INTRODUCTION
India and Pakistan shares an extreme hostile relation with greater complexities of grave issues that never seem to break or be warm at any point. Its relations have been marked by a complex blend of historical grievances, territorial disputes, and moments of diplomatic engagement. Since the partition of British India in 1947, both countries have experienced frequent periods of conflict and limited cooperation. It remains one of South Asia’s most critical geopolitical issues, affecting regional stability, global diplomacy, and economic potential.
The recent Pahalgam terror attack in April 2025, allegedly carried out by Pakistan-based terror outfit, resulted in the tragic loss of lives, majorly including civilian tourists. In response, India launched ‘Operation Sindoor’ on 7 May 2025, a coordinated counter-terrorism offensive aimed at neutralizing the infiltrators and dismantling their infrastructure. The operation also signaled a shift towards a more assertive security doctrine, underlining India’s zero-tolerance policy towards terrorism and cross-border militancy.
BACKGROUND
Indo-Pak
relations have been defined by the violent partition of British India in 1947,
the Jammu & Kashmir conflict and the numerous military conflicts fought
between the two nations.
The partition of British India was one of the largest human migrations ever seen and sparked bloody massacres of refugees across the region. It displaced up to 12.5 million people, with an estimated loss of life of 1 million. India became a secular nation with a Hindu majority population and a large Muslim minority, while Pakistan emerged as an Islamic republic with an overwhelming Muslim majority population and a very small population subscribing to other faiths.
BILATERAL RELATIONS
Throughout 2024, violence continued in Kashmir in response to increasing efforts by New Delhi to consolidate territorial control. Attacks specifically targeted Indian travelers and workers in the region. In June 2024, militants opened fire on a bus carrying pilgrims traveling to a Hindu shrine in the town of Reasi. The attack killed nine and injured over thirty. In October, militants killed seven in Kashmir at a construction site for a tunnel project connecting Kashmir to the northern region of Ladakh.
On April 22, 2025, tensions escalated after militants attacked Indian tourists in Kashmir, killing twenty-five Indian nationals and one Nepalese national. The incident marked the deadliest terrorist attack in Indian territory since the 2008 Mumbai attacks. India blamed Pakistan for harboring the group responsible for the attack and arrested two Pakistani nationals as suspects. Pakistan denied any involvement, and its defense ministry even suggested the attack was a “false flag operation.” Although no group has been officially identified as responsible for the attack, the Kashmir Resistance—an offshoot of LeT—claimed responsibility online.
In the wake of the attack, tit-for-tat measures by India and Pakistan have driven bilateral relations to their lowest point in recent years. New Delhi first took measures to downgrade ties with Pakistan, suspending the Indus Waters Treaty, terminating a visa-free travel regime with Pakistan, and closing the Attari border crossing between the two countries. In turn, Pakistan rejected the suspension of the water treaty, warning that any attempts to alter Pakistan’s Indus River flows would be considered “an act of war.” Islamabad also moved to close Pakistani airspace to all Indian commercial airlines, halted a special visa regime for Indian citizens, and suspended bilateral trade.
Since the ceasefire, India and Pakistan have continued to put forward their opposing viewpoints on Kashmir, the Pahalgam attack, and the military strikes that followed. While Pakistan is showing willingness to talk with India, the Indian leadership, as noted above, remains, at least now, not in the mood to engage in negotiations with Islamabad. India-Pakistan relations have touched a new low with a huge trust deficit defining their relationship. In such a hostile environment, an improvement in bilateral ties is unlikely anytime soon.
ECONOMIC RELATIONS
India has sharply downgraded diplomatic ties with Pakistan after the April 22 terrorist attack on tourists in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, leading to the death of 26 individuals and several other injured, mostly tourists. The economic relationship between India and Pakistan is characterized by both significant potential and persistent challenges. While formal trade has been significantly reduced due to political tensions and security concerns, particularly after the Pulwama attack in 2019 and subsequent actions by both countries, there's an estimated $10 billion in informal trade between them, according to the India-based think tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI).
Amid
ongoing tensions and a prolonged diplomatic standoff with Pakistan, India’s
economy continues to show resilience. While formal trade remains largely
suspended with its neighboring country, investor confidence in India stays
strong, backed by limited dependence on Pakistan and robust macroeconomic
fundamentals. Businesses have increasingly turned to indirect trade routes to
maintain cross-border commercial activity.
