 | |
 Pakistan |  India |
|---|---|
| Diplomatic mission | |
| High Commission of Pakistan, New Delhi | High Commission of India, Islamabad |
| Envoy | |
| Ambassador Saad Ahmad Warraich | Ambassador Geetika Srivastava |
India andPakistan have a complex and largely hostile relationship that is rooted in a multitude of historical and political events, most notably thepartition of British India in August 1947.
Two years afterWorld War II, theUnited Kingdom formally dissolvedBritish India, dividing it into two new sovereign nations: theUnion of India andPakistan. The partitioning of the former British colony resulted in the displacement of up to 15 million people, with the death toll estimated to have reached between several hundred thousand and one million people asHindus andMuslims migrated in opposite directions across theRadcliffe Line to reach India and Pakistan, respectively.[1] In 1950, India emerged as asecular republic with aHindu-majority population. Shortly afterwards, in 1956, Pakistan emerged as anIslamic republic with aMuslim-majority population.
While the twoSouth Asian countries established full diplomatic ties shortly after their formal independence, their relationship was quickly overshadowed by the mutual effects of the partition as well as by the emergence of conflicting territorial claims over variousprincely states, with the most significant dispute being that ofJammu and Kashmir. Since 1947, India and Pakistan have foughtthree major wars and one undeclared war, and have also engaged in numerous armed skirmishes and military standoffs; theKashmir conflict has served as the catalyst for every war between the two states, with the exception of theIndo-Pakistani War of 1971, which instead occurred alongside theBangladesh Liberation War, which saw the secession ofEast Pakistan as the independent country ofBangladesh. It resulted in a large displacement of Pakistan'sHindu minority.[2][3]
TheIndia–Pakistan border is one of the most militarized international boundaries in the world. There have been numerous attempts to improve the relationship, notably with the 1972Shimla summit, 1999Lahore summit, and the 2001Agra summit in addition to various peace and co-operation initiatives. Despite those efforts, relations between the countries have remained frigid as a result of repeated acts of cross-border terrorism sponsored by the Pakistani side and alleged subversive acts sponsored by India.[4] The lack of any political advantages on either side for pursuing better relations has resulted in a period of "minimalist engagement" by both countries. This allows them to keep a "cold peace" with each other.[5]
Northern India and most of modern-day eastern Pakistan overlap with each other in terms of their commonIndo-Aryan demographic, natively speaking a variety ofIndo-Aryan languages (mainlyPunjabi,Sindhi, andHindi–Urdu). Although the two countries have linguistic and cultural ties, the size of India–Pakistan trade is very small relative to the size of their economies and the fact that they share a land border.[6] Trade across direct routes has been curtailed formally,[7] so the bulk of India–Pakistan trade is routed throughDubai in the Middle East.[8] According to aBBC World Service poll in 2017, only 5% of Indians view Pakistan's influence positively, with 85% expressing a negative view, while 11% of Pakistanis view India's influence positively, with 62% expressing a negative view.[9]
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Most of the pre-British invasions into India (theMuslim conquests having been the most impactful) took place from the northwest through the modern-day territory of Pakistan. This geography meant that Pakistan absorbed morePersian and Muslim influences than the rest of the subcontinent, which can be seen in its usage of a modifiedPerso-Arabic alphabet for writing its native languages.[10]
In the 1840s,Sindh,Kashmir, andPunjab, which are along today's India–Pakistan border, were annexed into British India. British historianJohn Keay notes that while the rest of British India had generally been consolidated through treaties and more nonviolent means, much of what is now Pakistanhad to be physically conquered.[11] By the early 20th century, thePakistan Movement had emerged, demanding a separate nation for Indian Muslims carved out of the northwestern and northeastern regions.[12]
Massive population exchanges occurred between the two newly formed states in the months immediately following the partition. There was no conception that population transfers would be necessary because of the partitioning. Religious minorities were expected to stay put in the states they found themselves residing in. However, while an exception was made for Punjab, where the transfer of populations was organised because of the communal violence affecting the province, this did not apply to other provinces.[13][14]
The partition of British India split the formerBritish province of Punjab andBengal between theDominion of India and theDominion of Pakistan. The mostly Muslim western part of the province became Pakistan'sPunjab province; the mostly Hindu and Sikh eastern part became India's East Punjab state (later divided into the new states ofPunjab,Haryana andHimachal Pradesh). Many Hindus and Sikhs lived in the west, and many Muslims lived in the east, and the fears of all such minorities were so great that the Partition saw many people displaced and much inter-communal violence. Some have described the violence in Punjab as a retributive genocide.[15] Total migration across Punjab during the partition is estimated at 12 million people;[16] around 6.5 million Muslims moved from East Punjab to West Punjab, and 4.7 million Hindus and Sikhs moved from West Punjab to East Punjab.
According to the British plan for the partition of British India, all the 680princely states were allowed to decide which of the two countries to join. With the exception of a few, most of the Muslim-majority princely-states acceded to Pakistan while most of the Hindu-majority princely states joined India. However, the decisions of some of the princely states would shape the Pakistan–India relationship considerably in the years to come.
Junagadh was a state on the south-western end ofGujarat, with the principalities ofManavadar,Mangrol andBabriawad. It was not contiguous to Pakistan and other states physically separated it from Pakistan. The state had an overwhelming Hindu population which constituted more than 80% of its citizens, while its ruler,NawabMahabat Khan, was a Muslim. Mahabat Khan acceded to Pakistan on 15 August 1947. Pakistan confirmed the acceptance of the accession on 15 September 1947.
India did not accept the accession as legitimate. The Indian point of view was that Junagadh was not contiguous to Pakistan, that the Hindu majority of Junagadh wanted it to be a part of India, and that the state was surrounded by Indian territory on three sides.
