India and Pakistan War: Memory Of Bitter Events Since

Recent events have once again raised the specter of an India and Pakistan war. A brutal Pahalgam terrorist attack in Kashmir on April 22 left 26 civilians dead, triggering a fierce diplomatic and military tit-for-tat. New Delhi immediately blamed Pakistan-backed militants and took drastic measures: it suspended the Indus Waters Treaty, halted trade and visas, and sealed the Attari–Wagah border crossing. Islamabad flatly denied any role, and in turn closed its airspace to Indian flights, warned that any tampering with river waters would be “an act of war,” and traded artillery fire along the Line of Control (LoC). As the latest India-Pakistan conflict news surfaced, both armies have exchanged gunfire along the border nearly every day.

Analysts note this is “the most significant bilateral confrontation since 2019,” with Pakistan even claiming it has “credible intelligence” of a possible Indian strike. The United States and China have publicly urged de-escalation. Meanwhile, Pakistan is leaning hard on its allies for support: China is deepening arms sales and, in early 2025, Turkey flew multiple C-130 cargo planes packed with weapons to Pakistan. In short, India and Pakistan war may break out for the fifth time in the history , and reports are surfacing about daily border skirmishes and growing military posturing.

In the wake of the devastating terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Kashmir, where 26 civilians lost their lives, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed profound grief and a resolute commitment to justice. Describing the incident as “shocking and painful,” Modi assured the nation that those responsible would be brought to justice.

Table of Contents

The Beginning Of Hostility

Hostility dates back to the bloody India-Pakistan Partition of 1947. When British India was sliced into Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan, massive migrations and communal massacres ensued. Crucially, the princely state of Jammu & Kashmir – with a Muslim majority but a Hindu ruler – became a flashpoint. In October 1947, Pashtun tribal militias supported by Pakistan attacked Kashmir. Under attack, Maharaja Hari Singh signed an Instrument of Accession to India to get protection. As Britannica recounts, Kashmir’s ruler “ultimately agreed to join India in exchange for help against invading Pakistani [tribal fighters], triggering the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947-48”.

India immediately airlifted troops to Srinagar, halting the invasion. Fierce fighting raged through late 1947, but by January 1949 a UN-brokered cease-fire froze the lines. The newly drawn Line of Control (LoC) left India in control of roughly two-thirds of Kashmir (the Valley and Jammu regions) and Pakistan one-third (Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan). This genesis of hostility, over Kashmir’s accession, set the pattern: each side has waged war or conflict to claim Kashmir, but ultimately reverted to old borders.

Historical Timeline Of Every India VS Pakistan War

Year 1947–48: First Kashmir War (Partition and Ceasefire Line)

Pakistan’s strategy in 1947 was based on irregular forces. At the time, India inherited roughly two-thirds of the former British Indian Army (about 200,000 troops) while Pakistan had the remaining one-third. Pakistan initially relied on tribal fighters to seize territory. But Indian forces quickly mobilized. Notably, India airlifted troops to Srinagar as soon as Hari Singh acceded, reversing the tribal advance and securing the Valley. The fighting remained intense through 1948, but neither side could break the stalemate. Finally the UN intervened: in January 1949 India and Pakistan agreed to a cease-fire.

Key Points – 1947–48 War: Punjab princely state of Kashmir erupted into conflict immediately after Partition, as India and Pakistan clashed over who would control the “key valley”. India’s rapid airlift saved Srinagar, while Pakistani-backed tribal forces held parts of the north. The Jan 1949 ceasefire (Karachi Agreement) froze positions: India held about two-thirds of the old state (including Kashmir Valley and Jammu). This war established the LoC as the de facto boundary.

Year 1965: Second Kashmir War and Stalemate

By 1965 the Kashmir issue remained unsettled. Pakistan hatched Operation Gibraltar in August 1965: between 7,000 and 30,000 Pakistani soldiers and mujahideen infiltrated Indian-administered Kashmir, hoping to incite an uprising. India detected the incursion and declared war. Pakistan’s President Ayub Khan then launched Operation Grand Slam on September 1, a large armored push in Kashmir, betting that India would not escalate. Instead, India fought back on multiple fronts. Indian troops even crossed into Pakistani Punjab, aiming to relieve pressure on Kashmir.