According
to a report published by the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) on April
25, 2025, titled “How Indian Goods Reach
Pakistan Without Crossing the Border,” firms have adopted third-country
trade routes to sustain commercial flows. While direct trade between India and
Pakistan is virtually frozen, businesses have identified regions such as Dubai,
Singapore, and Sri Lanka as pivotal transit hubs. Indian-made goods are first
shipped to the ports in these regions and stored in bonded
warehouses—customs-free zones that allow goods to be repackaged and relabeled.
These rebranded goods, typically marked as “Made in UAE,” are then exported to
Pakistan, effectively bypassing official trade barriers. This workaround offers
several strategic advantages to traders, such as avoidance of trade
restrictions and premium pricing to offset added costs.
EDUCATIONAL
TIES
Educational ties
between India and Pakistan are complex, influenced by a history of conflict and
political tensions, but also marked by shared cultural heritage and potential
for collaboration. While formal student exchange programs and academic cooperation
are limited, some initiatives aim to foster understanding and bridge the divide
through education. However, the ongoing political climate and associated
challenges like visa restrictions and security concerns continue to impact
educational opportunities and aspirations for students in both countries.
These tensions affect students' ability to pursue studies, especially those in border areas, and limit opportunities for international collaborations and study abroad programs. National curricula in both countries can reflect a biased or negative portrayal of the other, potentially influencing how teachers present the relationship in the classroom.
PEOPLE-TO-PEOPLE TIES
Despite historical tensions, people-to-people ties between India and Pakistan used to exist through cultural exchanges, religious tourism, and initiatives like the Kartarpur Corridor. However, these ties have been quite strained now.
Following escalating border tensions between India and Pakistan after the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22, India has closed its side of the Kartarpur Corridor — the only active surface-level link between the two countries — indefinitely. The corridor, inaugurated jointly by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and then Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan on November 9, 2019, had fulfilled a long-standing demand of the Sikh community to access one of their holiest shrines without a visa. Under the bilateral agreement, Indian devotees had visa-free, dawn-to-dusk access to the shrine, which had turned out be a meeting point of people from Indian and Pakistan Punjabs, divided since the Partition of 1947.
The Union ministry of home affairs’ bureau of immigration announced the closure of the corridor “till further orders”, after the Pahalgam terror attack.
The
closure has now halted the pilgrimage of Indian Sikh devotees to the historic
Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur, Narowal district, Pakistan, while Pakistan
continues to keep the corridor open on its side.
India-Pakistan tensions – Areas of Conflict
1. Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir:
The
India-Pakistan War List outlines all major military conflicts between the two
nations since 1947, primarily centred around the Kashmir dispute. Pakistan-backed
militant groups have been accused of carrying out attacks in Kashmir and across
India.
Indo-Pakistan War
1947-1948 (The First Kashmir War)
The
Indo-Pakistan War 1947, also known as the First Kashmir War, began when
Pakistan-backed tribal militias invaded Jammu and Kashmir on 22 October 1947. It
ended in 1948 with a United Nations-mediated ceasefire, resulting in the creation
of the Line of Control (LoC).
Indo-Pakistan
War 1965 (The Second War for Kashmir)
The second entry in the India-Pakistan War List, the
Indo-Pakistan War 1965, was once again centred on Kashmir. Pakistan initiated
Operation Gibraltar, penetrating forces into Indian-administered Kashmir to
provoke an uprising. India responded with full-scale military action across the
western front. After 17 days of heavy combat, the war ended with a ceasefire
brokered by the Soviet Union and the United States through the Tashkent
Agreement.
India Pakistan War
1971 or Bangladesh Liberation War (Creation of Bangladesh)
The
1971 war was rooted in the political and ethnic tensions in East Pakistan (now
Bangladesh), where the Bengali population sought independence from West
Pakistan. India intervened in support of the Bengali liberation movement. The
conflict saw a swift Indian military campaign, leading to the capture of Dhaka
and the surrender of Pakistani forces in December 1971. The war resulted in the
creation of Bangladesh as an independent nation. It was a decisive victory for
India and significantly altered the geopolitical landscape of South Asia.