The Pakistani point of view was that since Junagadh had a ruler and governing body who chose to accede to Pakistan, it should be allowed to do so. Also, because Junagadh had a coastline, it could have maintained maritime links with Pakistan even as anenclave within India.
Neither of the states was able to resolve this issue amicably and it only added fuel to an already charged environment.Sardar Patel, India'sHome Minister, felt that if Junagadh was permitted to go to Pakistan, it would create communal unrest across Gujarat. The government of India gave Pakistan time to void the accession and hold aplebiscite in Junagadh to pre-empt any violence in Gujarat.Samaldas Gandhi formed a government-in-exile, theArzi Hukumat (inUrdu:Arzi: Transitional,Hukumat: Government) of the people of Junagadh. Patel ordered the annexation of Junagadh's three principalities.
Indiacut off supplies of fuel and coal to Junagadh, severed air and postal links, sent troops to the frontier, and occupied theprincipalities of Mangrol and Babariawad that had acceded to India.[17] On 26 October, Nawab of Junagadh and his family fled to Pakistan following clashes with Indian troops. On 7 November, Junagadh's court, facing collapse, invited the Government of India to take over the State's administration. The Dewan of Junagadh, SirShah Nawaz Bhutto, the father ofZulfiqar Ali Bhutto, decided to invite theGovernment of India to intervene and wrote a letter to Mr. Buch, the Regional Commissioner ofSaurashtra in the Government of India to this effect.[18] TheGovernment of Pakistan protested. The Government of India rejected the protests of Pakistan and accepted the invitation of the Dewan to intervene.[19] Indian troops occupied Junagadh on 9 November 1947. In February 1948, aplebiscite held almost unanimously voted for accession to India.
Kashmir was a Muslim-majority princely state, ruled by a Hindu king,MaharajaHari Singh. At the time of thepartition of India, Maharaja Hari Singh, the ruler of the state, preferred to remain independent and did not want to join either theDominion of India or theDominion of Pakistan.
Despite thestandstill agreement with Pakistan, teams of Pakistani forces were dispatched into Kashmir. Backed by Pakistani paramilitary forces,PashtunMehsud tribals[20] invaded Kashmir in October 1947 under the code name "Operation Gulmarg" to seize Kashmir. The Maharaja requested military assistance from India. The Governor General of India,Lord Mountbatten, required the Maharaja to accede to India before India could send troops. Accordingly, theinstrument of accession was signed and accepted during 26–27 October 1947. The accession as well as India's military assistance were supported bySheikh Abdullah, the state's political leader heading theNational Conference party, and Abdullah was appointed as the Head of Emergency Administration of the state the following week.
Pakistan refused to accept the state's accession to India and escalated the conflict, by giving full-fledged support to the rebels and invading tribes. A constant replenishment of Pashtun tribes were organised, and provided arms and ammunition as well as military leadership.
Indian troops managed to evict the invading tribes from theKashmir Valley but the onset of winter made much of the state impassable. In December 1947, India referred the conflict to theUnited Nations Security Council, requesting it to prevent the outbreak of a general war between the two fledgling nations. The Security Council passedResolution 47, asking Pakistan to withdraw all its nationals from Kashmir, asking India to withdraw the bulk of its forces as a second step, and offering to conduct aplebiscite to determine the people's wishes. Though India rejected the resolution, it accepted a suitably amended version of it negotiated by theUN Commission set up for the purpose, as did Pakistan towards the end of 1948. A ceasefire was declared on 1 January the following year.
However, India and Pakistan could not agree on the suitable steps for demilitarisation to occur as prelude to the plebiscite. Pakistan organised the rebel fighting forces of Azad Kashmir into a full-fledged military of 32 battalions, and India insisted that it should be disbanded as part of the demilitarisation. No agreement was reached and the plebiscite never took place.
India and Pakistan have fought in numerous armed conflicts since their independence. There are three major wars that have taken place between the two states, namely in 1947, 1965 and the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971. In addition to this was the unofficialKargil War in 1999 and some border skirmishes.[21] While both nations have held a shaky cease-fire agreement since 2003, they continue to trade fire across the disputed area. Both nations blame the other for breaking the cease-fire agreement, claiming that they are firing in retaliation for attacks.[22] On both sides of the disputed border, an increase in territorial skirmishes that started in late 2016 and escalated into 2018 killed hundreds of civilians and made thousand homeless.[21][22]
The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 started following the culmination ofskirmishes that took place between April 1965 and September 1965 and Pakistan'sOperation Gibraltar, which was designed to infiltrate forces intoJammu and Kashmir to precipitate aninsurgency against rule by India.[23] India retaliated by launching a full-scale military attack onWest Pakistan. The seventeen-day war caused thousands of casualties on both sides and witnessed the largest engagement of armored vehicles and the largest tank battle since World War II.[24][25] Hostilities between the two countries ended after aUnited Nations-mandated ceasefire was declared following diplomatic intervention by the Soviet Union and the United States, and the subsequent issuance of theTashkent Declaration.[26] The five-week war caused thousands of casualties on both sides. Most of the battles were fought by opposinginfantry andarmoured units, with substantial backing from air forces, and naval operations. It ended in aUnited Nations (UN) mandatedceasefire and the subsequent issuance of theTashkent Declaration.
Pakistan, since independence, was geo-politically divided into two major regions,West Pakistan andEast Pakistan. East Pakistan was occupied mostly byBengali people. After a Pakistanimilitary operation and agenocide on Bengalis in December 1971, following a political crisis in East Pakistan, the situation soon spiralled out of control in East Pakistan and India intervened in favour of the rebelling Bengali populace. The conflict, a brief but bloody war, resulted in the independence of East Pakistan. In the war, theIndian Army invaded East Pakistan from three sides, while theIndian Navy used the aircraft carrierINS Vikrant to impose a naval blockade of East Pakistan. The war saw the first offensive operations undertaken by the Indian Navy against an enemy port, when Karachi harbour was attacked twice duringOperation Trident (1971) andOperation Python. These attacks destroyed a significant portion of Pakistan's naval strength, whereas no Indian ship was lost. The Indian Navy did, however, lose a single ship, whenINS Khukri (F149) was torpedoed by a Pakistani submarine. 13 days after the invasion of East Pakistan, 93,000Pakistani military personnel surrendered to theIndian Army and theMukti Bahini. After the surrender of Pakistani forces, East Pakistan became the independent nation ofBangladesh.
