Indo-Pakistan Relations

Since independence, relations between Pakistan and India have been characterized by rivalry and suspicion. Although many issues divide the two countries, the most sensitive one since independence has been the status of Kashmir. Born out from the furnace of animosity, India and Pakistan, the twin brothers have a history of unique relations. There is much in common between Republic of India and Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The diplomatic relations developed soon after independence but these relations did not ensure good friendship. Roots of Conflict Here are some of the highs and lows in relations between the two counties 1947 – Britain divides its Indian empire into secular (but mainly Hindu) India and Muslim Pakistan on August 15 and 14 respectively. The partition causes one of the largest human migrations ever seen, and sparks riots and violence across the region. 1947/48 -,The blaming process started soon after the inception of Pakistan when during the world’s biggest mass migration both states were unable to provide security to minorities. At that time there were 680 princely states and their future was to be decided according to their own will. Junagadh and Kashmir are two of these states which are still a bone of contention between India and Pakistan. Junagadh was composed of 88% Hindu Majority with a Muslim ruler named Nawab Mahabat Khan. The ruler voted for Pakistan but India did not accept it on the plea of heavy Hindu majority. One the other hand, the ruler of Kashmir, Hair Singh, wanted to join India but the majority of Muslim population was in the favour of Pakistan. Maharaja Hair Singh made a â€Å"stand still agreement† with the Government of Pakistan. However, the rumors spread in Pakistan that Mahraja Hari Singh was going to accede with India. The forces of Pakistan invaded in Kashmir in 1947 and Hari Singh asked India for help. Indian Armed forces violating the provision of their constitution entered into the jurisdiction of Kashmir. 1954 – The accession of Jammu and Kashmir to India is ratified by the state's constituent assembly. 1957 – The Jammu and Kashmir constituent assembly approves a constitution. India, from the point of the 1954 ratification and 957 constitution, begins to refer to Jammu and Kashmir as an integral part of the Indian union. 1963 – Following the 1962 Sino-Indian war, the foreign ministers of India and Pakistan – Swaran Singh and Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto – hold talks under the auspices of the British and Americans regarding the Kashmir dispute. 1964 – Following the failure of the 1963 talks, Pakistan refers the Kashmir case to the UN Security Council. 1965 – Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 Full-scale hostilities erupted in September 1965 when Pakistan attacked India forcing India to attack Lahore in retaliation. India and Pakistan fight their second war. The conflict begins after a clash between border patrols in April in the Rann of Kutch (in the Indian state of Gujarat), but escalates on August 5, when between 26,000 and 33,000 Pakistani soldiers cross the ceasefire line dressed as Kashmiri locals, crossing into Indian-administered Kashmir. but as the war expands, Indian troops cross the international border at Lahore on September 6. The largest engagement of the war takes place in the Sialkot sector, where between 400 and 600 tanks square off in an inconclusive battle. By September 22, both sides agree to a UN mandated ceasefire, ending the war that had by that point reached a stalemate, with both sides holding some of the other's territory. In 1965 India launched operation Meghdoot and captured 80% of Siachen Glacier. 1966 – On January 10, 1966, Indian Prime Minister Lal Bahdaur Shastri and Pakistani President Ayub Khan sign an agreement at Tashkent (now in Uzbekistan), agreeing to withdraw to pre-August lines and that economic and diplomatic relations would be restored. 971 – Pakistan and India go to war a third time, this time over East Pakistan. Bangladesh was created out of East Pakistan. 1971 was a black year in the history of Pakistan as she lost its eastern wing as India intervened to favour Bengali people and seized the Qasim part. 90, 000 Pakistani soliders surrendered in Bangladesh. India and Pakistan go to war a third time, this time over East Pakistan. Hostilities lasted 13 days, making this one of the shortest wars in mo dern history. East Pakistan becomes the independent country of Bangladesh on December 6, 1971 1972 -. Pakistani Prime Minister Zulifiqar Ali Bhutto and Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi sign an agreement in the Indian town of Simla, in which both countries agree to â€Å"put an end to the conflict and confrontation that have hitherto marred their relations and work for the promotion of a friendly and harmonious relationship and the establishment of a durable peace in the subcontinent†. Both sides agree to settle any disputes â€Å"by peaceful means†. The Simla Agreement designates the ceasefire line of December 17, 1971, as being the new â€Å"Line-of-Control (LoC)† between the two countries, which neither side is to seek to alter unilaterally, and which â€Å"shall be respected by both sides without prejudice to the recognised position of either side†. Nuclear Arm Race 1974 – On May 18, India detonates a nuclear device at Pokhran, in an operation codenamed â€Å"Smiling Buddha†. India refers to the device as a â€Å"peaceful nuclear explosive†. 