British India was divided in 1947 into a mostly Hindu India and a Muslim Pakistan, with perhaps a million killed and the princely state of Kashmir left in dispute. The two have fought four wars, both have nuclear weapons, and in May 2025 they exchanged missiles and air strikes for four days. Pakistan's other border, with Afghanistan, was drawn by the British through the lands of the Pashtuns and has never been accepted by any Afghan government. Since early 2026 Pakistan has been bombing Afghanistan, which it accuses of sheltering the fighters who attack it, as India accuses Pakistan.
Where it stands · September 2026
On 1 September a court in The Hague upheld the Indus Waters Treaty and ordered India to comply with the treaty and curb a dam in Kashmir. On 14 September Pakistan listed Masood Azhar, chief of Jaish-e-Mohammed, as a fugitive and raised the bounty on him ahead of a review by the Financial Action Task Force. Pakistan carried out airstrikes in Afghanistan on 21 September and struck ten sites there on 24 September. Afghanistan said on 27 September that 28 fighters were killed after crossing from Pakistan; Islamabad denied ties. On 28 September the Jammu and Kashmir assembly passed a resolution seeking urgent restoration of full statehood during a walkout by the BJP.
What the dispute is about
Kashmir. Both claim all of it and each holds part. India treats the matter as closed. Pakistan says Kashmiris were promised a vote.
Armed groups. India says Pakistan's army raised and shelters the groups that attack it. Pakistan says the same of Afghanistan's Taliban government, and of India in Balochistan. Each rejects as slander from one neighbour the charge it makes against another.
Water. India lies upstream on the rivers that feed Pakistan's farms, and since 2025 has set the treaty that divides them aside.
The bomb. Every crisis is managed under the knowledge that both can destroy each other's cities. India has concluded that this leaves room for limited strikes. Pakistan's doctrine is to deny that room.