Major battles ensued (famous tank fights at Asal Uttar and Chawinda), and the conflict soon threatened to spill beyond Kashmir into Punjab and Rajasthan. Only intense international pressure halted the fighting. On September 20, the UN Security Council demanded a cease-fire; both sides pulled back by September 22. In January 1966 India’s Prime Minister Shastri and Pakistan’s Ayub Khan signed the Tashkent Declaration, withdrawing forces to pre-war lines.

Key Points – 1965 War: Pakistan’s surprise attack (Operation Gibraltar) attempted to trigger revolt in Kashmir. India counterattacked bravely, even advancing into Pakistan’s heartland. A UN ceasefire on Sept 22, 1965 ended major combat. Under the Tashkent summit (Jan 1966) both armies agreed to revert to the status quo. In the end, the war was largely militarily inconclusive – but India “fared better militarily” by halting Pakistan’s advances and making limited gains. The conflict reaffirmed the LoC dividing Kashmir.

Year 1971: Bangladesh Liberation War

The 1971 war was of a different nature. East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) was in turmoil, as its Bengali population revolted against West Pakistani rule. When West Pakistan’s army brutally cracked down (Operation Searchlight), an estimated 10 million Bengalis fled into India. India supported the insurgency. On December 3, 1971, Pakistan launched pre-emptive air strikes on India (West Bengal airfields), and India formally entered the war on two fronts.

Indian forces swept through East Pakistan. Within two weeks, on December 16, Lt. Gen. A.A.K. Niazi’s entire Eastern Command surrendered. Over 93,000 Pakistani troops laid down arms – one of history’s largest capitulations – and Bangladesh was born. On the western front (Punjab/Kashmir), India had briefly advanced (capturing some territory), but under U.S. and Soviet pressure New Delhi agreed to withdraw to prewar borders in goodwill. The July 1972 Simla Agreement then formalized the ceasefire lines as Kashmir’s new LoC.

Key Points – 1971 War: The conflict was fueled by East Pakistan’s liberation struggle. India intervened decisively in Dec 1971. After intense fighting on two fronts, Dhaka fell on Dec 16; about 93,000 Pakistani soldiers surrendered. India’s victory secured an independent Bangladesh. Pakistan was routed, and India emerged triumphant. Diplomatically, the Simla Accord of 1972 committed both nations to respect Kashmir’s LoC. This war profoundly changed the balance: Bangladesh’s creation and a severe setback for Pakistan led Islamabad to reevaluate its strategy (including a push for nuclear arms).

Year 1999: The Biggest Of All India Vs Pakistan War-Kargil Conflict

The last conventional clash was the Kargil War of 1999 in the high Himalayas. In May 1999, India’s army discovered that Pakistani soldiers and Kashmiri militants had secretly occupied vantage peaks on the Indian side of the LoC in the Kargil sector. Pakistan’s Operation Badr aimed to cut the Srinagar-Leh highway and internationalize the Kashmir issue. India responded with Operation Vijay (ground offensive) and Operation Safed Sagar (air strikes), racing against time and winter. In the extreme cold and rugged terrain, key heights like Tololing (June) and Tiger Hill (July) saw savage battles. Both sides suffered heavy casualties amid artillery barrages and air strikes.

Global pressure ended the standoff. U.S. President Clinton brokered urgent talks in Washington between Indian PM Vajpayee and Pakistan’s PM Sharif. By July 26, 1999, Pakistan agreed to withdraw all remaining forces back across the LoC. The Kargil conflict closed with India recapturing all intruded peaks and declaring a successful defense of its territory. The war exposed flaws in Pakistani planning (they underestimated India’s response) and in Pakistan’s intelligence and surveillance. Domestically, Kargil triggered a political crisis in Pakistan: military triumphalism by Gen. Musharraf led to his coup in October 1999, ousting PM Nawaz Sharif.

