Key military, diplomatic escalations in troubled India-Pakistan ties since 1999
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On May 7, India struck nine Pakistani sites that it said comprised "terrorist infrastructure".
PHOTO: REUTERS
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NEW DELHI – India struck nine Pakistani sites on May 7 that it said comprised “terrorist infrastructure”, two weeks after 26 people were killed in an attack in Indian Kashmir
Islamabad says six locations were targeted and eight people killed.
As the nuclear-armed rivals, who have fought three wars in the past, intensify firing and shelling across their de-facto border in Kashmir, here is a chronology of major military and diplomatic escalations in their troubled relationship since 1999.
May to July 1999
India and Pakistan fight an undeclared war in the Kargil region of Kashmir after Pakistani army-backed irregulars occupy Indian posts on the Line of Control or the ceasefire line. India pushes back after intense fighting. The US pressures Pakistan to withdraw.
December 2001
Heavily armed attackers target India’s parliament building in New Delhi, killing nine people. India blames Pakistan-based Islamist groups Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba. The two countries come to the brink of a fourth war.
November 2008
Ten heavily armed attackers target major landmarks across Mumbai, including two luxury hotels, a Jewish centre and the main train station, killing 166 people. India pauses all dialogues with Pakistan, resuming them briefly years later under a structured peace process.
January 2016
Attackers disguised as soldiers storm an Indian Air Force base near the Pakistan border, exchanging fire with Indian forces who, backed by tanks and helicopters, battle for more than 15 hours before wresting back control of the compound.
All five assailants and at least two guards are killed in the attack. India says the attackers came from Pakistan, while the Pakistani authorities condemned the raid. Peace talks, briefly revived in 2015, stall again.
September 2016
Eighteen Indian soldiers are killed in an attack on an army base in Uri in Indian Kashmir. India blames Pakistan for the attack and responds with “surgical strikes” across the Line of Control on what it calls terrorist launch pads.
Pakistan denies that any incursion had occurred on its territory.
February 2019
A suicide bomber kills 40 Indian paramilitary police in Kashmir. India conducts air strikes in Balakot, Pakistan.
Pakistan responds with air strikes of its own and shoots down an Indian aircraft. India also claims to have shot down a Pakistan plane, but this was not confirmed. The stand-off de-escalates following international pressure.
August 2019
India revokes Kashmir’s special status, scrapping a constitutional provision that allows the state of Jammu and Kashmir to make its own laws. Pakistan downgrades diplomatic ties and suspends trade.
April 2025
Twenty-six men are killed after Islamist assailants target Hindu tourists in Indian Kashmir. India blames Pakistan-backed groups; Pakistan denies involvement and calls for a neutral probe.
India suspends the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty that regulates water-sharing from the Indus river and its tributaries, while Pakistan suspends all trade with India, including through third countries.
Both countries close airspace to each others’ airlines and India revokes most visas issued to Pakistani nationals. REUTERS
