The Line of Control (LoC) is a military control line between the Indian- and Pakistani-controlled parts of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir—a line which does not constitute a legally recognized international boundary, but serves as the de facto border. It was established as part of the Simla Agreement at the end of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. Both nations agreed to rename the ceasefire line as the "Line of Control" and pledged to respect it without prejudice to their respective positions. Apart from minor details, the line is roughly the same as the original 1949 cease-fire line.
The Indo-Pakistani war of 1947–1948, also known as the first Kashmir war, was a war fought between India and Pakistan over the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir from 1947 to 1948. It was the first of four Indo-Pakistani wars between the two newly independent nations. Pakistan precipitated the war a few weeks after its independence by launching tribal lashkar (militias) from Waziristan, in an effort to capture Kashmir and to preempt the possibility of its ruler joining India.
A ceasefire, also spelled cease fire, is a stoppage of a war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions, often due to mediation by a third party. Ceasefires may be between state actors or involve non-state actors.
The Karachi Agreement of 1949 was signed by the military representatives of India and Pakistan, supervised by the United Nations Commission for India and Pakistan, establishing a cease-fire line in Kashmir following the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. It established a cease-fire line which has been monitored by United Nations observers from the United Nations since then.
A United Nations Military Observer (UNMO) is a military official deployed by the United Nations to provide support to a UN mission or peace operation. Described as the "eyes and ears" of the UN Security Council, observers fulfill a variety of roles depending on scope, purpose, and status of the UN mission to which they are attached. A UNMO is generally tasked with monitoring and assessing post-conflict agreements, such as a ceasefire or armistice; the withdrawal of military forces; or the maintenance of a neutral buffer zone. Observers usually undergo special training to ensure neutrality, diplomacy, and deescalation techniques.
The United Nations has played an advisory role in maintaining peace and order in the Kashmir region soon after the independence and partition of British India into the dominions of Pakistan and India in 1947, when a dispute erupted between the two new States on the question of accession over the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir. India took this matter to the UN Security Council, which passed resolution 39 (1948) and established the United Nations Commission for India and Pakistan (UNCIP) to investigate the issues and mediate between the two new countries. Following the cease-fire of hostilities, it also established the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) to monitor the cease-fire line.
The Srinagar–Muzaffarabad Bus is a passenger bus service connecting Srinagar, the summer capital of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir with Muzaffarabad, the capital of the Pakistani occupied Indian territory of Azad Jammu and Kashmir across the Line of Control (LoC)—the boundary line denoting rival areas of control in the disputed region of Kashmir, but which is not an official international border. The bus is of symbolic importance to the efforts of the two nations' governments to foster peaceful and friendly relations and follows the success of the Delhi–Lahore Bus launched in 1999.
Transport between India and Pakistan has been developed for tourism and commercial purposes and bears much historical and political significance for both countries, which have possessed few transport links since the partition of India in 1947. In 2019, all public transport links between the two countries were severed because of Pakistani protest at India's revocation of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir. The only way for travelers to make this journey is to cross on foot at Wagah.
Mohammad Abbas Ansari was a separatist political leader and a well known Shia Muslim scholar, reformer, preacher and cleric from Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir. He was known for his religious lectures and as a Kashmiri separatist, ex-chairman of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, also founder & chairman of the Ittihadul Muslimeen also known as Jammu & Kashmir Ittihadul Muslimeen (JKIM) a Kashmiri nationalist Shia separatist political party which aims for Shi'a–Sunni unity in Kashmir & independence of Jammu and Kashmir from India through peaceful struggle. He is considered a moderate and has called for an end to violence in that region. He is Succeeded by his son Maulana Masroor Abbas Ansari.
Pakistan officially joined the United Nations (UN) on 30 September 1947 just over a month after it came into existence. Today, it is a charter member and participates in all of the UN's specialised agencies and organisations. Pakistan has been elected seven times into the UN Security Council, with the most recent term in 2013. It is also one of the countries which has had a diplomat, Muhammad Zafarullah Khan, serve a term as the President of the United Nations General Assembly.
The history of Azad Kashmir, a disputed part of the Kashmir region currently administered by Pakistan, is related to the history of the Kashmir region during the Dogra rule. Azad Kashmir borders the Pakistani provinces of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to the south and west respectively, Gilgit–Baltistan to the north, and the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir to the east. The region is claimed by India and has been the subject of a dispute between India and Pakistan since 1947.
