Pakistan and India have always been in tension since the partition of subcontinent in 1947, after that India and Pakistan War started. The India Pakistan Wars had been fought over Kashmir, creation of Bangladesh, and several cross-border terrorisms. The India and Pakistan wars, which were fought in 1947-48, 1965, 1971, and 1999, have shaped the relations between India and Pakistan. These wars were fought on the basis of religious, territorial, and political factors. These are total of four wars along with many other conflicts, which were fought between India and Pakistan.
The two-nation theory which was put forth by the Muslim Leaders of the subcontinent, and they demanded a nation which should be autonomous for Muslims. It was this demand that subcontinent divided into two nations i.e., Pakistan and Hindustan in 1947.
The story did not stop here, but it gave birth to many India and Pakistan wars, and conflicts. Today in 2025 we also witness a conflict which is heading towards a war.
Following are India and Pakistan Wars:
India and Pakistan War 1947-1948 – First War
In total there were 22 princely states after the partition of subcontinent, and these states were given the authority to annex with Pakistan or India, and or stay independent. In Kashmir, the Muslims were in majority and the leader was Hindu. Pakistan was in the fear that Maharaja Hari Singh will opt to annex Kashmir with Pakistan, this fear led Pakistan to carry out some plans, and the war started.
It was the first Kashmir war which was fought between India and Pakistan over the Jammu and Kashmir, where Muslims were in majority, and ruled by Hindu King.
It was believed that Pakistan was preparing an operation called Gulmarg Plan, where 20 tribal militias of Pashtun Tribesmen were being trained to attack on Kashmir.
With the mission of annexation of Kashmir with Pakistan, in October 1947 the tribal militias of Pakistan’s northwest frontier regions with the back of Pakistan Army, started to invade Kashmir.
The worried Hindu Leader Maharaja Hari Singh asked for military support from India, and India gave the support under a condition that Kashmir will be a part of India, and a legal document called Instrument of Accession was signed between them.
At first the fight was fought between Indian Army and Tribal Milittias, but later it fought between Indian and Pakistani army. The war lasted for so long from October 1947 to January 1949.
Results
- In India and Pakistan war, neither side won a full victory.
- On 22 April 1948, the resolution 42 was passed by UN Security Council, which lead to the establishment of Line of Control.
- The India and Pakistan war ended with United Nation’s resolution of brokered ceasefire, and then India took two third of the Kashmir (Kashmir Valley, Ladakh, and Jammu) and Pakistan took the rest third (Gilgit Baltistan, and Azad Kashmir).
- This India and Pakistan war led to weak bilateral relations among the two countries.
This India and Pakistan war created the Kashmir dispute and showed some limitations of military capabilities on both sides. It also helped Pakistan to amend its foreign policy and make better connections with countries like United States to stay firm and strong against the Indian Military.
India and Pakistan War of 1965 – Second War
After the first India and Pakistan war, most of the area of Kashmir of India was under the Indian Rule. Pakistan now saw a chance to win the areas back from Indian Rule, and in 1960s Pakistan also got 700 million military aids from United States. It was during this time that India fought Sino-Indian war and they faces huge alteration in military and weapons. Pakistan saw this an opportunity and planned to clash with India – confined only to Kashmir.
Before going into the explanation of second India and Pakistan war, lets first understand the Operation Gibraltar. It was a Pakistani Military Operation which was executed in Jammu and Kashmir in 1965. During this Pakistan tried to send forces to Jammu and Kashmir, with a mission to set an insurgency against the Indian rule by the Kashmiri people.
They were trying to incite a guerrilla war against the Indian Rule by the Kashmiri people. Nine army groups were involved in the mission, and out of 9, only Ghaznavi Force became successful in achieving the goal.
The tension escalated among India and Pakistan near the Rann of Kutch, and both sides engaged in clashes. This Operation turned out into a full-scale war when India retaliated, and the India and Pakistan war lasted for 17 days. United Nations and Soviet Union stepped in to declare a ceasefire between the two nations.
After the full-scale war, on 10 January 1966 Indian Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri and Pakistan’s President Mohammad Ayub Khan signed the Tashkent Agreement to end the war.
Why the mission failed?
The result of the entire operation failed due to several reasons as follows:
- The Kashmiri people whom they wanted to manipulate, then disconnected.
- The Kashmiri people at that time did not revolt against India and Indians were given information about the operation that Pakistan was trying to execute
- This India and Pakistan war had some important impacts on both sides. For Pakistan, it showed the strong military support from USA, and its limit to use the forces to alter the situations in Kashmir. For India, they became confident in their military capabilities by successfully revolting against the operations.
India and Pakistan War of 1971 – Third War
This war started when Pakistan started its Operation Chengiz Khan on 8 Indian Air Stations, and at the same time some political conflicts were undergoing East and West Pakistan. This Operation led India to declare war and directly enter the war for East Pakistan’s independence.
At that time there were conflicts between East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) and West Pakistan. It was 1970 that in the elections, from the East Pakistan Sheikh Mujibur Rehman won the elections and was not handed over the power. This lead widespread protests and insurgencies in East Pakistan.
In the response Pakistan then started brutal behaviors towards the protesters and situation got worse among the two. At the same time India backed East Pakistan to fight against West Pakistan.
Although Pakistan launched several attacks on India, but India stood firm and fought back, and finally Pakistan troops surrendered to the Indian and Bangladesh forces.
