Each has claimed the whole region since independence from Britain in 1947, when Kashmir’s Hindu ruler, Maharaja Hari Singh, decided to join India rather than Pakistan despite the overall Muslim majority.
Tribesmen from the region supported by Pakistan soldiers then took control of what is now the Pakistani side of the border.
The territorial dispute sparked wars in 1947-48 and 1965, causing several thousand casualties on each side, and a smaller conflict in 1999.
There have been no widescale confrontations since a 2003 ceasefire between the nuclear-armed neighbours, but fatal skirmishes have persisted.
Delhi says insurgents who have carried out attacks in Indian Kashmir are armed by Pakistan. Islamabad denies this, and calls them freedom fighters who only seek autonomy.
Over 44,000 people have been killed in Indian Kashmir since 1988 in the insurgency and crackdown by security forces, the South Asia Terrorism Portal says.
Source: GNA/NewsGhana.com.gh
