The India-Pakistan Dispute over Jammu and Kashmir and the United States

Abstract

The audacious and devastating attacks by Islamic militants on the World Trade Center (WTC) and the Pentagon in the United States on September 11, 2001 constitute a watershed event in modern world history whose repercussions are still being felt everywhere. The subsequent attempts by the United States to build a global coalition against terrorism and the military action that it initiated in Afghanistan which saw the collapse of the Taliban regime in Kabul had far-reaching implications for the geopolitics of the region and far beyond. This paper, however, seeks to focus on the American decision to convert Pakistan yet again into a 'frontline state', this time in its fight against international terrorism, and the implications of this partnership for India-Pakistan relations, particularly their dispute over Jammu and Kashmir (hereafter 'Kashmir').