In May 1999 some Kashmiri shepherds discovered the presence of militants and non-uniformed Pakistani soldiers (many with official identifications andPakistan Army's custom weaponry) in the Kashmir Valley, where they had taken control of border hilltops and unmanned border posts. The incursion was centred around the town ofKargil, but also included theBatalik andAkhnoor sectors and artillery exchanges at theSiachen Glacier.[27][28]
The Indian army responded with Operation Vijay, which launched on 26 May 1999. This saw the Indian military fighting thousands of militants and soldiers in the midst of heavy artillery shelling and while facing extremely cold weather, snow and treacherous terrain at the high altitude.[29] Over 500 Indian soldiers were killed in the three-month-long Kargil War, and it is estimated around 600–4,000 Pakistani militants and soldiers died as well.[30][31][32][33] India pushed back the Pakistani militants andNorthern Light Infantry soldiers. Almost 70% of the territory was recaptured by India.[29] Vajpayee sent a "secret letter" to U.S. PresidentBill Clinton that if Pakistani infiltrators did not withdraw from the Indian territory, "we will get them out, one way or the other".[34]
After Pakistan suffered heavy losses, and with both the United States and China refusing to condone the incursion or threaten India to stop its military operations, GeneralPervez Musharraf wasrecalcitrant andNawaz Sharif asked the remaining militants to stop and withdraw to positions along the LoC.[35] The militants were not willing to accept orders from Sharif but theNLI soldiers withdrew.[35] The militants were killed by the Indian army or forced to withdraw in skirmishes which continued even after the announcement of withdrawal by Pakistan.[35]
A subsequent military coup in Pakistan that overturned the democratically electedNawaz Sharif government in October of the same year also proved a setback to relations.
TheIndus Waters Treaty governs the rivers that flow from India into Pakistan. Water is cited as one possible cause for a conflict between the two nations, but to date issues such as theNimoo Bazgo Project have been resolved through diplomacy.[36]
In 1949, India recorded close to 1 million Hindu refugees, who flooded intoWest Bengal and other states fromEast Pakistan (now Bangladesh), owing to communal violence, intimidation and repression from authorities. The plight of the refugees outraged Hindus and Indian nationalists, and the refugee population drained the resources of Indian states, which were unable to absorb them. While not ruling out war, Prime Minister Nehru and Sardar Patel invitedLiaquat Ali Khan for talks in Delhi. Although many Indians termed this appeasement, Nehru signed a pact with Liaquat Ali Khan that pledged both nations to the protection of minorities and creation of minority commissions. Khan and Nehru also signed a trade agreement, and committed to resolving bilateral conflicts through peaceful means. Steadily, hundreds of thousands of Hindus returned to East Pakistan, but the thaw in relations did not last long, primarily owing to theKashmir conflict.
According to some reports published by theCouncil of Foreign Relations, the Pakistan military and the ISI have provided covert support to terrorist groups active in Kashmir, including theal-Qaeda affiliateJaish-e-Mohammed.[37][38] Pakistan has denied any involvement in terrorist activities in Kashmir, arguing that it only provides political and moral support to thesecessionist groups who wish to escape Indian rule. Many Kashmiri militant groups also maintain their headquarters inPakistan-administered Kashmir, which is cited as further proof by the Indian government.
JournalistStephen Suleyman Schwartz notes that several militant and criminal groups are "backed by senior officers in the Pakistani army, the country's ISI intelligence establishment and other armed bodies of the state."[39]
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The attack on theIndian Parliament was by far the most dramatic attack carried out allegedly by Pakistani terrorists. India blamed Pakistan for carrying out the attacks, an allegation which Pakistan strongly denied. The following2001–2002 India–Pakistan standoff raised concerns of a possiblenuclear confrontation. However, international peace efforts ensured the cooling of tensions between the two nuclear-capable nations.
