian case is that Kashmir’s accession to India was legal under the original terms of settlement for the partition of British India. The Pakistani position is that the original accession was not binding because it was secured under duress without the majority Islamic population having the right of self-determination.

Impact of the Cold War

Because of the territorial dispute over Kashmir, Pakistan and India looked to secure external support from the major rivals in the Cold War. Pakistan obtained military aid from the United States from 1954 and India developed a close alliance with the USSR from 1955.

Indo-Pakistani wars of 1965 and 1971

In July 1965, Pakistan made an attempt to wrest Kashmir from India. But the Indian Army launched a successful counter-offensive across the international frontier. Pakistan was quickly defeated. The next major Indo-Pakistani conflict occurred in December 1971. The catalyst was East Pakistan’s declaration of independence as Bangladesh in March 1971. Pakistan experienced a swift and decisive defeat. East Pakistan became the independent state of Bangladesh.

Limited progress in post-war bilateral relations

The two countries set up a joint commission to discuss bilateral issues in 1983 and then in October 1989, Pakistan was re-admitted into the Commonwealth of Nations organisation. But insurgency and unrest in Kashmir in the late 1980s and 1990s served to limit the scope of rapprochement.

Implications of the current Indo-Pakistani Dispute

The Kashmir independence movement emerged with the potential to de-stabilise both India and Pakistan. Neither India nor Pakistan can rely on external support after the end of the Cold War and this has raised the costs of their continuing dispute over Kashmir. The US, particularly after 9/11, has become the major external actor in South Asia and wants a Kashmir settlement to undercut the role of al-Qaeda in the region.