kashmir dispute

1947-2017
Prepared by:
Anum Chaudhary
 A chronology of key events

• 1947 - End of British rule and partition of sub-continent

into mainly Hindu India and Muslim-majority state of
Pakistan.
• 1947 - The Maharaja of Kashmir signs a treaty of accession
with India after a Pakistani tribal army attacks. War breaks
out between India and Pakistan over the region.
• 1948 - India raises Kashmir in the UN Security Council,
which in Resolution 47 calls for a referendum on the status
of the territory. The resolution also calls on Pakistan to
withdraw its troops and India to cut its military presence to
a minimum. A ceasefire comes into force, but Pakistan
refuses to evacuate its troops. Kashmir is for practical
purposes partitioned.
• 1951 - Elections in the Indian-administered state of Jammu and
Kashmir back accession to India. India says this makes a referendum
unnecessary. The UN and Pakistan say a referendum needs to take
into account the views of voters throughout the former princely
state.
• 1953 - The pro-Indian authorities dismiss and arrest Prime Minister
Sheikh Abdullah, leader of the governing National Conference, after
he takes a pro-referendum stance and delays formal accession to
India. A new Jammu and Kashmir government ratifies accession to
India.
• 1957 - The constitution of Indian-administrated Jammu and Kashmir
defines it as part of India.
• 1950s - China gradually occupies eastern Kashmir (Aksai Chin).
 Indian war with China
• 1962 - China defeats India in a short war for control of Aksai Chin.

• 1963 - Pakistan cedes the Trans-Karakoram Tract of Kashmir to China.

• 1965 - A brief war between Indian and Pakistan over Kashmir ends in a
ceasefire and a return to the previous positions.

• 1971-72 - Another Indo-Pakistani war ends in defeat for Pakistan and leads
to the 1972 Simla Agreement.This turns the Kashmir ceasefire line into the
Line of Control, pledges both sides to settle their differences through
negotiations, and calls for a final settlement of the Kashmir dispute. The
Agreement forms the basis of Pakistani-Indian relations thereafter.
 Simla Agreement

• 1974 - The Opposition Plebiscite Front in Indian-

administered Jammu and Kashmir drops demand for a
referendum in return for extensive autonomy in an
agreement with the Indian government. Sheikh
Abdullah becomes chief minister, and his political
dynasty continues to dominate the National
Conference and state after his death in 1982.
• 1984 - The Indian Army seizes control of the Siachen
Glacier, an area not demarcated by the Line of Control.
Pakistan makes frequent attempts to capture the area
in the following decades.
 Start of insurgency

• 1987 - Disputed state elections in Indian-administrated

Jammu and Kashmir give impetus to a pro-
independence insurgency centred around the Jammu
and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF). India accuses
Pakistan of fomenting the insurgency by despatching
fighters across the Line of Control, which Pakistan
denies.
• 1990 - The insurgency escalates after the Indian Army
kills about 100 demonstrators at Gawakadal Bridge.
Attacks and threats lead to the flight of almost all
Hindus from the Kashmir Valley area of the state. India
imposes Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in
Jammu and Kashmir.
• 1990s - The insurgency continues, with Kashmiri militants
training in Pakistan and India deploying hundreds of
thousands of troops in Jammu and Kashmir. Violence
against civilians by both sides is widespread.
• 1999 - India and Pakistan go to war again after militants
cross from Pakistani-administered Kashmir into the Indian-
administered Kargil district. India repulses the attack,
accuses Pakistan of being behind it, and breaks off
relations.
• 2001-2004 - Moves to boost relations between the two
countries are punctuated by continuing violence, notably
an attack on the parliament of Indian-administered Jammu
and Kashmir in Srinagar in 2001.
• 2010 - Major protests erupt in the Kashmir Valley of Indian-
administered Jammu and Kashmir over the summer after a
demonstrator is killed by the Indian army. The protests
abate in September after the government announce
measures to ease tension.
• 2011 August - Chief Minister Omar Abdullah announces an
amnesty for the 1,200 young men who threw stones at
security forces during the anti-government protests in the
Kashmir Valley the previous year.
• Indian State Human Rights Commission confirms presence
of more than 2,000 unidentified bodies in unmarked graves
near the Line of Control. Activists say many may be people
who disappeared after being arrested by security forces.
• 2011 September - Indian forces kill three Pakistani
soldiers in firing across the Line of Control. India
accuses Pakistan of opening fire first.
• 2013 February - Kashmiri Jaish-e-Mohammed member
Mohammad Afzal Guru hanged over role in 2001
Indian parliament terror attack, prompting protests in
which two young men are killed.
• 2013 September - Prime ministers of India and Pakistan
meet and agree to try reduce the number of violent
incidents at their disputed border in Kashmir.
• 2014 August - India cancels talks with Pakistan after
accusing it of interfering in India's internal affairs. The
decision comes after Pakistan's High Commissioner in
Delhi consulted Kashmiri separatist leaders in advance
of the talks.
• During a visit to the disputed border state of Jammu
and Kashmir, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi
accuses Pakistan of waging a proxy war against India in
Kashmir.
• 2014 October - Pakistan and India exchange strongly-
worded warnings, after a flare-up of violence across
their common border leaves at least 18 people dead.
 BJP joins government

• 2015 March - India's ruling BJP party is sworn into

government in Indian-administered Kashmir for first
time in coalition with local People's Democratic Party,
with the latter's Mufti Mohammad Sayeed as chief
minister.
• 2015 September - Muslim separatist leaders in Indian-
administered Kashmir close shops, businesses and
government departments in protest at the
enforcement of a colonial-era ban on eating beef.
• 2015 November - One person dies in violent protests
following a visit to Indian-administered Kashmir by
Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
• 2016 April - Mehbooba Mufti, the leader of
the People's Democratic Party (PDP), becomes
the first female chief minister of Indian-
administered Kashmir following the death of
her father and party founder Mufti
Mohammad Sayeed.
 Curfew

• 2016 July - Authorities impose an indefinite curfew in most

parts of Indian-administered Kashmir after the killing of
popular militant by security forces of Burhan Wani, a
popular militant and top commander of the Hizbul
Mujahideen group, sparks violent protests.
• 2016 August - A curfew in most parts of Indian-
administered Kashmir is lifted but schools, shops and most
banks remain shut and mobile and internet services remain
suspended. At least 68 civilians and two security officials
have died and more than 9,000 people injured in over 50
days of violence according to official tallies.
• 2016 September - India and Pakistan exchange a war of
words after 18 Indian soldiers are killed in a raid by gunmen
on an army base in Indian-administered Kashmir.
• 2016 September - India says it has carried out "surgical
strikes" against suspected militants along the de-facto
border with Pakistan in Kashmir but Pakistan rejects
the claims.
• 2016 October - The Indian army shoots dead three
suspected militants as they try to enter an army camp
in northern Kashmir.
• 2016 November - Human Rights Watch appeals for an
end to the burning of schools in Indian-administered
Kashmir after the total set alight since a wave of pro-
separatist unrest began in July reaches 25.
• 2016 November - Thousands of villagers in Pakistan-
controlled Kashmir are evacuated after violence escalates
following the killing of seven Pakistani soldiers in an
exchange of fire between India and Pakistan along the Line
of Control.
• 2017 May - Thousands defy a curfew across Indian-
administered Kashmir to attend the funeral of top rebel
commander Sabzar Ahmad Bhat.
• 2017 July - Violent clashes take place in Indian-
administered Kashmir on the anniversary of the death of
militant commander Burhan Wani.
• 2017 July - Militants attack Hindu pilgrims, killing at least
seven and injuring 16, in the worst such attack since 2000.