Key Points – 1999 Kargil: Pakistan covertly occupied Indian posts in high-altitude Kashmir, leading to intense mountain warfare. India’s counter-offensive by July 1999 drove out the intruders. Under U.S. mediation, Pakistan pulled back its troops. In the end, India restored all its positions. Observers note India won a clear tactical victory; Pakistan’s gambit failed and underscored weaknesses in its military intelligence. Kargil reaffirmed that even a fourth war ended with a return to the status quo.

Continuing Rivalry and Regional Outlook

Despite formal ceasefires, India–Pakistan relations have remained a powder keg. A tenuous truce declared in 2003 along the LoC has repeatedly been punctured by skirmishes. Artillery duels and sniper fire erupt almost daily in Kashmir’s buffer zone. Since 1948, these continual border clashes – sometimes blamed on militants or local activists – keep tensions simmering. In 2008, for example, Lashkar-e-Taiba’s Mumbai attacks (which killed 166 people) nearly dragged the two countries back to war.

Today, even as both governments publicly profess peace, reality is adversarial. Pakistan’s weaker economy (years of IMF bailouts) limits its military budget, whereas India’s booming economy funds an arms build-up. Both countries have amassed missiles and nuclear weapons – Pakistan maintains a first-use nuclear policy, while India has a no-first-use pledge – making any war vastly more dangerous. As the global tracker at CFR notes, border forces still exchange fire every day since the recent terror attack. The India-Pakistan border news is dominated by these tit-for-tat shellings and patrol skirmishes.

Regionally, new factors have emerged. China remains Pakistan’s chief ally, providing arms and investment. In 2024–25 China’s weapons exports have disproportionately gone to Pakistan, deepening the military partnership. Moreover, Turkey has warmed to Islamabad: In February 2025 President Erdoğan and Pakistan’s PM Sharif signed 24 new cooperation pacts covering defence, energy and trade. Reporters note that Ankara has even airlifted six C-130 cargo planes loaded with combat materiel to Pakistan, “reinforcing Islamabad’s defence amid rising tensions”. In other words, Pakistan is now leaning on both Beijing and Ankara to offset India’s advantage.

By contrast, India has strengthened ties with the United States and other Western powers, which publicly call for restraint. The current India-Pakistan situation thus features heavy diplomacy behind the scenes: Washington and Beijing privately urge calm, even as New Delhi asserts its readiness to defend any “red line”.

Economically, bilateral trade remains negligible and is routinely suspended at moments of conflict. Important agreements have broken down under strain. For example, after the Pahalgam attack India in 2025 put on hold the Indus Waters Treaty (a 1960 pact over shared rivers), prompting Pakistan to warn any tampering would be “an act of war”. Under relentless pressure both governments have also expelled many of each other’s nationals – tens of thousands of people were forced to flee across the closed Attari–Wagah checkpoint within days of the April attack.

India Vs Pakistan Military Capabilities: A Comparative Overview

As analysts pore over India Pakistan military comparison, the gap in conventional power is striking. On paper, India’s forces are far larger. India fields roughly 1.4 million active troops versus about 654,000 in Pakistan. Its air force has about 2,000 aircraft (including advanced Su-30MKIs and Rafale fighters) compared to roughly 1,400 Pakistani aircraft (mostly F-16s and Chinese jets). India also boasts a true blue-water navy with aircraft carriers and far more destroyers and submarines, whereas Pakistan’s navy remains largely green-water with a few frigates and corvettes.

In missile power, both have dozens of medium and long-range rockets, but India’s arsenal and budget are significantly larger. India’s defense budget is substantially higher, enabling rapid modernization; Pakistan invests less (relying on foreign aid).

