Why are India and Pakistan fighting?Topic:Unrest, Conflict and War19m ago19 minutes agoMon 12 May 2025 at 2:00amThe recent violence is a continuation of decades of hostility between India and Pakistan. (Reuters: Adnan Abidi)abc.net.au/news/why-india-pakistan-fighting-kashmir-region-history/105277862Link copiedShareShare articleFighting between Pakistan and India flared up over the weekend, with a ceasefire broken just hours after it was declared. The violence is a continuation of decades of hostility between the neighbouring countries.Here's a brief explanation of where the conflict began.Why are India and Pakistan fighting?Because of a decades-long dispute over land in an area referred to as the Kashmir region. Where is Kashmir?It's a region near the northernmost corners of India and Pakistan. Many people just call it Kasmir, but on many maps, you will see the region labelled as Jammu and Kashmir.This goes back to the days when it was a princely state of Jammu and Kashmir — more on that below. Why are India and Pakistan fighting over Kashmir? To understand the dispute, we have to go back to the days of the British Indian Empire. This massive area included the land that makes up the countries we now know as India and Pakistan.This map from 1909 shows the areas we know as Pakistan and India part of the same empire. (Uploaded to Wikimedia Commons by Fowler&fowler)Britain's control of the area ended in August, 1947 and the empire was split into India, Bangladesh and Pakistan. India was a Hindu majority, while Pakistan was Muslim majority.But the fate of Jammu and Kashmir — then a princely state — was left undecided.The region was majority Muslim but its ruler, Maharaja Hari Singh, was Hindu. He was given a choice about whether to join India or Pakistan or remain independent.Loading...Before he could decide, the local uprisings and an invasion from tribal groups that Maharaja Singh accused the Pakistani government of backing, led to him seeking help from the Indian government, which was only offered on the condition he cede to India.He signed the Instrument of Accession to India in October, 1947. Fighting escalated over the coming months, with the war eventually ending with a UN-brokered ceasefire in April, 1948.The idea was to stop the fighting so the people could vote on whether the region would become part of India or Pakistan — but this never happened. A boundary called the Ceasefire Line — now known as the Line of Control — was established, which divided the region without technically being classified as an international border.The map included in UN documents from 1949 is difficult to read but, in a nutshell, Pakistan administered the land on the north west, while India administered land on the south east. Two pages from the UN documents placed side-by-side to create a map of the Kashmir region. (United Nations Digital Library )Hostilities between the two nations continued over the decades. Fighting intensified again in 1965, continuing for months until a ceasefire was brokered by what was then known as the Soviet Union. Both sides agreed to adhere to the original ceasefire line from the late 1940s. Fighting flared up again in 1971, ending with the signing of a peace treaty in 1972. And in 1999, India and Pakistani forces clashed again in the Kargil region in what was described as an undeclared war. Who controls Kashmir now?Hostilities between Indian and Pakistan have been ongoing over the decades. (AP: Inter Services Public Relations)India governs the Kashmir Valley, Jammu and Ladakh.Pakistan controls Azad Kashmir (which translates to "Free Kashmir") and the region known as the Northern AreasChina holds the Aksai Chin regionWhat is Australia's stance on Kashmir?Here's what the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) says about the region on its website about Australia's relationship with Pakistan:"The Kashmir region is disputed with India. "Pakistan-administered Kashmir comprises Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and Gilgit-Baltistan."However, DFAT's page on India makes no mention of the Kashmir region. Here's some of what a DFAT report on India from 2023 says about the region:"The situation in Jammu and Kashmir is not always clear. "Remoteness, government restrictions and low-grade technology (for example, 2G mobile phone service and other limitations that are also related to the remoteness of the region) limit available information."Internet is sometimes shut down by authorities, ostensibly for security reasons to prevent organising of violence." The federal government's SmartTraveller website updated its warnings telling people to avoid the area over the weekend. Here's what it says:"Due to the current security situation between India and Pakistan, we recommend you monitor local media, stay alert, take official warnings seriously and follow the advice of local authorities."It goes on to say:"We continue to advise do not travel to the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, the entire India-Pakistan border area, and Manipur. This doesn’t apply to the Union Territory of Ladakh. India has closed the Attari border crossing with Pakistan."ABC/wires Posted 19m ago19 minutes agoMon 12 May 2025 at 2:00amShare optionsCopy linkFacebookX (formerly Twitter)Top StoriesVideo captures childcare worker hitting baby and laughing about itTopic:Child CarePhoto shows A still from a Snapchat video shows a baby on a bouncer crying.The 9,000-product catch behind Bunnings's biggest price guaranteeTopic:Retail IndustryPhoto shows A person in a Bunnings apron stands in a Bunnings aisle.Monique Ryan wins Kooyong as Greens, Labor and Liberals each nab seatsLIVEPhoto shows Kooyong MP Monique Ryan in Kooyong, inner MelbourneIs Chalmers prepared to follow Keating into the 'slaying' business?AAnalysis by Alan KohlerPhoto shows Jim Chalmers walks into QT smiling.Zelenskyy agrees to meet Putin face-to-face for Ukraine war talksTopic:Unrest, Conflict and WarPhoto shows Volodymyr Zelensky, Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron stand at Memorial Wall of Fallen Defenders of UkraineRelated storiesPakistan launches retaliatory strikes against India as conflict intensifiesTopic:Unrest, Conflict and WarPhoto shows Thumbnail Pakistan missileRelated topicsIndiaPakistanUnrest, Conflict and WarTop StoriesVideo captures childcare worker hitting baby and laughing about itTopic:Child CarePhoto shows A still from a Snapchat video shows a baby on a bouncer crying.The 9,000-product catch behind Bunnings's biggest price guaranteeTopic:Retail IndustryMonique Ryan wins Kooyong as Greens, Labor and Liberals each nab seatsTopic:Government and PoliticsIs Chalmers prepared to follow Keating into the 'slaying' business?AAnalysis by Alan KohlerZelenskyy agrees to meet Putin face-to-face for Ukraine war talksTopic:Unrest, Conflict and WarJust InComposer finds way to keep making music after his own deathTopic:Contemporary Art12m ago12 minutes agoMon 12 May 2025 at 2:07amWhy are India and Pakistan fighting? 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