1985- In December 1985, President Zia and Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi pledged not to attack each other's nuclear facilities. 986, the Indian and Pakistani governments began high-level talks to resolve the Siachen Glacier border dispute and to improve trade. 1988 – The change in leadership brought a new era of relation between the two rivals. In Dec 1988 Benazir Bhutto Shaheed and Rajiv Gandhi resumed talks on different issues melding cultured exch ange, civil aviation and not to attack each other nuclear facilities. At that time BB said. â€Å"Burry the Hatchet; we have had enough of it. Let’s start a new chapter. India has a new generation leadership. Rajiv & I belong to a new generation. We have some kinship. He father was assassinated and so was my father. He lost his brother and so have I we both can start from clean state. † The two countries sign an agreement that neither side will attack the other's nuclear installations or facilities. Both sides agree to share information on the latitudes and longitudes of all nuclear installations. This agreementis later ratified, and the two countries share information on January 1 each year since then. 1989 – Armed resistance to Indian rule in the Kashmir valley begins. Muslim political parties, after accusing the state government of rigging the 1987 state legislative elections, form militant wings. Pakistan says that it gives its â€Å"moral and diplomatic† support to the movement, reiterating its call for the earlier UN-sponsored referendum. India says that Pakistan is supporting the insurgency by providing weapons and training to fighters, terming attacks against it in Kashmir â€Å"cross-border terrorism†. Pakistan denies this. Militant groups taking part in the fight in Kashmir continue to emerge through the 1990s, in part fuelled by a large influx of â€Å"mujahideen† who took part in the Afghan war against the Soviets in the 1980s. Indo-Pakistani Cold War Bilateral tensions increased in early 1990, when Kashmiri separatists from Pakistan occupied Kashmir backed by the Pakistan's ISI perpetrated violence in Indian Kashmir. Subsequent high-level bilateral meetings relieved the tensions between Pakistan and India, 1991 – A formal â€Å"no attack† agreement was signed in January 1991. The two countries sign agreements on providing advance notification of military exercises, maneuvers and troop movements, as well as on preventing airspace violations and establishing overflight rules. 992 – A joint declaration prohibiting the use of chemical weapons is signed in New Delhi. 1993- but relations worsened again after terrorist bombings in Bombay, in March 1993. Talks between the Foreign Secretaries of both countries in January 1994 resulted in deadlock. 1996 – Following a series of clashes, military officers from both countries meet at the LoC in order to ease tensions. 1997, high level talks were resumed after 3 years. Prime Minister of India and Pakistan met twice and foreign secretaries conducted 3 rounds of talks in which they identified 8 outstanding issues to focuss. These 8 issues were †¢ Kashmir issue †¢ Water crisis †¢ Sir creek issue †¢ Rann of kutch †¢ MFN status †¢ Siachen issue †¢ State sponsored issue †¢ Nuclear Deterrence 1998 – In September 1997 the talks broke down on structural issue where as in May 1998 the situation became harder because of nuclear experiment conducted by Pakistan. India detonates five nuclear devices at Pokhran. Pakistan responds by detonating six nuclear devices of its own in the Chaghai Hills. The tests result in international sanctions being placed on both countries. In the same year, both countries carry out tests of long-range missiles. Improvement in Relations In the late 1990s, the Indo-Pakistani relationship veered sharply between rapprochement and conflict. After taking office in February 1997, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif moved to resume an official dialogue with India. A number of meetings at the foreign secretary and Prime Ministerial level took place, with positive atmospherics but little concrete progress 1999 in feb,Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee meets with Nawaz Sharif, his Pakistani counterpart, in Lahore. The two sign the Lahore Declaration, the first major agreement between the two countries since the 1972 Simla Accord. Both countries reaffirm their commitment to the Simla Accord, and agree to undertake a number of ‘Confidence Building Measures' (CBMs). Some of the diplomatic gains are eroded, however, after the Kargil conflict breaks out in May. Kargil is the first armed conflict between the two neighbours since they officially conducted nuclear weapons tests. 