Indo-Pakistan
War 1999 (The Kargil War)
The Indo-Pakistan War 1999, also known as the Kargil
War, occurred after Pakistani soldiers and militants entered Indian positions
in the Kargil sector of Jammu and Kashmir. These invasions violated the LoC and
were strategically aimed at disrupting Indian logistical supply lines.
India launched Operation
Vijay, involving coordinated air, artillery, and infantry offensives.
Battles at Tololing, Drass, and Tiger Hill became symbols of Indian military
resilience. After intense fighting and international pressure, including U.S.
diplomatic intervention, Pakistan withdrew its forces.
Beyond the four conventional wars, several limited conflicts and standoffs are essential parts of the India-Pakistan War List:
- · Siachen
Conflict (1984–2003): India gained control over the Siachen Glacier in
Operation Meghdoot, maintaining a strategic edge over a remote and inhospitable
terrain.
- ·
2001–2002
Military Standoff: The 2001 Indian Parliament attack was a terrorist attack on
the Parliament of India in New Delhi, India on 13 December 2001. The attack was
carried out by five Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists that resulted in the deaths of
six Delhi Police personnel, two Parliament Security Service personnel, and a
gardener. After the Indian Parliament attack, tensions rose sharply, leading to
massive troop mobilisations along the border.
- ·
Surgical
Strikes (2016): The 2016 Uri attack was carried out on 18 September 2016 by
four militants from Jaish-e-Mohammed against an Indian Army brigade
headquarters near the town of Uri in the Indian Jammu and Kashmir. 19 Indian
soldiers were killed in the attack, and 19–30 others were injured. Following
the Uri attack, India conducted surgical strikes on terrorist launch pads
across the LoC.
- · Pulwama
Attack (2019) : In February 2019, an attack on a convoy of Indian paramilitary
forces in Pulwama, Indian-administered Kashmir, killed at least forty soldiers.
The attack, claimed by the Pakistani militant group JeM, was the deadliest in
Kashmir in three decades. India retaliated with an air strike targeting
terrorist training camps within Pakistani territory, which was followed by
Pakistani air strikes on Indian-administered Kashmir. The exchange escalated
into an aerial engagement, during which Pakistan shot down two Indian military
aircraft and captured an Indian pilot; the pilot was released two days later.
- · Balakot Airstrikes (2019): In retaliation for the Pulwama attack, the Indian Air Force targeted Jaish-e-Mohammed camps deep inside Pakistan’s territory.
Pahalgam Attack 2025 (Civilian Massacre)
On 22 April 2025, a horrific attack occurred in Baisaran Valley, Pahalgam, where militants targeted Hindu tourists, killing 26 civilians. The Resistance Front (TRF), allegedly linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba, initially claimed responsibility. Victims were interrogated based on their religious identity, and those identified as non-Muslims were massacred.
Operation Sindoor was conducted by India on 1 May 2025. Targeting nine major terrorist infrastructure sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK), the operation was designed to dismantle terror facilities operated by groups such as JeM, LeT, and HM.
Launched at 1:44 AM, the Indian Armed Forces executed 24 precision missile strikes. The Ministry of Defence emphasised that Operation Sindoor was “focused, measured, and non-escalatory,” highlighting India’s intention to eliminate terrorist threats without triggering war.
2. 2000s: Tensions and the Mumbai attacks
Tensions across
the LoC remained high throughout the 2000s.
In December 2001, an armed attack on the Indian parliament in New Delhi killed 14 people. India blamed Pakistan-backed armed groups for the attacks, that led to a face-to-face standoff between Indian and Pakistan militaries along the LoC. That standoff only ended in October 2002, after international mediation.
In 2003, during a UN General Assembly meeting, Musharraf called for a ceasefire along the LoC, and India and Pakistan came to an agreement to cool tensions and cease hostilities. However, in November 2008, armed gunmen opened fire on civilians at several sites in Mumbai, India. More than 160 people were killed in the attacks.
Ajmal Kasab, the only attacker captured alive, said the attackers were members of Lashkar-e-Taiba. Kasab was executed by India in 2012.
3. Water Sharing Issues
Following the Pahalgam terrorist attack, India suspended its participation in the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), a move that has significantly strained India-Pakistan relations. The Indus River, which flows through Kashmir, bears great significance to agriculture in Pakistan. While the treaty has been a cornerstone of cooperation for over six decades, recent tensions and the suspension of the treaty have raised concerns about future water sharing and potential conflicts. India put into “abeyance” its participation in the 1960 treaty, which governs the usage of the Indus River system, after 26 people were killed in Indian-administered Kashmir in April, in what New Delhi described as an act of terror backed by Pakistan.