Impacts
Pakistan: In this war Pakistan lost its part i.e., East Pakistan and around 90,000 Pakistani soldiers became war prisoners, who were released after the Simla Agreement which was signed between Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and Indira Ghandi.
India: Due to Indian retaliation, Pakistan suffered huge loss in army, navy, and air force. It also showed India’s strong military capabilities.
India and Pakistan War of 1999
The Kargil War fought in the Kargil district of Ladakh when Pakistan Forces captured the high-altitude areas along the Line of Control (LoC). This war took place when both India and Pakistan had the Nuclear Power, and it marks a great importance.
This India and Pakistan war lasted for two months with 4000 causalities on Pakistan side, and India responded to the attack, and took most of its captured areas back. International Community like United built pressure on Pakistan to withdraw the occupied areas. This weekend Pakistan and it lost the wars leading to cease the war in July 1999.
Although this time the India and Pakistan war was fought between two nuclear arm countries, but still the Kashmir issue did not resolve.
Conflicts between India and Pakistan
1. Siachen Conflict (1984 -2003)
This conflict started among the two over the Siachen Glacier.
2. India Pakistan Standoff (2001 – 2002)
It was an attack on Indian Parliament on 13 December 2001. For this attack, India blamed the Pakistan based terrorist organizations i.e., Jaish e Mohammad and Lashkr e Tayyiba.
3. 2008 attack on Mumbai
Tensions got worse when Mumbai was under attack and India blamed Pakistan of this attack, but Pakistan refused any involvement in the attack. During this time Pakistan sent its troops to borders, in order stay alerted against any Indian movement.
4. 2011 Skirmish
This took place along the line of Control, which lead to death of 5 Indian and 3 Pakistani soldiers. Both sides accused each other of this initiating the conflict.
5. 2013 Border Incident
In this conflict occurred in Mendher about 12 Indian and 10 Pakistani soldiers were killed.
6. Uri Attack – 2016
It was a terrorist attack on India across the line of control, to which India respond and tensions increased.
7. Pulwama Attack and the Airstrike – 2019
On 14 February 2019, there was an attack on a military convoy, which killed 40 troops. The Pakistani based terrorist group in Pakistan i.e., Jesh e Mohammad took the responsibility of the attack.
This escalated tensions between India and Pakistan, and India also revoked the Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.
8. Pahalgam Attack – 2025
On 22 April 2025, there was an attack on the valley of Baisaran in Pahalgam. This was a tourist point where about 25 Hindu tourist, one Muslim, and one Christian were killed by some anonymous terrorists. India accused Pakistan of this attack and said that it back the terrorist groups to attack in the place.
Conclusion
India and Pakistan have fought many wars and conflicts mainly centered around the Kashmir issue, but neither of side has been successful in attaining the full victory. They should follow DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) in Politics and resolve the issues by accepting the diversity and creating an inclusive environment. Conflicts based on religion and caste will further escalate new conflicts and wars. We should think as a human and give proper solutions to these India and Pakistan Wars by being on one platform and countering the terrorist attacks.
India and Pakistan have always been in tension since the partition of the subcontinent in 1947, mainly because of wars fought over Kashmir, the creation of Bangladesh, and several cross-border terrorisms.
A total of four wars have been fought between India and Pakistan — in 1947-1948, 1965, 1971, and 1999.
It was the first Kashmir war fought over the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, where Muslims were in majority and ruled by a Hindu king. Pakistan feared the king would annex Kashmir with India, leading to war.
Neither side won a full victory. The war ended with a United Nations-brokered ceasefire and the establishment of the Line of Control, dividing Kashmir into parts controlled by India and Pakistan.
Operation Gibraltar was a Pakistani military operation executed in Jammu and Kashmir in 1965 to incite a guerrilla war against Indian rule by sending nine army groups into the region.
The operation failed because Kashmiri people disconnected from the plan and did not revolt against India. Also, India was informed about Pakistan’s operation, leading to a full-scale India and Pakistan war.
The Tashkent Agreement was signed on 10 January 1966 by Indian Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri and Pakistan’s President Mohammad Ayub Khan to end the 1965 war.
This war started with Operation Chengiz Khan, and at the same time, conflicts erupted between East and West Pakistan. India backed East Pakistan’s independence movement, leading to the creation of Bangladesh.
Pakistan lost East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), and around 90,000 Pakistani soldiers became war prisoners, later released after the Simla Agreement between Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and Indira Gandhi.
The Kargil War was fought when both countries had nuclear power. Pakistan forces captured high-altitude areas along the Line of Control (LoC), and after international pressure and Indian retaliation, Pakistan withdrew.
The Siachen Conflict (1984–2003) was a dispute over the Siachen Glacier, which led to military clashes between the two nations.
It followed the attack on the Indian Parliament on 13 December 2001, for which India blamed Pakistan-based terrorist organizations like Jaish e Mohammad and Lashkar e Tayyiba.
On 14 February 2019, there was an attack on a military convoy, killing 40 troops. The Pakistan-based group Jaish e Mohammad claimed responsibility, escalating tensions further.
On 22 April 2025, an attack occurred in Baisaran, Pahalgam, killing 25 Hindu tourists, one Muslim, and one Christian. India accused Pakistan of backing terrorist groups involved in the attack.
India and Pakistan should follow DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) in politics, accept diversity, create an inclusive environment, and counter terrorist attacks by thinking as humans, not based on religion or caste.
