Government support for human rights in Jammu and Kashmir

Kashmir: History and overview

Kashmir has been claimed by both Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan since the end of British colonial rule in 1947. Kashmir is a Muslim-majority region. The 450-mile Line of Control separates the India-controlled territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, from Pakistan-controlled Kashmir. China also controls part of the region’s land and claims parts of India-administered Kashmir.

After conflict broke out between India and Pakistan in 1947, UN resolutions in 1948 helped broker a temporary ceasefire between the two sides and introduced a plan for a plebiscite of Kashmiris to decide the region’s future status. The two sides agreed to the idea in principle but could not find agreement on the practicalities. The UN established the Line of Control delineating a border between the Pakistan and India controlled territories.

After a major war between Pakistan and India in 1971, which included fighting in Kashmir, a peace accord called the Simla Agreement was signed between Pakistan and India, where they agreed to solve the conflict over Kashmir by peaceful means and respect the line of control as it stood at that time.

There have been numerous clashes between the Indian and Pakistani military across the line of control in the decades since, however.

Since 1989 there has been an armed insurgency against India’s rule in India-administered Kashmir. Some insurgents support Pakistan’s claims to the region, other wish for Kashmir to become a separate state. India states that Pakistan has actively supported armed insurgent groups in Kashmir such as Lashkar-e-Taiba, a claim supported by some analysts. Pakistan says it provides only diplomatic and moral support to the separatist movement.