2001 – Tensions along the Line of Control remain high, with 38 people killed in an attack on the Kashmiri assembly in Srinagar. In July, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf and Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee meet for a two-day summit in the Indian city of Agra. That summit collapses after two days, with both sides unable to reach agreement on the core issue of Kashmir. On December 13, an armed attack on the Indian parliament in New Delhi leaves 14 people dead. India blames Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Muhammad for the attacks. 2002 – President Musharraf pledges that Pakistan will combat extremism on its own soil, but affirms that the country has a right to Kashmir. 2003 – After Musharraf calls for a ceasefire along he LoC during a UN General Assembly meeting in September, the two countries reach an agreement to cool tensions and cease hostilities across the defacto border. 2004 – Vajpayee and Musharraf hold direct talks at the 12th SAARC summit in Islamabad in January, and the two countries' foreign secretaries meet later in the year. This year marks the beginning of the Compo site Dialogue Process, in which bilateral meetings are held between officials at various levels of government (including foreign ministers, foreign secretaries, military officers, border security officials, anti-narcotics officials and nuclear experts). In November, on the eve of a visit to Jammu and Kashmir, the new Indian prime minister, Manmohan Singh, announces that India will be reducing its deployment of troops there. 2006 – India redeploys 5,000 troops from Jammu and Kashmir, citing an â€Å"improvement† in the situation there, but the two countries are unable to reach an agreement on withdrawing forces from the Siachen glacier. In September, President Musharraf and Prime Minister Singh agree to put into place an Indo-Pak institutional anti-terrorism mechanism. 007 – The Samjhota express carnage of 18th February 2007 added fuel to fire. the train service between India and Pakistan (the Samjhauta Express) is bombed near Panipat, north of New Delhi. Sixty-eight people are killed, and dozens injured. The fifth round of talks regarding the review of nuclear and ballistic missile-related CBMs is held as part of the Composite Dialogue Process. The second round of the Joint Anti-Terrorism Mechanism (JATM) is als o held. 2008 – India joins a framework agreement between Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan on a $7. 6bn gas pipeline project. A series of Kashmir-specific CBMs are also agreed to (including the approval of a triple-entry permit facility). In July, India blames Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) directorate for a bomb attack on the Indian embassy in Kabul, which kills 58 and injures another 141. In September, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Indian Prime Minister Singh formally announce the opening of several trade routes between the two countries. In October, cross-LoC trade commences, though it is limited to 21 items and can take place on only two days a week. On November 26, 2008, a series of ten co-ordinated attacks were committed by terrorist which began across Mumbai which is the Indian financial capital and the largest city. The attack was started on 26 November 2008 and ended on 29 November 2008. In these attacks 173 people were killed including 35 foreigner where as 38 were wounded. India blamed Lashkar-e-Taiba .. Another reason was that Obama Discussed to solve Kashmir issue to bring stability in the South Asian region. This attack was done to divert his attention. In the wake of the attacks, India breaks off talks with Pakistan. 009 – The Pakistani government admits that the Mumbai attacks may have been partly planned on Pakistani soil, while vigorously denying allegations that the plotters were sanctioned or aided by Pakistan's intelligence agencies. In August, India gives Pakistan a new dossier of evidence regarding the Mumbai attacks, asking it to prosecute Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, the head of Jamaat-ud-Dawa, an Islamic cha rity with ties to Lashkar-e-Taiba. 2010 – In January, Pakistani and Indian forces exchange fire across the LoC in Kashmir, the latest in a string of such incidents that have led to rising tension in the area. In February, India and Pakistan's foreign secretaries meet in New Delhi for talks. This meeting is followed by the two countries' foreign ministers meeting in Islamabad in July. In May, Ajmal Kasab is found guilty of murder, conspiracy and of waging war against India in the Mumbai attacks case. He is sentenced to death. 2011 – In January, Indian Home Secretary GK Pillai says India will share information with Pakistan regarding the 2001 Samjhauta Express bombing. The two countries' foreign secretaries meet in Thimpu, Nepal, in February, and agree to resume peace talks â€Å"on all issues†.