Apart from this, the most notable was thehijacking ofIndian Airlines Flight IC 814 en route New Delhi fromKathmandu, Nepal. The plane was hijacked on 24 December 1999 approximately one hour after takeoff and was taken toAmritsar airport and then toLahore in Pakistan. After refuelling the plane took off forDubai and then finally landed inKandahar, Afghanistan. Under intense media pressure, New Delhi complied with the hijackers' demand and freedMaulana Masood Azhar from his captivity in return for the freedom of the Indian passengers on the flight. The decision, however, cost New Delhi dearly. Maulana, who is believed to be hiding inKarachi, later became the leader ofJaish-e-Mohammed, an organisation which has carried out several terrorist acts against Indian security forces in Kashmir.[5]
On 22 December 2000, a group of terrorists belonging to theLashkar-e-Toiba stormed theRed Fort inNew Delhi. The fort houses anIndian military unit and a high-security interrogation cell used both by theCentral Bureau of Investigation and theIndian Army. The terrorists successfully breached the security cover around theRed Fort and opened fire at theIndian military personnel on duty killing two of them on spot. The attack was significant because it was carried out just two days after the declaration of the cease-fire between India and Pakistan.[6]
In 2002, India claimed again that terrorists from Jammu and Kashmir were infiltrating into India, a claim denied by Pakistan PresidentPervez Musharraf, who claimed that such infiltration had stopped—India's spokesperson for the External Affairs Ministry did away with Pakistan's claim, calling it "terminological inexactitude".[48] Only two months later, two Kashmiri terrorists belonging toJaish-e-Mohammed raided theSwami Narayan temple complex inAhmedabad,Gujarat killing 30 people, including 18 women and five children. The attack was carried out on 25 September 2002, just few days after state elections were held in Jammu and Kashmir. Two identical letters found on both the terrorists claimed that the attack was done in retaliation for the deaths of thousands of Muslims during theGujarat riots.[7]
Two car bombs exploded in southMumbai on 25 August 2003; one near theGateway of India and the other at the Zaveri Bazaar, killing at least 48 and injuring 150 people. Though no terrorist group claimed responsibility for the attacks,Mumbai Police andRAW suspectedLashkar-e-Toiba's hand in the twin blasts.[8]
In an unsuccessful attempt, six terrorists belonging toLashkar-e-Toiba, stormed theAyodhyaRam Janmbhomi complex on 5 July 2005. Before the terrorists could reach the maindisputed site, they were shot down byIndian security forces. OneHindu worshipper and two policemen were injured during the incident.[9]
The2001 Indian Parliament attack was an attack at theParliament of India in New Delhi on 13 December 2001, during which fourteen people, including the five men who attacked the building, were killed. The perpetrators wereLashkar-e-Taiba (Let) andJaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorists.[49][50] The attack led to the deaths of five terrorists, sixDelhi Police personnel, two Parliament Security Service personnel and a gardener, in total 14[51] and to increased tensions betweenIndia andPakistan, resulting in the2001–02 India–Pakistan standoff.[52]
The2001–2002 India–Pakistan standoff was a military standoff between India and Pakistan that resulted in the massing of troops on either side of theborder and along theLine of Control (LoC) in the region ofKashmir. This was the first major military standoff between India and Pakistan since theKargil War in 1999. The military buildup was initiated by India responding to a2001 Indian Parliament attack and the2001 Jammu and Kashmir legislative assembly attack.[53] India claimed that the attacks were carried out by two Pakistan-based terror groups, theLashkar-e-Taiba andJaish-e-Mohammad, both of whom India has said are backed by Pakistan'sISI[54] a charge that Pakistan denied.[55][56][57] Tensions de-escalated following internationaldiplomatic mediation which resulted in the October 2002 withdrawal of Indian[58] and Pakistani troops[59] from the international border.
The2007 Samjhauta Express bombings was a terrorist attack targeted on theSamjhauta Express train on 18 February. The Samjhauta Express is an international train that runs from New Delhi, India to Lahore, Pakistan, and is one of two trains to cross the India–Pakistan border. At least 68 people were killed, mostly Pakistani civilians but also some Indian security personnel and civilians.[60]
The2008 Mumbai attacks by ten Pakistani terrorists killed over 173 and wounded 308. The sole surviving gunmanAjmal Kasab who was arrested during the attacks was found to be a Pakistani national. This fact was acknowledged by Pakistani authorities.[61] In May 2010, an Indian court convicted him on four counts of murder, waging war against India,conspiracy andterrorism offences, and sentenced him to death.[62]
India blamed theLashkar-e-Taiba, a Pakistan-based militant group, for planning and executing the attacks. Indian officials demanded Pakistan extradite suspects for trial. They also said that, given the sophistication of the attacks, the perpetrators "must have had the support of some official agencies in Pakistan".[63] In July 2009 Pakistani authorities confirmed that LeT plotted and financed the attacks from LeT camps in Karachi andThatta.[64] In November 2009, Pakistani authorities charged seven men they had arrested earlier, of planning and executing the assault.[65]
On 9 April 2015, the foremost ringleader of the attacks,Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi[66][67] was granted bail againstsurety bonds ofRs. 200,000 (US$690) in Pakistan.[68][69]
TheBalochistan Insurgency, ongoing since the early 2000s, involves separatist groups in Pakistan's Balochistan province seeking autonomy. The largest and most prominent group, theBaloch Liberation Army (BLA), has fought for independence, citing long-standing grievances over perceived discrimination and underdevelopment by the central government. The insurgency escalated in March 2025 when the BLA hijacked a train in a remote area ofBalochistan, killing 26 people.
Pakistan's military has accused India of supporting the insurgents, citing the 2016 arrest of Indian naval officerKulbhushan Jadhav, who was convicted of espionage and allegedly aiding Baloch separatists. These accusations have been rejected by India, which denies any involvement in the insurgency. The region's strategic importance, with its oil and mineral wealth, and its proximity to India, has made the conflict a focal point in South Asian military tensions.[70][71]
Following thePahalgam terrorist attack on April 22 which resulted in the deaths of 26 civilians, including 25 Indian tourists and one Nepali national, India–Pakistan relations have reached a critical low point. The attack, attributed by India to theIslamicResistance Front, an offshoot of the Pakistan-basedLashkar-e-Taiba, has triggered a series of retaliatory measures from both nations, escalating tensions to levels not seen in years.[72][73] According to Indian news, unnamed sources have stated that Hashim Musa, a former para commando in the Pakistan Army's elite Special Service Group (SSG), was involved in the attack. Trained in covert and unconventional warfare, he is said to have joined the banned terror group, Lashkar-e-Taiba, after his dismissal from SSG and to have infiltrated Kashmir in September 2023. Unnamed sources say his name and SSG background were revealed during the interrogation of Over Ground Workers (OGWs) who supported the perpetrators.[74]