India will never restore the Indus Waters Treaty with neighbouring Pakistan, and the water flowing there will be diverted for internal use, says federal Home Minister Amit Shah.
4. Chinese Influence
During the
India-Pakistan clashes, Beijing urged both sides to deescalate and called for a
“political settlement through peaceful means.” But China did not play a neutral
role in the conflict. Consistent with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s
purported statement to his Pakistani counterpart that “China fully understands
Pakistan’s legitimate security concerns and supports Pakistan in safeguarding
its sovereignty and security interests,” China reportedly provided
intelligence, satellite equipment, and other forms of support to Pakistan
before and during the clashes.
India’s Ministry
of Defense, says China helped Pakistan before and during the clashes to
reorganize its radar and air defense systems to more effectively detect India’s
deployments of troops and weaponry. It also claims that China helped Pakistan
adjust its satellite coverage over India in the lead-up to direct hostilities
between the two countries.
Ties have also blossomed under Chinese President Xi Jinping’s flagship Belt and Road Initiative, which has plowed billions of dollars of infrastructure funding into Pakistan. Part of this is to build the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor – which includes a highway and railway network – starting in China’s west and down through Pakistan to its deep-sea Gwadar Port in the Arabian Sea. This would give China much quicker and more direct access to oil imports from the Middle East.
5. Cross Border Smuggling Concerns
The Pahalgam attack (April 2025) in which 26 civilians were killed is a direct result of cross-border infiltration by highly trained terrorists who entered through the LoC. Pakistan uses open borders to carry out anti-India activities, including pushing terrorists and fake Indian currency. Smuggling of essential items, fake Indian currency, gun-running, and drugs and human trafficking happens via the Indo-Nepal border.
Pakistani and Indian media have reported many times in the recent past that drug smugglers have been using drones in border areas, but no high-level Pakistani official has publicly admitted that fact before. Drones from Pakistan increasingly drop arms, explosives, and drugs into Punjab and J&K. BSF reported a doubling of drone incursions in 2022, necessitating deployment of laser-based anti-drone tech at 30 key locations in Punjab. Narcotics, arms, and FICN smuggling across porous borders finance terror modules and organized crime. These illegal economies strengthen internal terror cells, sustain insurgent groups, and undermine national financial security.
CONCLUSION
The
military clashes between the two nuclear-armed countries, which have a history
of volatile relations, ended with a ceasefire on May 10. While the military
confrontation between India and Pakistan has ended for now, tensions remain. The
non-kinetic measures taken by India and
Pakistan against each other following the Pahalgam attack – particularly
India’s decision to hold the Indus Waters Treaty “in abeyance” until “Pakistan
credibly and irrevocably abjures its support for cross-border terrorism,” and
the possibility of more terror attacks inside Indian territory – could make
limited military confrontation between them more frequent.
References
·
Conflict Between India and Pakistan
by the Center for Preventive Action / Updated May 12, 2025
·
India-Pakistan
Relations After the Ceasefire by Amit Ranjan and Diotima Chattoraj, June 07,
2025
·
Reviewing India’s
Economic Pulse Amid Cross-Border Tensions by Archana Rao / India Briefing, May
13, 2025
·
Kartarpur Corridor shut
from India’s side indefinitely, Pak keeps doors open by Gurpreet Singh Nibber,
Amritsar, May 09, 2025
·
China’s Role in the
India-Pakistan Clash by Bonnie S. Glaser/Andrew Small, June 10, 2025
·
Opinion: Drug smuggling
via drones at India-Pak border becoming global threat by Hamid Mir, Lahore, Jul
31, 2023
·
Cross-Border
Infiltration and Security Challenges in India by PWOnlyIAS, April 26, 2025
·
How China Factors Into
the Conflict Between India and Pakistan by Josh Xiao and Dan Strumpf, May 23,
2025
·
Conflict Between India
and Pakistan, By the Center for Preventive Action, Updated May 12, 2025
·
Indo-Pak War 1965: An
In-depth Look at the Key Events and Outcomes by Rega Sai karthik, July 8, 2025
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