India-Pakistan Crisis - Why They Keep Fighting Over Kashmir - The New York Times

3/23/2019 India-Pakistan Crisis: Why They Keep Fighting Over Kashmir - The New York Times
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Asia Pacific
Disputed area
PAKISTAN
INDIA
India-Pakistan Crisis: Why They

Keep Fighting Over Kashmir
By VINDU GOEL UPDATED March 8, 2019
Two nuclear-armed siblings with a long history of armed

conflict. Two prime ministers facing public pressure for military
action. And a snowy, mountainous region that both nations
have coveted — and occupied with troops — for more than 70
years.
It was almost inevitable that fighting would break out again

between India and Pakistan.
In February, a young suicide bomber struck a convoy of trucks

carrying paramilitary forces in Pulwama, in the disputed
border state of Jammu and Kashmir, the region’s deadliest
attack in 30 years.
GILGIT-BALTISTAN
Controlled by Pakistan
PAKISTAN
1 LIN
E O
F C
ARTICLE REMAINING ON TRO
L
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/world/asia/india-pakistan-crisis.html 4/10
Feb. 26
Balakot JAMMU AND K ASHMIR
Airstrikes Controlled by India
Feb. 14
Suicide bombing
PAK. Pulwama
INDIA
By Scott Reinhard
Indian aircraft responded by flying into Pakistan and firing

airstrikes near the town of Balakot. The Indian government
claimed it was attacking a training camp for Jaish-e-
Mohammed, the terrorist group that claimed responsibility for
the bombing.
The next day, Pakistani and Indian fighter jets engaged in a

skirmish over Indian-controlled territory, and Pakistani forces
downed an Indian aircraft — an aging Soviet-era MiG-21 — and
captured its pilot. It was the first aerial clash between the rivals
in five decades.
Pakistan has since returned the pilot, easing tensions. But there
are still fears that hostilities could escalate between the two
countries, which were created by the bloody partition of British
India more than 70 years ago and have co-existed uneasily ever
since.
What are the roots of the conflict?
1
ARTICLE REMAINING
Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, on the country’s first day as a nation. Lord Louis
Mountbatten, left, had overseen the partition of the subcontinent. Associated Press
When the British finally gave up their colony of India in August

1947, they agreed to divide it into two countries: Pakistan, with
a Muslim majority, and India, with a Hindu majority.
(Bangladesh was initially part of Pakistan but gained its own
independence in 1971 after a short war between India and
Pakistan.)
The sudden separation prompted millions of people to migrate

between the two countries and led to religious violence that
killed hundreds of thousands.
AFGHANISTAN CHINA
GILGIT-BALTISTAN
Controlled by Pakistan
BOUNDARY
UNDEFINED
LINE OF CONTROL
Feb. 26
Airstrikes
JAMMU AND
KASHMIR
Feb. 14 Controlled by India
PAKISTAN Suicide bombing
PAK.
INDIA
1
ARTICLE REMAINING
INDIA
By Scott Reinhard
Left undecided was the status of Jammu and Kashmir, a

Muslim-majority state in the Himalayas that had been ruled by
a local prince. Fighting quickly broke out, and both countries
eventually sent in troops, with Pakistan occupying one-third of
the state and India two-thirds.
Although the prince signed an agreement for the territory to

become part of India, the United Nations later recommended
that an election be held to let the people decide.
The village of Gujran, in the upper section of Tulail Valley, Kashmir. Michael Benanav for The New York Times
That election never took place, and both countries continue to

administer their portions of the former princely territory while
hoping to get full control of it. Troops on both sides of the “line
of control” regularly fire volleys at each other.
Muslim militants have frequently resorted to violence to expel

the Indian troops from the territory. Pakistan has backed many
of those militants, as well as terrorists who have struck deep
inside India — most brutally in a four-day killing spree in
Mumbai in 2008 that left more than 160 people dead.
1
ARTICLE REMAINING Why did the situation erupt now?
Indian soldiers examine debris after an explosion in Pulwama, in southern Kashmir. Younis Khaliq/Reuters
The immediate cause was the Feb. 14 suicide bombing by a

young Islamic militant, who blew up a convoy of trucks
carrying paramilitary forces in Pulwama in southern Kashmir.
It was the deadliest attack in the region in 30 years.
But there are also broader political forces at work. India’s prime
minister, Narendra Modi, is up for re-election in May, and he is
eager to avenge a bombing that has stirred popular outrage.
Pakistan, for its part, has a new prime minister, Imran Khan,
who was elected last year with the backing of his country’s
powerful military. Mr. Khan wants to show that he can stand up
to India, even as the country’s economy is so weak that he is
seeking bailouts from Saudi Arabia and China.
Can the United States and other

global powers help calm the situation?
Last month, the American secretary of state, Mike Pompeo,

called on leaders in both countries to avoid escalating the
situation. He also said that Pakistan must take “meaningful
action against terrorist groups’ operating on its soil.”
Under President Trump, American foreign policy has shifted

away from Pakistan, a longtime recipient of American aid,
toward India, which the administration views as a bulwark
against China’s rising influence in Asia.
China, meanwhile, has become a close ally and financial patron

of Pakistan. The Chinese urged both countries to exercise
restraint after India’s foray into Pakistani airspace.
1
ARTICLE REMAINING
What is likely to happen next?
Indian soldiers near the remains of an Indian aircraft after it crashed on Wednesday. Danish Ismail/Reuters
The situation eased when Pakistan returned the Indian pilot,

and Sreeram Chaulia, dean of the school of international affairs
at O.P. Jindal Global University outside New Delhi, predicted in
February that the military conflict would subside soon.
He worried instead that Pakistan-backed militants would carry

out terrorist attacks in India. “The terrorist threat has not gone
away,” he said.
Mr. Khan, the Pakistani prime minister, urged India to settle

matters through talks. “All big wars have been due to
miscalculation,” he said in a televised address. “My question to
India is that given the weapons we have, can we afford
miscalculation?”
Suhasini Raj contributed reporting from New Delhi and Ayesha Venkataraman contributed research from Mumbai.
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India-Pakistan Crisis: Why They

Two nuclear-armed siblings with a long history of armed

It was almost inevitable that ﬁghting would break out again

In February, a young suicide bomber struck a convoy of trucks

Indian aircraft responded by ﬂying into Pakistan and ﬁring

The next day, Pakistani and Indian ﬁghter jets engaged in a

What are the roots of the conflict?

When the British ﬁnally gave up their colony of India in August

The sudden separation prompted millions of people to migrate

Left undecided was the status of Jammu and Kashmir, a

Although the prince signed an agreement for the territory to

That election never took place, and both countries continue to

Muslim militants have frequently resorted to violence to expel

The immediate cause was the Feb. 14 suicide bombing by a

Can the United States and other

Last month, the American secretary of state, Mike Pompeo,

Under President Trump, American foreign policy has shifted

China, meanwhile, has become a close ally and ﬁnancial patron

The situation eased when Pakistan returned the Indian pilot,

He worried instead that Pakistan-backed militants would carry

Mr. Khan, the Pakistani prime minister, urged India to settle

As Mueller Report Lands, Prosecutorial Focus Moves to New York

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