In November 1948, as the tide turned in favor of Pakistan, Jawaharlal Nehru rushed to the UN, seeking a ceasefire. Despite pledging to grant the right of self-determination to Kashmiris and hold a fair plebiscite, India had already annexed significant portions of Jammu and Kashmir by the time the ceasefire took effect.
Subsequently, Nehru backtracked on his promises, adopting delaying tactics and sidelining 11 UN resolutions. The Simla Accord of 1972 changed the ceasefire line to the Line of Control (LoC), with both countries agreeing to bilateralism and excluding third-party involvement. This marked a period of relative dormancy until the Kashmiris reignited their struggle in October 1989.
Inspired by events like the Islamic Revolution in Iran and the Afghan Jihad, Kashmiri youth, led by the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) under Syed Geelani, initiated an armed uprising. However, unlike India’s exploitation of the Mukti Bahini rebellion in East Pakistan in 1971, Pakistan refrained from capitalizing on the Kashmiri insurgency due to geopolitical constraints.
General Zia-ul-Haq, envisioning the liberation of Kashmir, was poised to support both the Kashmir and Khalistan movements. However, his untimely demise in 1988 shifted the dynamics. The Kashmiris continued their struggle against brutal Indian forces, facing atrocities and human rights abuses.
The political landscape in Pakistan witnessed significant shifts, with various regimes adopting different approaches toward Kashmir. Benazir Bhutto’s era saw a reversal of gains in Afghanistan and Kashmir, while Nawaz Sharif pursued diplomatic initiatives with various Indian leaders. The post-9/11 era brought new challenges, as Pakistan faced allegations of supporting terrorism.
The Indo-Pak peace treaty of 2004 failed to materialize, and General Pervez Musharraf’s out-of-the-box solution proposal faced skepticism. The Mumbai attacks in 2008 strained diplomatic relations, shifting the narrative toward terrorism rather than the Kashmir issue.