The 2013 India–Pakistan border incidents was a series of armed skirmishes along the Line of Control (LoC) in the disputed Kashmir area. Starting from the mid-January 2013, they have been described as the "worst bout of fighting in the region in nearly 10 years". It began on 6 January 2013, when according to Pakistani reports Indian forces attacked a Pakistani border post, killing one soldier. Indian authorities claimed the incident as a retaliation against preceding Pakistani ceasefire violations, but denied having crossed the demarcation line. In a second skirmish on 8 January, Indian authorities said that Pakistani forces crossed the LoC, killing two Indian soldiers. The incident sparked outrage in India and harsh reactions by the Indian army and government over the news that the body of one of the soldiers had been beheaded. Pakistan denied these reports. On 15 January, a third skirmish reportedly led to the death of another Pakistani soldier.
The 2014–2015 India–Pakistan border skirmishes were a series of armed clashes and exchanges of gunfire between the Indian Border Security Force and the Pakistan Rangers: the paramilitary gendarmerie forces of both nations, responsible for patrolling the India-Pakistan border) along the Line of Control (LoC) in the disputed Kashmir region and the borders of the Punjab. Tensions began in mid-July 2014, with both countries' military officials and media reports giving different accounts of the incidents and accusing each other of initiating the hostilities. The incident sparked outrage in both countries and harsh reactions by the Indian and Pakistani militaries and the Indian and Pakistani governments.
The 2016–2018 India–Pakistan border skirmishes were a series of armed clashes between India and Pakistan, mostly consisting of heavy exchanges of gunfire between Indian and Pakistani forces across the de facto border, known as the Line of Control (LoC), between the two states in the disputed region of Kashmir. The skirmishes began after India claimed to have conducted surgical strikes against militant launch pads within the Pakistani-administered territory of Azad Jammu and Kashmir on 29 September 2016.
On 29 September 2016, teams of Indian Army commandos crossed the Line of Control into Pakistani-administered Kashmir to attack targets up to a kilometer within territory held by Pakistan. The raid occurred ten days after four militants had attacked an Indian army outpost at Uri on 18 September 2016 in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, and killed 19 soldiers. Estimates of casualties from India's cross-border attack varied widely, with figures of 12 to 70 being reported. The Pakistani government eventually acknowledged the deaths of two soldiers and injuries to nine, while one Indian soldier was captured.
On 27 February 2019, the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) conducted six airstrikes at multiple locations in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). The airstrikes were part of the PAF military operation codenamed Operation Swift Retort and were conducted in retaliation to the Indian Air Force (IAF) airstrike in Balakot just a day before on 26 February.
The 2019–2021 Jammu and Kashmir lockdown was a preventive security lockdown and communications blackout that had been imposed throughout the Indian-administered union territory of Jammu and Kashmir following the revocation of Article 370 which lasted until February 2021, with the goal of preemptively curbing unrest, violence and protests. Most separatist leaders had and have been detained in the crackdown. The Indian government had stated that the tough lockdown measures and substantially increased deployment of security forces had been aimed at curbing terrorism. The government did not want a repeat of the death and injuries seen during the 2016–2017 Kashmir unrest.
Teetwal is a small border-village in Jammu and Kashmir, India. It is situated on the banks of the Kishanganga River in Kupwara district, 82 km (51 mi) from the district headquarters of Kupwara and close to the Line of Control with Pakistani-administered Kashmir. Teetwal is connected to the rest of India via Tangdhar.
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) released two reports on "the situation of human rights in Indian-Administered Kashmir and Pakistan-Administered Kashmir". The first report released on 14 June 2018 was the first ever issued by the United Nations on human rights in Kashmir. The second update report was released on 8 July 2019. The first report covered June 2016 to April 2018 while the second report covered the period May 2018 to April 2019. In both cases the reactions of Pakistan and India were diametrically opposite.
The 2020–2021 India–Pakistan border skirmishes were a series of armed clashes between India and Pakistan along the Line of Control in the disputed region of Kashmir, which is subject to extensive territorial claims by both countries. The standoff intensified when a major exchange of gunfire and shelling erupted between Indian and Pakistani troops in November 2020 along the Line of Control which left at least 22 dead, including 11 civilians.