In response to escalating tensions, India has suspended theIndus Waters Treaty of 1960, placing the long-standing water-sharing agreement "in abeyance" due to what it alleges is Pakistan's ongoing support for cross-border terrorism. Additionally, India has imposed visa and diplomatic restrictions, halting visa services for Pakistani nationals and expelling several Pakistani diplomats. As part of broader punitive measures, the Attari–Wagah border has been closed, effectively cutting off overland trade and further straining bilateral ties.[75][76]
Additionally, authorities across various states started a crackdown on illegal immigrants from Pakistan and began the process of deporting them. Many of these illegal immigrants had reportedly possessed voter IDs and ration cards, sparking a major controversy and debate as non-citizens do not have right to vote.[77] Furthermore, short term visas of several Pakistani visitors, some of who were married to Indians, were also being cancelled.[78]
In retaliation, Pakistan announced a series of countermeasures. It suspended the 1972Shimla Agreement, which had emphasized the peaceful resolution of bilateral disputes. Pakistan also closed its airspace to Indian aircraft and halted all trade with India. On the diplomatic front, Indian diplomats have been expelled, and the staff size at the Indian High Commission in Islamabad has been significantly reduced, deepening the diplomatic rift between the two countries.[73][79]
On May 6, Indiatargeted Pakistan proper and Pakistan-administeredKashmir with multiple airstrikes as part ofOperation Sindoor, marking a significant escalation of the conflict.[80] India announced that it struck nine "terrorist infrastructure" sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir, stating the targets were used to plan and direct attacks. It stressed the strikes were precise, avoided Pakistani military sites, and were non-escalatory. Jaish-e-Mohammad stronghold of Bahawalpur and Lashkar-e-Taiba's base in Muridke were among the targets. Pakistan reported hits in Muzaffarabad, Kotli, and Bahawalpur.[81][82]
On 13 May, India reportedly declared Md. Ehsan Ur Rahim, a staff member at the Pakistan High Commission, persona non grata for engaging in activities inconsistent with his diplomatic status. He was allegedly involved in espionage.[83][84] More information on the expulsion was revealed to Indian media after 17 May when a YouTuber was arrested.[85] It was alleged that Ehsan used an Indian YouTuber, namely Jyoti Malhotra, for espionage activities.[86] He reportedly befriended the youtuber in 2023 and maintained close contact with her during the four-day military conflict. Over time, he reportedly cultivated her as an asset by introducing her to Pakistani contacts and facilitating her visit to Pakistan, where she met intelligence officials. The youtuber is believed to have maintained communication with these officials through encrypted platforms like WhatsApp, Telegram, and Snapchat, and shared sensitive information, according to Indian police.[87][88]
India has a long history ofnuclear weapons development.[89] The origins of India's nuclear program date back to 1944, when it started a nuclear program soon after obtaining independence.[89] In the 1940s–1960s, India's nuclear program slowly matured towards militarisation and expanded the nuclear power infrastructure throughout the country.[89] Decisions on the development of nuclear weapons were made by Indian political leaders after the 1962Chinese invasion and territorial annexation ofNorth India. In 1967, India's nuclear program was aimed at the development of nuclear weapons, withIndira Gandhi overseeing the development of the weapons.[90] In 1971, India gainedmilitary and political momentum over Pakistan, after their success in theIndo-Pakistani war of 1971. Starting preparations for anuclear test in 1972, India finally exploded its first nuclear bomb at thePokhran test range, codenamedSmiling Buddha, in 1974.[90] During the 1980s–90s, India began development of space and nuclear armed rockets with itsIntegrated Guided Missile Development Program, which marked Pakistan's efforts to engage in the space race with India.[91] Pakistan's ownIntegrated Missile Research and Development Programme developed space and nuclear missiles and began unmanned flight tests of its space vehicles in the mid-1990s.[91]
After their defeat in the Indo-Pakistani war in 1971, Pakistan launched its own nuclear bomb program in 1972, and accelerated its efforts in 1974, after India exploded its first nuclear bomb in Pokhran test range.[90][92] This large-scale nuclear bomb program was directly in response to India's nuclear program.[93] In 1983, Pakistan achieved a major milestone in its efforts after it covertly performed a series ofnon-fission tests, codenamedKirana-I. No official announcements of such tests were made by thePakistani Government.[93] Over the next several years, Pakistan expanded and modernized nuclear power projects around the country to supply its electricity sector and to provide back-up support and benefit to its national economy. In 1988, a mutual understanding was reached between the two countries in which each pledged not to attack nuclear facilities. Agreements on cultural exchanges and civil aviation were also initiated in 1988.[93] Finally, in May 1998, India carried out its second nuclear test series (seePokhran-II) which caused Pakistan to reply with its own test series, also in May 1998 (seeChagai-I andChagai-II).
The U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency's 2025 assessment stated that Pakistan viewed India as an existential threat and was modernizing its military, focusing on tactical nuclear weapons to counter India's conventional superiority. The report estimated Pakistan's arsenal at 170 warheads in 2024, potentially rising to 200 by 2025, and noted growing defense ties with China, a key supplier for materials and technologies for its weapons of mass destruction programs.[94][95]
In August 2025, Pakistan's army chief Field MarshalAsim Munir issued a nuclear threat against India during a black-tie dinner in Tampa,Florida, stating that if Pakistan faced an existential threat, "we'll take half the world down with us."[96][97] India condemned the remarks as "nuclear sabre-rattling," with Ministry of External Affairs spokespersonRandhir Jaiswal stating that it was "Pakistan's stock-in-trade" and adding that "the international community can draw its own conclusions on the irresponsibility inherent in such remarks."[98] Pakistan's Foreign Office claimed the remarks were "distorted."[99]
Countries including India and the United States have demanded that Pakistan stop using its territory as a base for terrorist groups following multiple terrorist attacks byIslamic jihadists in Kashmir and other parts of India.[100] The Pakistani government has denied the accusation and accused India of sponsoring so-called "state-backed terror".[101]
India has accused some of the most wanted Indian fugitives, such asDawood Ibrahim, of having a presence in Pakistan. On 11 May 2011, India released a list of 50 "Most Wanted Fugitives" hiding in Pakistan. This was to tactically pressure Pakistan after thekilling ofOsama bin Laden in hiscompound in Abbottabad.[102] After two errors in the list received publicity, theCentral Bureau of Investigation removed it from their website, pending review.[103] After this incident, the Pakistani interior ministry rejected the list forwarded by India to Islamabad, saying it should first probe if those named in the list were even living in the country.[104]
After the 1971 war, Pakistan and India made slow progress towards the normalisation of relations. In July 1972, Indian Prime MinisterIndira Gandhi and Pakistani PresidentZulfikar Ali Bhutto met in the Indian hill station ofShimla. They signed theShimla Agreement, by which India would return all Pakistani personnel (over 90,000) and captured territory in the west, and the two countries would "settle their differences by peaceful means through bilateral negotiations." Diplomatic and trade relations were also re-established in 1976.
