Timeline: Fighting Over Kashmir

ByABC News
May 29, 2002, 4:16 PM

— -- More than 50 years after the subcontinent was partitioned into India and Pakistan, the region has seen three wars, a dangerous arms escalation and the looming threat of a new nuclear war. At the heart of one of the world's most intractable conflict is the Himalayan region of Kashmir, which both countries claim. This timeline tells the story of the bloody regional conflict.

Oct. 26, 1947: The Hindu maharajah of Muslim-majority Kashmir signs the Instrument of Accession, ceding Kashmir to India. This is immediately followed by an invasion by Pakistan-backed members of the Pathan tribe. The invaders are repulsed by the Indian military, which uses the battles to justify its continued presence in Kashmir.

Aug. 13, 1948: The U.N. Commission for India and Pakistan calls for an end to hostilities, with a truce followed by a referendum for self-determination among the Kashmiris. The U.N. resolution was agreed to, but never honored. The chief demand of today's Kashmiri separatists is for this plebiscite to take place.

Jan. 1, 1949: End of the first war over Kashmir, which partitioned the region along the cease-fire line, with a third of Kashmir under Pakistan's control.

Sept. 6, 1965: Second Indo-Pakistan war over Kashmir.

Dec. 3, 1971: Third Indo-Pakistan war, over Bangladesh.

July 2, 1972: Simla Agreement between India and Pakistan recognizes cease-fire line of December 1971 as Line of Control and states commitment to resolve differences through peaceful means and bilateral talks.

1987: Evidence surfaces that the election in India's Jammu and Kashmir state was widely rigged, adding to discontent against a corrupt government and paving the way for the militancy.

1989: Armed militancy begins. The Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front the first of dozens of Muslim militant groups that ultimately form kidnaps an official's daughter. She is returned in exchange for release of prisoners.

1990-1996: Central government rule is imposed on Jammu and Kashmir state. Security forces are given sweeping powers. In 1995 six foreign tourists, including two Americans, are kidnapped. One American, John Childs, escapes. All others are believed killed, though only one body was ever recovered.