Indian and Pakistani Border Dispute Kashmir

THE INDIA-PAKISTAN REGIONAL CONFLICT OVER KASHMIR
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Indian and Pakistani Border Dispute Kashmir
Historical accounts of armed conflicts witnessed around the world offer justification for the development of global conflict resolution initiatives, including the formation of the United Nations (UN) in 1945. The need to avoid the past atrocities of armed conflicts witnessed in the First and Second World Wars led to the development and implementation of international policies to enhance peaceful coexistence under the umbrella body of the UN CITATION Fey10 \l 1033 (Feyyaz, 2010). Among the functions of the international organization is finding amicable solutions to social, political, and economic conflicts between nations and even within individual countries. The United Nations employs a wide range of conflict resolution strategies to maintain peaceful international relations across the social, political, and economic domains. The organization partners with regional organizations to find solutions to conflicts whenever they emerge around the globe. The collaborative efforts often provide platforms for mediation, dialogues, and fostering agreements or treaties for the peaceful resolution of disputes CITATION Ahm21 \l 1033 (Ahmed, 2021).
Nonetheless, the presence of such initiatives and platforms for conflict resolution may fail to achieve the desired outcome. Regional disputes, for instance, prove to be among the major challenges facing global peacebuilding initiatives, as witnessed in different regions around the world. The India and Pakistan regional dispute over Kashmir is an excellent example of the challenges facing conflict resolution interventions embraced by regional and international organizations to promote peaceful coexistence. The regional dispute already features three wars between the two countries and countable attempts to find amicable solutions to the conflict that fail to establish lasting peace for the inhabitants of the contested region and within the warring states CITATION BBC19 \l 1033 (BBC, 2019). Provided herein is an investigation of the attempted resolution to the India-Pakistan regional dispute over Kashmir based on a detailed exploration of the conflict toward determining the efficacy of the peacebuilding efforts and the key takeaways from the same.
Background: The Major Cause and Origin of the Conflict
The territorial dispute between India and Pakistan over the Kashmir region began after the partitioning of British India by the British colonialists in August 1947 CITATION BBC19 \l 1033 (BBC, 2019). The majority of Muslim inhabitants of the British colony settled in the Pakistani state, while the Hindu majority formed the new state of India. The British India colony comprised princely states, such as Kashmir and Jammu, which would be let to decide their fates by choosing between becoming independent states and joining either Pakistan or India after the partitioning CITATION Ank16 \l 1033 (Ankit, 2016). The princely state of Kashmir formed the region between the newly formed independent states of India and Pakistan. Both countries claim the region's perceived economic, political, and social merits to their overall growth and development. Pakistan, for instance, claimed Kashmir because the contested region constituted a Muslim-majority like most of its inhabitants, while India perceives Kashmir to be the essence of its secular orientationCITATION Bos03 \l 1033 (Bose, 2003). Kashmir, a Muslim-majority state, was under the rule of a local Hindu ruler referred to as Maharaja Hari Singh. The local ruler initially preferred an Independent Kashmir that would preserve its autonomous control from the influence of both India and Pakistan. However, the advent of political unrest in the region led by Muslims against the Indian ruler prompted a change of decision by the Maharaja toward allying with India to quell the Muslim insurgence in the region CITATION Ank16 \l 1033 (Ankit, 2016). The Kashmiri Muslims collaborated with the Pakistani tribesmen to wage resistance against the Maharaja, pushing the local ruler to seek military assistance from India CITATION Soh18 \l 1033 (Soherwordi, 2018). Following the insurgence, the Maharaja claimed that Kashmir was ceded to India in October 1947, leading to the first war between India and Pakistan. Pakistan joined the war in support of the Kashmiri freedom fighters representing the Muslim majority in the region against the projected Indian rule.
