NewzThere are conflicts in the world that linger, not because they are insoluble, but because powerful interests benefit from their continuation, or because international powers choose to overlook them for geopolitical expediency. For decades, apartheid South Africa was tolerated until it became impossible to ignore. Today, Palestine under Israeli occupation, and Jammu and Kashmir under Indian control, stand as stark reminders of unresolved struggles the world has allowed to fester.
The Kashmir dispute is among the oldest items on the United Nations Security Council’s agenda. At the partition of British India in 1947, this Muslim-majority state was to decide whether to join Pakistan or India. Instead, the territory became the stage for repeated wars and diplomatic stalemates.
The most recent confrontation, following the Pahalgam attack last year, showed how combustible the issue remains between nuclear-armed neighbours. Initially, Kashmir’s ruler, the Maharaja, sought neutrality. In 1947, he proposed a Standstill Agreement to both Pakistan and India, preserving administrative arrangements inherited from British rule.
Within months, Indian forces invaded, occupying large parts of the territory. Kashmiris managed to free Azad Kashmir, but the larger dispute was internationalised. The UN passed resolutions calling for a free and impartial vote – a promise that remains unfulfilled.
India has consistently redefined the conflict as an internal matter. The turning point came on 5 August 2019, when New Delhi revoked Articles 370 and 35A of its constitution. These provisions had granted limited autonomy and protected permanent residents’ rights over land and employment.
Pakistan believes their removal was illegal, imposed without Kashmiri consent, and followed by a sweeping security lockdown. The territory was later downgraded to two “Union Territories”, tightening central control. Pakistan and the Kashmiri people condemned the move as incompatible with UN resolutions.
Summary from source