In 1997, high-level Indo-Pakistan talks resumed after a three-year pause. The Prime Ministers of Pakistan and India met twice and the foreign secretaries conducted three rounds of talks. In June 1997, the foreign secretaries identified eight "outstanding issues" around which continuing talks would be focused. The conflict over the status of Kashmir, (referred by India as Jammu and Kashmir), an issue since Independence, remains the major stumbling block in their dialogue. India maintains that the entire former princely state is an integral part of the Indian union, while Pakistan insists that UN resolutions calling for self-determination of the people of the state/province must be taken into account. It however refuses to abide by the previous part of the resolution, which calls for it to vacate all territories occupied.
In September 1997, the talks broke down over the structure of how to deal with the issues of Kashmir, and peace and security. Pakistan advocated that the issues be treated by separateworking groups. India responded that the two issues be taken up along with six others on a simultaneous basis.
Attempts to restart dialogue between the two nations were given a major boost by the February 1999 meeting of both Prime Ministers inLahore and their signing of three agreements.
In 2001, a summit was called inAgra; PakistaniPresidentPervez Musharraf turned up to meet IndianPrime MinisterAtal Behari Vajpayee. The talks fell through.
On 20 June 2004, with a new government in place in India, both countries agreed to extend anuclear testing ban and to set up ahotline between their foreign secretaries aimed at preventing misunderstandings that might lead to anuclear war.[105]
Baglihar Dam issue was a new issue raised by Pakistan in 2005.
After Dr. Manmohan Singh become prime minister of India in May 2004, thePunjab provincial Government declared it would developGah, his place of birth, as a model village in his honour and name a school after him.[106] There is also a village in India namedPakistan, despite occasional pressure over the years to change its name the villagers have resisted.[107]
Violent activities in the region declined in 2004. There are two main reasons for this: warming of relations betweenNew Delhi andIslamabad which consequently lead to aceasefire between the two countries in 2003 and the fencing of the Line of Control being carried out by theIndian Army. Moreover, coming under intense international pressure, Islamabad was compelled to take action against the militants' training camps on its territory. In 2004, the two countries also agreed upon decreasing the number of troops present in the region.
Under pressure, Kashmiri militant organisations made an offer for talks and negotiations with New Delhi, which India welcomed.
India'sBorder Security Force blamed the Pakistani military for providing cover-fire for the terrorists whenever they infiltrated into Indian territory from Pakistan. Pakistan in turn has also blamed India for providing support to terrorist organisations operating in Pakistan such as theBLA.
In 2005, Pakistan's information minister, Sheikh Rashid, was alleged to have run aterrorist training camp in 1990 inN.W. Frontier, Pakistan. The Pakistani government dismissed the charges against its minister as an attempt to hamper the ongoing peace process between the two neighbours.
Both India and Pakistan have launched several mutualconfidence-building measures (CBMs) to ease tensions between the two. These include more high-level talks, easingvisa restrictions, and restarting ofcricket matches between the two. The new bus service betweenSrinagar andMuzaffarabad has also helped bring the two sides closer. Pakistan and India have also decided to co-operate on economic fronts.
Some improvements in the relations are seen with the re-opening of a series of transportation networks near the India–Pakistan border, with the most important being bus routes and railway lines.
A major clash betweenIndian security forces and militants occurred when a group of insurgents tried to infiltrate into Kashmir from Pakistan in July 2005. The same month also saw a Kashmiri militant attack onAyodhya andSrinagar. However, these developments had little impact on the peace process.
An Indian man held in Pakistani prisons since 1975 as an accused spy walked across the border to freedom 3 March 2008, an unconditional release that Pakistan said was done to improve relations between the two countries.[108]
In 2006, a "Friends Without Borders" scheme began with the help of two British tourists. The idea was that Indian and Pakistani children would make pen pals and write friendly letters to each other. The idea was so successful in both countries that the organisation found it "impossible to keep up". The World's Largest Love Letter was recently sent from India to Pakistan.[109]
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In December 2010, several Pakistani newspapers published stories about India's leadership and relationship with militants in Pakistan that the papers claimed were found in theUnited States diplomatic cables leak. A British newspaper,The Guardian, which had the Wikileaks cables in its possession reviewed the cables and concluded that the Pakistani claims were "not accurate" and that "WikiLeaks [was] being exploited for propaganda purposes."[111]
On 10 February 2011, India agreed to resume talks with Pakistan which were suspended after 26/11 Mumbai Attacks.[112] India had put on hold all the diplomatic relations saying it will only continue if Pakistan will act against the accused of Mumbai attacks.
