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Latest news on India and Pakistan, covering the India-Pakistan conflict, Kashmir, Operation Sindoor, Indus Waters Treaty, nuclear tensions, trade, and diplomacy.
India and Pakistan, the two largest nations in South Asia, share a relationship defined by deep rivalry and periodic crisis. Since Partition in 1947, the nuclear-armed neighbours have fought multiple wars, engaged in countless border skirmishes along the Line of Control (LoC) in disputed Kashmir, and maintained one of the most militarised standoffs in the world. The Kashmir dispute remains the central fault line, with both countries claiming the territory in full while administering it in part, and with millions of Kashmiris caught between competing sovereignty claims.
The India-Pakistan conflict escalated dramatically in 2025 after a deadly terrorist attack near Pahalgam in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir killed 26 civilians on 22 April. India blamed Pakistan-based groups Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) for the assault and launched Operation Sindoor on 7 May, striking multiple targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir. Pakistan retaliated with drone and missile strikes, and both sides reported civilian casualties before a ceasefire was agreed on 10 May. The brief but intense four-day conflict marked the most serious military engagement between the two countries in decades, raising global alarm given both nations' nuclear arsenals.
In the aftermath, India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), the World Bank-brokered 1960 agreement governing the shared rivers of the Indus basin, citing national security concerns. The treaty's suspension has become a major flashpoint, with Pakistan describing it as the weaponisation of water and India insisting it will not restore the agreement until Pakistan addresses cross-border terrorism. India has also refused to recognise the jurisdiction of the Hague-based Court of Arbitration over ongoing disputes related to hydroelectric projects on the Chenab and Jhelum rivers. Bilateral trade, already minimal after Pakistan suspended commerce following India's 2019 revocation of Kashmir's special status, was further severed when India closed the Attari-Wagah border crossing and halted all direct trade.
The rivalry extends well beyond the battlefield. Cricket, the most popular sport in both countries, has become a barometer of political tensions. India-Pakistan cricket matches draw hundreds of millions of viewers, but handshake controversies and boycott threats have overshadowed recent encounters, including at the T20 World Cup. Millions of families divided by Partition maintain cultural and linguistic ties across the border, and diaspora communities around the world follow developments closely. For ordinary people on both sides, the human cost of the standoff is felt through restricted travel, severed family connections, and the ever-present threat of escalation.
The geopolitical dimensions of India-Pakistan relations have also shifted markedly. The United States, which historically maintained close ties with both nations, has become a more unpredictable actor, with Pakistan successfully courting the Trump administration through counterterrorism cooperation and economic concessions while India faced steep tariffs and diplomatic friction. China remains Pakistan's closest strategic ally through the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), while India has deepened its partnerships with Western powers and Gulf states. These great power dynamics add further complexity to any prospect of bilateral dialogue, with the SAARC regional forum effectively paralysed by India-Pakistan tensions.
The roots of this rivalry stretch back to the violent Partition of British India, which displaced millions and left deep scars on both nations. Since then, wars in 1947, 1965, 1971, and 1999, alongside landmark agreements such as the Simla Agreement, have shaped a relationship characterised by cycles of crisis and cautious diplomacy. The 1998 nuclear tests by both countries transformed the stakes permanently, making any military confrontation a matter of global concern. Human rights organisations have consistently raised alarm about conditions in both Indian- and Pakistan-administered Kashmir, where restrictions on press freedom, political dissent, and civil liberties affect daily life for millions.
With the ceasefire holding but tensions unresolved, the India-Pakistan relationship remains one of the most consequential and closely watched in international affairs. Our ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ feed on India and Pakistan brings you comprehensive, up-to-date coverage of diplomacy, defence, the Kashmir dispute, trade developments, cricket, and all the latest news from this critical rivalry, drawn from a wide range of reliable sources.