Kashmir: A disputed region in focus after deadly militant attack

Twenty-six people were killed and 17 were injured when suspected militants opened fire at tourists in India's Jammu and Kashmir territory on Tuesday, the worst such attack in the country in nearly two decades.

The Muslim-majority Himalayan region is claimed by both India and Pakistan, and has been the site of multiple wars, insurgency and diplomatic standoffs.

Here is a look at the region, its history, and why it continues to be a source of tension between the two countries:

PARTITION AND ACCESSION

After partition of the subcontinent in 1947, Kashmir was expected to go to Pakistan, as other Muslim majority regions did. Its Hindu ruler wanted to stay independent but, faced with an invasion by Muslim tribesmen from Pakistan, acceded to India in October 1947 in return for help against the invaders.

GEOGRAPHY AND DEMOGRAPHICS

Kashmir ended up divided among Hindu-majority India, which governs the Kashmir Valley, Jammu, and Ladakh; Islamic Pakistan, which controls Azad Kashmir ("Free Kashmir") and the Northern Areas; and China, which holds Aksai Chin.

Indian-administered Kashmir has a population of around 7 million, of whom nearly 70% are Muslim.

ARTICLE 370

This provision of the Indian constitution which provided for partial autonomy for Jammu & Kashmir was drafted in 1947 by the then prime minister of the state, Sheikh Abdullah, and accepted by India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru. Although intended as temporary, it was included in India's Constitution in 1949 by the constituent assembly.

REVOKING OF SPECIAL STATUS

In August 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government revoked Kashmir's semi-autonomous status in a move it said would better integrate the region with the rest of the country. The state was reorganised into two federally administered union territories- Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh. Pakistan strongly objected, downgrading diplomatic ties with India.

WARS AND MILITARY STANDOFFS

India and Pakistan have fought three wars since independence, two of them over Kashmir, in 1947 and 1965. A third in 1971 led to the creation of Bangladesh. In 1999, they clashed again in the Kargil region in what was described as an undeclared war. A UN-brokered ceasefire line, the Line of Control, now divides the region.

THE INSURGENCY

Many Muslims in Indian Kashmir have long resented what they see as heavy-handed rule by India. In 1989, an insurgency by Muslim separatists began. India poured troops into the region and tens of thousands of people have been killed.

India accuses Pakistan of arming and training militants, which Islamabad denies, saying it offers only moral and diplomatic support.

RECENT YEARS

Modi says his 2019 decision brought normalcy to Kashmir after decades of bloodshed. Violence has tapered off in recent years, according to Indian officials, with fewer large-scale attacks and rising tourist arrivals. Targeted killings of civilians and security forces, however, continued to be reported.

2024 ELECTIONS

In 2024, Jammu and Kashmir held its first local elections since the 2019 revocation of autonomy. Several newly elected lawmakers urged a partial restoration of Article 370. Key regional parties had boycotted or criticised the polls, saying the winners would not get any real political power.