Part 3 - History of the Kashmir Conflict

In 2016, the death of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani sparked widespread unrest in the Kashmir Valley, resulting in over 11,000 injuries and 82 deaths, while the group was later designated a terrorist organization by the EU and India. Mobs also attacked Pandit migrant camps, and protests erupted in Pakistan‑occupied Kashmir over alleged human rights abuses by Pakistan’s military and ISI, concerns echoed by the U.S. State Department. In 2019, a suicide bombing by Jaish‑e‑Mohammed in Pulwama killed 41 Indian security officers, prompting retaliatory airstrikes and the UN’s designation of the group’s founder as an international terrorist. That same year, India abrogated Articles 370 and 35A, dissolving the special status of Jammu and Kashmir, bifurcating the region into two Union Territories, and aiming to integrate residents more fully into the nation while addressing the plight of Kashmiri Pandits. The narrative concludes that lasting peace in Kashmir requires Pakistan to cease supporting terror networks, for leaders to embrace secularism and pluralism, and for the Indian government to restore equal rights and facilitate the safe return of displaced Pandits.