On 13 April 2012, following a thaw in relations whereby India gainedmost favoured nation status in the country, India announced the removal offoreign direct investment restrictions from Pakistan to India.[113]
TheForeign Minister of PakistanHina Rabbani Khar on 11 July 2012, stated inPhnom Penh that her country is willing to resolve some of the disputes, including Sir Creek andSiachen, on the basis of agreements reached in past.[114]
On 7 September 2012,Indian External Affairs MinisterS. M. Krishna would pay a 3-day visit to Pakistan to review the progress of bilateral dialogue with his Pakistani counterpart.[115]
In August 2019, following the approval of theJammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill in theIndian Parliament, whichrevoked the special status ofJammu and Kashmir,[116][117] further tension was brought between the two countries, with Pakistan downgrading their diplomatic ties, closing its airspace, and suspending bilateral trade with India.[118]
TheKartarpur Corridor was opened in November 2019.[119]
On 25 February 2021, India and Pakistan issued a joint statement indicating that both sides agreed to stop firing at each other at theLine of Control (LOC, disputedde facto border) in Kashmir.[120]
Despite this, in July 2021 Indian government rejected Pakistan's call for talks, stating that "Peace, prosperity can't coexist with terrorism".[121]
On 16 October 2024, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to discuss topics at the SCO Summit dinner in Islamabad.[122][123][124]
In response to the2001 Gujarat earthquake, Pakistani PresidentPervez Mushrraf sent a plane load of relief supplies fromIslamabad toAhmedabad.[125] They carried 200 tents and more than 2,000 blankets.[126] Furthermore, the President called Indian PM to express his 'sympathy' over the loss from the earthquake.[127]
India offered aid to Pakistan in response to the2005 Kashmir earthquake on 8 October. Indian and Pakistani High Commissioners consulted with one another regarding cooperation in relief work. India sent 25 tonnes of relief material to Pakistan including food, blankets and medicine. Large Indian companies such asInfosys offered aid up to $226,000. On 12 October, anIlyushin-76 cargo plane ferried across seven truckloads (about 82tons) of army medicines, 15,000 blankets and 50 tents and returned to New Delhi. A senior air force official also stated that they had been asked by the Indian government to be ready to fly out another similar consignment.[128]
On 14 October, India dispatched the second consignment of relief material to Pakistan, by train through theWagah Border. The consignment included 5,000 blankets, 370 tents, 5 tons of plastic sheets and 12 tons of medicine. A third consignment of medicine and relief material was also sent shortly afterwards by train.[129] India also pledged $25 million as aid to Pakistan.[130] India opened the first of three points at Chakan Da Bagh, inPoonch, on the Line of Control between India and Pakistan for earthquake relief work.[131]
Amid the2022 Pakistan floods, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his "heartfelt condolences to families of the victims".[132] As of 30 August, it has been reported that the government of India is considering sending relief aid to Pakistan.[133]
India and Pakistan have curtailed formal trade; South Asia, the region inhabited by the two countries, is the least economically integrated region in the world, with only 5% of its trade conducted internally.[134] However, there is an informal bilateral trade of around $10 billion, with most of the goods imported by Pakistan.[135]
During the2025 India–Pakistan conflict, bilateral maritime trade was suspended.[136]
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India and Pakistan both feature in theSouth Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and theCommonwealth of Nations. SAARC membership initially helped the two countries come to certain agreements, such as simplifying visa access for each other, while in the early years of independence, one of the reasons both countries remained in the Commonwealth was arguably to prevent a British preference towards the other country.[138][139] Eventually SAARC became defunct largely due to the impasse between the two nations,[140] and since the2025 Pahalgam attack, India removed SAARC visa privileges for Pakistani nationals.[141]
Aman ki Asha is a joint venture and campaign betweenThe Times of India and theJang Group started in 2010 calling for mutual peace and development of diplomatic and cultural relations.[142]
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India and Pakistan, particularly Northern India and Eastern Pakistan, to some degree have similar cultures, cuisines and languages due to commonIndo-Aryan heritage which spans through the two countries and throughout much of the northern subcontinent which also underpin the historical ties between the two.Pakistani singers, musicians,comedians and entertainers have enjoyed widespread popularity in India, with many achieving overnight fame in the Indian film industryBollywood. Likewise,Indian music andfilm are very popular in Pakistan. Being located in thenorthernmost region ofSouth Asia, Pakistan's culture is somewhat similar to that ofNorth India, especially thenorthwest.
ThePunjab region was split intoPunjab, Pakistan andPunjab, India following the independence and partition of the two countries in 1947. ThePunjabi people are today the largest ethnic group in Pakistan and also an important ethnic group of northern India. The founder ofSikhism was born in the modern-day Pakistani Punjab province, in the city ofNankana Sahib. Each year, millions of Indian Sikh pilgrims cross over to visit holy Sikh sites inNankana Sahib. TheSindhi people are the native ethnic group of the Pakistani province ofSindh. Many Hindu Sindhis migrated to India in 1947, making the country home to a sizeable Sindhi community. In addition, the millions of Muslims who migrated from India to the newly created Pakistan during independence came to be known as theMuhajir people; they are settled predominantly in Karachi and still maintain family links in India.
Relations between Pakistan and India have also resumed through platforms such as media and communications.
The India–Pakistan border is the official international boundary that demarcates the Indian states of Punjab,Rajasthan andGujarat from the Pakistani provinces of Punjab and Sindh. TheWagah border is the only road crossing between India and Pakistan and lies on theGrand Trunk Road, connectingLahore, Pakistan withAmritsar, India. Each evening, theWagah–Attari border ceremony takes place, in which the flags are lowered and guards on both sides make a pompous military display and exchange handshakes.
Hindustani is thelingua franca of North India and Pakistan, as well as the official language of both countries, under the standard registersHindi andUrdu, respectively. Standard Urdu ismutually intelligible with standard Hindi. Hindustani is also widely understood and used as a lingua franca amongst South Asians includingSri Lankans,Nepalis andBangladeshis, and is the language of Bollywood, which is enjoyed throughout much of the subcontinent.
Apart fromHindustani, India and Pakistan also share a distribution of thePunjabi language (written in theGurmukhi script in Indian Punjab, and theShahmukhi script in Pakistani Punjab),Kashmiri language andSindhi language, mainly due to population exchange. These languages belong to a commonIndo-Aryan family that are spoken in countries across the subcontinent.