The ensuing war between India and Pakistan led the former to seek the United Nations' intervention in settling the territorial dispute CITATION BBC19 \l 1033 (BBC, 2019). Both countries had already solidified their presence in the region and secured respective territories over the region before the beginning of the UN-led negotiations. The UN managed to negotiate a ceasefire between the two countries in 1948 and recommended the establishment of a line beyond which neither country could exercise its authority, military or otherwise. The line, also known as the Line of Control (LoC), divided Kashmir into what is currently referred to as the Pakistani-administered Kashmir and Indian-administered Kashmir regions CITATION Ank16 \l 1033 (Ankit, 2016). The ceasefire negotiated by the UN lasted approximately 15 years before the two countries engaged in a second war in 1965 over differences in perceived control within the negotiated Line of Control for both countries CITATION Ahm21 \l 1033 (Ahmed, 2021). The third war took place in 1999 between India and Pakistani-backed Kashmiri freedom fighters along the established borderline in the Kashmiri district of Kargil. Since both India and Pakistan had become nuclear powers by 1999, the regional dispute attracted the attention of other countries, such as the United States, who offered diplomatic intervention to bring the war to an end CITATION Wen03 \l 1033 (Wenning, 2003). The diplomatic interventions led to a shaky ceasefire in 2003 characterized by frequent breaches by both parties. Tensions still exist within the contested region and between the two states, as evidenced by the regular exchange of fire across the disputed territory since the 2003 ceasefire agreement CITATION Cen222 \l 1033 (Center for Preventive Action, 2022). Hence, the genesis of the India-Pakistan regional dispute over the Kashmir region traces back to the British partitioning of its British India colony that left unresolved border conflict between the newly formed states lasting from 1947 to date.
The Indirect and Direct Participants
The unfolding events after the partitioning of British India, the wars, and ensuing skirmishes after the formation of the LoC reveal some of the key actors involved and their contribution to protracting the Kashmir border and regional dispute. Despite establishing the borderline between the Indian-administered and Pakistani-administered regions of Kashmir and both countries agreeing to the negotiated ceasefires in 1948 and 2003, frequent exchange of fire and cross-LoC skirmishes still exist between India and Pakistan CITATION Kar19 \l 1033 (Kartha, 2019). Peacebuilding efforts by both regional and international organizations such as the United Nations have failed to achieve lasting peace for the inhabitants of Kashmir. The latter are facing the adverse implications of the social, political, and economic instability in the region CITATION Sne15 \l 1033 (Snedden, 2015). Failure to find common ground among the key actors involved in the regional dispute perpetuates the escalation of the region's instability leading to frequent skirmishes across the Line of Control between the two states.
Recent activities in the region reveal the emergence of other dimensions to the regional dispute reflecting the likelihood of exposing the region to the manipulation of militant groups seeking to capitalize on the existing instability. The on and off attacks between the two countries over the contested region reveal at least three main actors who are directly or indirectly involved in the territorial dispute between India and Pakistan over Kashmir. The direct or indirect participants in the regional dispute include:
Pakistan
The Pakistani's claim over Kashmir builds on the partitioning of the British India colony by the former colonial rulers, who appear to have left unresolved border issues for the newly formed independent countries in the South-East Asian region. According to the British partitioning of the region, most of the Muslim-majority states were ceded to the Pakistani state. In contrast, the Hindu and secular states formed the Indian state in 1947 CITATION Ank16 \l 1033 (Ankit, 2016). Thus, being a Muslim majority state, Kashmir should have been ceded to Pakistan. It suffices, therefore, that one of the reasons Pakistan claimed Kashmir was the perceived belief that since the princely states of Jammu and Kashmir comprised an overwhelming Muslim majority, then Kashmir should definitely fall under Pakistan's jurisdiction. The fact that there was more interaction and integration between Kashmir and Pakistan than with India also played a significant role in influencing Pakistan's claim over the disputed region CITATION Ank16 \l 1033 (Ankit, 2016). Another key reason fueling Pakistan's claim over Kashmir was its integral value to the nation's agricultural development endeavors. Pakistan's annexation of the region would provide the country with unlimited access to waters from the Indus, Chenab, and Jhelum rivers and the other water resources flowing through the region for its agricultural activities without any interference from India CITATION Ank16 \l 1033 (Ankit, 2016). The outlined reasons influence Pakistan's claim over Kashmir, prompting its participation in the frequent skirmishes and exchange of fire across the Line of Control (LoC) with the Indian forces.
India
India's claim over Kashmir is also informed by the region's strategic advantages, including the region's crucial access to Central Asian countries. In es...