Kashmir is a region of the northwestern
Indian subcontinent. It is bounded to the northeast by the
Uighur Autonomous Region of Sinkiang and to the east by the
Tibet Autonomous Region (both parts of
China), to the south by the
Indian states of
Himachal Pradesh and
Punjab, to the west by
Pakistan, and to the northwest by
Afghanistan. The region, with a total area of 85,806 square miles (222,236 square km), has been the subject of dispute between
India and
Pakistan since the
partition of the
Indian subcontinent in 1947. The northern and western portions are administered by
Pakistan and comprise three areas:
Azad Kashmir,
Gilgit, and
Baltistan, the last two part of a territory called the Northern Areas. The southern and southeastern portions constitute the
Indian state of
Jammu and Kashmir. The
Indian state and
Pakistani-administered portions are divided by a "
line of control" agreed to in 1972. In addition,
China became active in the eastern area of Kashmir in the 1950s and since 1962 has controlled the northeastern part of
Ladakh (the easternmost portion of the region).
In the event of a land
war between
India and
Pakistan, control of Kashmir is of prime
tactical and
strategic importance. The importance of
ground combat in a potential
war between the two is generated from the fact that while they are
nuclear powers, their
nuclear arsenals are not sufficient to completely destroy one another. In the event of
war, due to superior
nuclear and
conventional forces,
India would be most likely to win.