Some Indian and Pakistani people marry across the border at instances. Many Indians and Pakistanis in the diaspora, especially in the United States, intermarry, as there are large cultural similarities between the two countries respectively.[144]
In April 2010 a high-profile Pakistani cricketer,Shoaib Malik married the Indian tennis starSania Mirza.[145] The wedding received much media attention and was said to transfix both India and Pakistan.[146]
Cricket and hockey matches between the two (as well as other sports to a lesser degree such as those of the SAARC/South Asian Games) have often been political in nature. During theSoviet invasion of Afghanistan GeneralZia-ul Haq travelled to India for a bout of "cricket diplomacy" to keep India from supporting the Soviets by opening another front.Pervez Musharaff also tried to do the same more than a decade later but to no avail.
Following the2008 terror attack inMumbai, India stopped playing bilateral cricket series against Pakistan. Since then, the Indian team has only played against them inICC andAsian Cricket Council events such as theCricket World Cup,T20 World Cup,Asia Cup andICC Champions Trophy. In 2017, the then Sports Minister of India,Vijay Goel opposed further bilateral series due toPakistan's alleged sponsoring of terrorism, saying that "there cannot be sports relations between the two countries [while] there is terrorism from the Pakistani side."[147] TheBoard of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) also opposed any further series without the permission of the Indian government.[148] The BCCI also did not allow Pakistani players to play in theIndian Premier League in the aftermath of the 2008 terror attack, although they were part of the inaugural season.[149]
The two nations also share some of the sametraditional games, such askabaddi andkho kho.[150] Intennis,Rohan Bopanna of India andAisam-ul-Haq Qureshi of Pakistan have formed a successful duo and have been dubbed as the "Indo-Pak Express".[151]
The large size of theIndian diaspora andPakistani diaspora in many different countries throughout the world has created strong diasporic relations. It is quite common for a "Little India" and a "Little Pakistan" to co-exist inSouth Asian ethnic enclaves in overseas countries.
British Indians andBritish Pakistanis, the largest and second-largest ethnic minorities living in the United Kingdom respectively, are said to have friendly relations with one another.[152][153] There are various cities such asBirmingham,Blackburn andManchester whereBritish Indians andBritish Pakistanis live alongside each other in peace and harmony. Both Indians and Pakistanis living in the UK fit under the category ofBritish Asian. The UK is also home to the Pakistan & India friendship forum.[154] In the United States, Indians and Pakistanis are classified under theSouth Asian American category and share many cultural traits, with intermarriage being common.[144]
The British MEPSajjad Karim is of Pakistani origin. He is a member of the European Parliament Friends of India Group, Karim was also responsible for opening up Europe to free trade with India.[155][156] He narrowly escaped the Mumbai attacks at Hotel Taj in November 2008. Despite the atrocity, Karim does not wish the remaining killerAjmal Kasab to be sentenced to death. He said: "I believe he had a fair and transparent trial and I support the guilty verdict. But I am not a supporter of capital punishment. I believe he should be given a life sentence, but that life should mean life."[157][158]
| Year | Name |
|---|---|
| 1953 | Prime MinisterJawaharlal Nehru |
| 1960 | Prime MinisterJawaharlal Nehru |
| 1964 | Prime MinisterLal Bahadur Shastri |
| 1988 | Prime MinisterRajiv Gandhi (Funeral ofKhan Abdul Gaffar Khan andSAARC Summit) |
| 1989 | Prime MinisterRajiv Gandhi |
| 1999 | Prime MinisterAtal Bihari Vajpayee |
| 2004 | Prime MinisterAtal Bihari Vajpayee (SAARC Summit) |
| 2015 | Prime MinisterNarendra Modi (Informal meeting with Pakistani Prime MinisterNawaz Sharif) |
Second, it was feared that if an exchange of populations was agreed to in principle in Punjab, ' there was the likelihood of trouble breaking out in other parts of the subcontinent to force Muslims in the Indian Dominion to move to Pakistan. If that happened, we would find ourselves with inadequate land and other resources to support the influx.' Punjab could set a very dangerous precedent for the rest of the subcontinent. Given that Muslims in the rest of India, some 42 million, formed a population larger than the entire population of West Pakistan at the time, economic rationality eschewed such a forced migration. However, in divided Punjab, millions of people were already on the move, and the two governments had to respond to this mass movement. Thus, despite these important reservations, the establishment of the MEO led to an acceptance of a 'transfer of populations' in divided Punjab, too, 'to give a sense of security' to ravaged communities on both sides. A statement of the Indian government's position of such a transfer across divided Punjab was made in the legislature by Neogy on November 18, 1947. He stated that although the Indian government's policy was 'to discourage mass migration from one province to another.' Punjab was to be an exception. In the rest of the subcontinent migrations were not to be on a planned basis, but a matter of individual choice. This exceptional character of movements across divided Punjab needs to be emphasized, for the agreed and 'planned evacuations' by the two governments formed the context of those displacements.
Notwithstanding the accumulated evidence of inter-communal tension, the signatories to the agreement that divided the Raj did not expect the transfer of power and the partition of India to be accompanied by a mass movement of population. Partition was conceived as a means of preventing migration on a large scale because the borders would be adjusted instead. Minorities need not be troubled by the new configuration. As Pakistan's first Prime Minister, Liaquat Ali Khan, affirmed, 'the division of India into Pakistan and India Dominions was based on the principle that minorities will stay where they were and that the two states will afford all protection to them as citizens of the respective states'.
Some 12 million people were displaced in the divided province of Punjab alone, and up to 20 million in the subcontinent as a whole.
Pakistan denies any ongoing collaboration between the ISI and militants, stressing a change of course after 11 September 2001.
Kartarpur, Pakistan: The prime ministers of India and Pakistan inaugurated on Saturday a visa-free border crossing for Sikh pilgrims from India, allowing thousands of pilgrims to easily visit a Sikh shrine just inside Pakistan each day.
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