Historically, since the partition of British India in 1947 and the subsequent creation of India and Pakistan, the two countries have been involved in a number of wars, conflicts, military stand-offs interspersed with periods of harmony and peace. The main cause of all the major conflicts has been the same: the Kashmir issue. Recently, in the latest move in the Indo-Pakstani war, the Indian government decided to revoke Article 370. But what does Article 370 mean and how would it impact the relations between the two countries?
Kashmir is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent.
It has been a source of dispute between India and Pakistan since the dominions were created in 1947.
Both countries claim the country as its own with India ruling the territory of Jammu and Kashmir (which includes the divisions Jammu, Kashmir Valley, and Ladakh) which Pakistan governs the territories of Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.
There is also land which is ruled by China, specifically the territories of Aksai Chin and the Trans-Karakoram Tract.
India vs Pakistan war: What does Article 370 mean? (Image: GETTY)
For years, India and Pakistan have administered their own sections of territory, separated by what is called the Line of Control.
They have fought wars and clashed repeatedly over the region and now tensions have escalated once again after India decided to revoke Article 370.
On the Indian side, there is a long-running separatist insurgency, which has led to thousands of deaths over three decades.
India accuses Pakistan of supporting insurgents, however, Pakistan denies this – saying it only provides moral and diplomatic support to Kashmiris who want self-determination.
India vs Pakistan war: Protest after India announced it was scrapping Article 370 (Image: SAMIR JANA/HINDUSTAN TIMES/GETTY)
What is Article 370?
According to the Indian constitution Article 370 is the law which provides special status to the region of Jammu and Kashmir, allowing it to have a separate constitution, a state flag and autonomy over the internal administration of the state.
This article, along with Article 35A, defined that the Jammu and Kashmir state’s residents live under a separate set of laws to Indian states – including laws related to citizenship, ownership of property, and fundamental rights.
The state was also permitted to establish its own laws regarding permanent residency and property ownership, and it had barred Indian citizens from outside the state from settling there.
India vs Pakistan war: Kashmiris burning the Indian flag in protest for the scrapping of Article 370 (Image: SAJJAD QAYYUM/AFP/GETTY)
On Monday, August 5, India’s President Ram Nath Kovind issued a constitutional order revoking the 1954 order.
The resolutions were passed in both Houses of Parliament and President Kovind then issued an order on Tuesday declaring all the clauses of Article 370 were inoperative.
Revoking Article 370 unilaterally strips the state of Jammu and Kashmir of all political autonomy – instead India plans to turn it into a union territory which will give the central government greater control of its affairs.
India vs Pakistan war: Imran Khan of Pakistan and Ram Nath Kovind of India [left to right] (Image: GETTY)
The move was foreshadowed by a series of strategic moves by the Indian government in Kashmir in the days leading up the overturning of Article 370 such as sending 35,000 additional trooped into the region, closing Hindu pilgrimage sites and ordering non-residents to leave the state.
On Sunday night, phone and internet communications were cut off and and two former chief ministers were placed under house arrest.
India’s Interior Minister Amit Shah cited security concerns as the reason for action, saying it was made to tackle “prevailing internal security fuelled by cross-border terrorism.”
India vs Pakistan war: Protest over the removal of Article 370 in Delhi (Image: GETTY)
Why is Pakistan now threatening war with India?
Pakistan announced plans to expel India’s top diplomat and suspend trade with its neighbour this week deepening a row between the countries over the disputed territory of Kashmir.
India and Pakistan are both nuclear-armed states.
Over the year, they have fought several wars over Kashmir, most recently clashing over a series of aerial attacks above the territory in February.
India vs Pakistan war: Indian national flag flying next to a Jammu and Kashmiri flag (Image: TAUSEEF MUSTAFA/AFP/GETTY)
Pakistan’s prime minister Imran Khan warned that India’s revocation of Article 370, to strip Kashmir of its special status, could lead to war between the two countries and the “ethnic cleansing” of Muslims in the restive Himalayan region.
Addressing a joint session of Parliament on Tuesday, Mr Khan spoke of violence perpetrated by others such as a suicide attack in February which killed at least 40 Indian security forces in Indian-controlled Kashmir.
A Pakistan-based militant group, Jaish-e-Mohammed, claimed responsibility for this incident but India blamed Pakistan, and Islamabad denied any responsibility.
India vs Pakistan war: Communist Party protest over the revocation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir (Image: GETTY)
Mr Khan said: “They will attempt to place the blame on us again.
“They may strike us again, and we will strike back. … Who will win that war? No one will win it and it will have grievous consequences for the entire world.”
He added: “I fear they may initiate ethnic cleansing in Kashmir to wipe out the local population.”