Armies: India has 1.4M active, heavily mechanized and air-mobile; Pakistan has 0.65M (with many troops forward-deployed in Kashmir).
Air Forces: India is equipped with 2,000 aircraft (high-altitude Su-30Ms, Mirage 2000s, Rafales); Pakistan claim 1,400 (mostly US F-16s and JF-17s).
Navies: India operates carriers and a growing blue-water fleet; Pakistan’s navy is smaller, focused on coastal defense.
Nuclear Doctrine: India officially pledges no-first-use; Pakistan reserves the right to use nukes first if threatened.
Budget: India’s defense spending is roughly three times Pakistan’s, funding new missiles and technology.

India’s larger economy and diverse military means its conventional strength is greater. As one expert notes, India’s “strengths lie in its larger conventional forces and diversified military assets,” whereas Pakistan often counts on guerrilla tactics and its nuclear umbrella. (To close the gap, Pakistan invests in asymmetric warfare, special forces and foreign partnerships.) For the first time in decades, however, Pakistan has significant extra help: Chinese and Turkish aid. After the 2025 crisis erupted, Times of India reported that over 80% of China’s recent arms exports have gone to Pakistan, and that “Pakistan appears to be heavily relying on its closest defence allies — Turkey and China.”.

Turkey’s recent arms shipments and defense pacts signify that this rivalry is no longer purely bilateral – it carries weighty regional alliances on both sides.

Diplomatic and Economic Measures To Uphold Peace

Over the years India and Pakistan have periodically tried diplomatic fixes, with mixed results. Let’s look at the following key agreements that the two states signed:

Simla Agreement (1972): After 1971, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and President Bhutto agreed to respect the LoC and settle disputes bilaterally. This reset the Kashmir ceasefire line as a national frontier, in theory ruling out UN interventions.
Lahore Declaration (1999): On the eve of Kargil, each side’s leader vowed to work towards a nuclear risk reduction and peace process, though fighting soon resumed.
Agra Summit (2001): Presidents Musharraf and Vajpayee met to try resolving Kashmir but left without a deal; it did produce some confidence-building measures (hotlines, etc).

Economically, ties have often been a barometer of tension. At peace, a trickle of trade flows between them; at crisis, borders snap shut. The recent 2025 conflict is a case in point: India’s suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty and Pakistan’s trade embargo exemplify how a water pact or economic links can be weaponized. On April 26, 2025 Pakistan moved to close its airspace to India, cancel special visas and suspend all bilateral trade, even as Indian troops mobilized along the LoC. Meanwhile, India undertook a security crackdown in Kashmir (mass arrests and curfews) and accelerated missile testing. In other words, economic measures – investments, trade and water-sharing – have become leverage in this conflict.

In India vs Pakistan war history, peace efforts have rarely been permanent. The abduction of the conflict by outsiders (like the 1971 superpower standoff) or by terrorist incidents (Mumbai 2008, Uri 2016) has continuously upended quiet. But one constant remains: without an underlying political solution (especially on Kashmir) and mutual trust, diplomatic agreements have only provided temporary breathing room. As of mid-2025, there is little sign of new talks – each side blames the other and shelves negotiations.

In sum, the history of the India and Pakistan war has been one of repeatedly unresolved conflicts. Each major war (1947–48, 1965, 1971, 1999) had its own context and causes, but all shared common features: battles over Kashmir or territory, large-scale military mobilization, and ultimately diplomatic settlements that largely restored prewar lines (except in 1971, where Pakistan lost East Pakistan). The strength of India’s forces and economy has been evident across these conflicts, yet Pakistan’s willingness to engage at high costs (through insurgency support, proxy forces or surprise incursions) has kept the conflict alive. As of 2025, with intense border exchanges and diplomatic breakdown, the risk of another armed clash looms.

A balanced assessment recognizes that both nations have shown resolve: India’s military size and global support are its strengths, while Pakistan’s agility and nuclear deterrent are its key assets. Moving forward, the international community continues to urge dialogue. But without addressing the underlying Kashmir dispute and building mutual trust, an India and Pakistan war, whether conventional or by proxy, remains a distinct possibility in the region’s volatile future

Sources: www.cfr.org , www.britannica.com