The recent bombing on the “Line of Control”, the most militarized zone on the planet, the space that separates India-controlled Kashmir from Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, is not one of those that have historically “surprised”

The zone has been since 1947 and the independence from the British of Pakistan and India the critical space that both countries claim outright.

In 1947, by treaty , the British formally proceeded to divide the region into two parts. Muslim Pakistan and Hindu India, and gave the regions of Jammu and Kashmir the option of choosing alone which of the two new countries to align themselves with.

The Maharaja of Kashmir, despite initially negotiating autonomy for the region and despite the overwhelming majority of Muslims in the region, decided to side with India in return for military support against incursions from the Pakistani region. This move-decision would also bring about the firstIndo-Pakistani war of 1947-1948.

In 1949, the Karachi Agreement would be signed, temporarily putting arms at bay and bringing in the UN as the supervisor of the ceasefire.

For the next 16 years, despite counter-conflicts on both sides and sporadic localized clashes, the situation remained under relative control.

In 1965 the second Indo-Pakistani war for control of the Kashmir belt again was an event without again changing the situation in the region. In 1971 Pakistan on its eastern border would be defeated by Indian forces in a development that would “give birth” to a new country in the region, Bangladesh.

In 1972 the first bilateral major diplomatic agreement, the Simla Agreement, would be signed. With the signing of this agreement, the so-called “Line of Control” is officially created, defining two different administrative regions in the Kashmir belt.

The situation changes significantly again, as in 1974 the nuclear weapons factor enters the warring equation between Pakistan and India, with India becoming the first of the two rival camps to acquire such weapons. In a show of force in the same year, India would go on to conduct its first official nuclear test, with Pakistan entering this particular “race” in a big way and acquiring its own nuclear arsenal in 1988.

Today, based on official Federation of American Scientists (FAS) figures, India in 2025 has more than 180 nuclear warheads while Pakistan falls short by just 10 (ed. Anadolu, in its own graphic, gives India with 172 nuclear warheads and Pakistan 170).

Since 1989, Pakistan has invested heavily in funds, equipment and training of paramilitary groups, which operate within the Indian-controlled region of Kashmir. Officially, the Pakistani government denies any formal involvement with these groups, which India has had on its list of terrorist organizations for decades.

In 1999, Pakistani soldiers for the first time entered the Indian Control Zone in Kashmir and the move brought yet another armed conflict to the region, the Kargil War. Despite maintaining a fragile ceasefire again until 2003 and both sides continue the practice of provocation and frequent exchanges of fire.

As today, in 2008 there was a serious risk of the situation escalating again following an attack in Mumbai by a group of Pakistani paramilitaries. At that time, 166 people died – including ;eji American citizens.

Modi’s election in India in 2014 brought hope for a settlement through diplomacy of the crisis with Pakistan. Pakistan’s prime minister even attended Modi’s inauguration at an official invitation, but all this was sustained for only a few months.

India, in August 2014 India cancelled the bilateral talks on Kashmir at the highest level with Pakistan and officially the chapter of bilateral contacts was officially closed in 2016 when 18 Indian soldiers were killed from at the Uri military base. For two years till the end of 2018, tensions again in Kashmir hit red without however turning into a military conflict.

The current situation, though having different – much more belligerent – characteristics, seems to be one of the many chapters of this particular conflict for which there must be a given immediate intervention by the White House.

China has long sided with Pakistan, with which it has one of its most important war contracts, and the Chinese Foreign Ministry described India’s operations yesterday on Pakistani soil as “unacceptable”, setting the tone for what may follow.