UPSC PREP | APRIL 2026
Last Updated: April 2026
Prelims: Current events questions on India-Pakistan relations, Indus Waters Treaty, cross-border terrorism, Line of Control
Mains: GS-II (International Relations) — “India and its Neighbourhood”; GS-III (Security) — Internal Security challenges; Essay Paper — “Peace without compromise: India’s Pakistan conundrum”
India-Pakistan relations constitute one of the most examined bilateral relationships in UPSC Mains. From the 1947 partition to Operation Sindoor in 2025, this relationship has defined South Asia’s security architecture. This guide provides a structured, exam-ready analysis covering historical phases, key bilateral issues, current policy, and a model answer framework for UPSC 2026.
Why India-Pakistan Relations Matter for UPSC 2026
India-Pakistan relations appear in UPSC examinations across multiple dimensions:
- GS Paper II: India and its Neighbourhood (direct question topic), bilateral agreements, role of Pakistan in SAARC’s dysfunction
- GS Paper III: Cross-border terrorism, internal security challenges, Pakistan’s role in insurgency support
- Essay Paper: Topics on peace, nuclear deterrence, diplomacy vs military response
- Interview: Current affairs around Pahalgam attack, Operation Sindoor, ceasefire and diplomatic fallout
The 2025 Pahalgam attack and subsequent Operation Sindoor have made this one of the most topical and high-probability questions for the UPSC 2026 examination cycle.
Historical Phases of India-Pakistan Relations
Phase 1: Partition and Early Hostility (1947-1965)
The 1947 Partition of British India along religious lines created two nation-states under traumatic circumstances. Over 14 million people were displaced and communal violence claimed hundreds of thousands of lives.
- Instrument of Accession (October 1947): Maharaja Hari Singh of Jammu and Kashmir signed the Instrument of Accession to India on October 26, 1947, following a Pakistani-backed tribal invasion. This triggered the First Kashmir War (1947-48).
- UN Intervention: India took the matter to the UN Security Council. Resolution 47 (1948) called for a plebiscite, but Pakistan refused to withdraw its forces as required — making the plebiscite condition unenforceable.
- Ceasefire Line: The 1949 Karachi Agreement established a ceasefire line, which became the Line of Control (LoC) after the Shimla Agreement (1972).
Phase 2: 1965 War and Tashkent Agreement
- Pakistan launched Operation Gibraltar in 1965, infiltrating armed fighters into Jammu and Kashmir to provoke an uprising. When this failed, the Pakistani Army launched Operation Grand Slam.
- India responded with a full-scale assault across the International Border, including attacks near Lahore.
- The UN negotiated a ceasefire. Both sides agreed to the Tashkent Declaration (January 10, 1966), mediated by Soviet Premier Alexei Kosygin. Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri died in Tashkent the day after signing the agreement.
Phase 3: Bangladesh Liberation War and Shimla Agreement (1971)
The 1971 conflict fundamentally restructured South Asia’s geopolitics:
- Pakistan’s crackdown on Bengali nationalists in East Pakistan led to approximately 10 million refugees entering India
- India intervened militarily in December 1971 after Pakistani pre-emptive air strikes on Indian airbases (Operation Chengiz Khan)
- Pakistan’s Lieutenant General A.A.K. Niazi signed the Instrument of Surrender on December 16, 1971 — the largest military surrender since World War II (approximately 93,000 Pakistani troops surrendered)
- Shimla Agreement (July 2, 1972): PM Indira Gandhi and President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto agreed to convert the ceasefire line into the Line of Control (LoC) and resolve disputes bilaterally without third-party intervention. This became India’s foundational diplomatic position on Kashmir.
Phase 4: Detente Attempts — The Lahore Declaration (1999)
- Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s historic bus journey to Lahore in February 1999 marked a high point of peace efforts
- The Lahore Declaration committed both nations to peaceful resolution of disputes, including Kashmir
- Pakistan simultaneously conducted the Kargil intrusion — Pakistani army troops and militants had occupied strategic heights in Indian territory in Kargil district
- Operation Vijay (July 1999): India recaptured its territories. The Kargil War ended Pakistan’s covert plan and severely damaged bilateral trust
Phase 5: Post-Kargil Freeze (1999-2014)
- The 2001 Indian Parliament attack brought both countries to the brink of full-scale war. India’s Operation Parakram mobilized 500,000 troops along the border
- 2004: Composite Dialogue process revived under Vajpayee-Musharraf meeting in Islamabad. Back-channel diplomacy led to exploratory discussions on Kashmir (never formalized)
- 2008 Mumbai attacks (26/11): Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists killed 166 people. India suspended composite dialogue. Pakistan’s failure to prosecute Lashkar leadership remains a bilateral flashpoint to this day
Phase 6: Modi Era — Engagement, Escalation, and Response (2014-2024)
- Ufa Meeting (July 2015): PM Modi and Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif agreed to resume bilateral talks; India insisted on separating terrorism discussions from other issues
- Pathankot Attack (January 2016): Terrorists attacked the Pathankot Air Force Station. India’s willingness to allow a Pakistan Joint Investigation Team (JIT) to visit Pathankot was unprecedented — but yielded no accountability from Pakistan
- Uri Attack (September 2016): 18 Indian soldiers killed in an attack on the Indian Army brigade headquarters in Uri. India responded with Surgical Strikes across the LoC — the first public acknowledgement of cross-LoC operations, changing escalation dynamics
- Pulwama-Balakot (February 2019): 40 CRPF jawans killed in a vehicle-borne IED attack in Pulwama. India responded with Balakot airstrikes — the first Indian Air Force strike on Pakistani territory since 1971. India revoked Pakistan’s Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status
Phase 7: Pahalgam Attack and Operation Sindoor (2025)
In April 2025, a terrorist attack in the Baisaran meadows near Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, killed 26 tourists — the deadliest civilian attack in the Valley since the 1990s. The attack was attributed to The Resistance Front, a Lashkar-e-Taiba proxy.
Operation Sindoor (May 2025): India launched precision airstrikes and cross-LoC operations targeting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoJK). India named the operation “Sindoor” as a tribute to the widows of Pahalgam victims.
India suspended Indus Waters Treaty discussions, closed the Attari-Wagah land border crossing, and expelled Pakistani diplomatic staff. International diplomatic intervention brought both countries back from the brink of wider conflict.
Key Bilateral Issues — Current Status
1. Kashmir Dispute
India’s position: J&K is an integral part of India (Article 1 of the Constitution). The Shimla Agreement mandates bilateral resolution without third-party mediation. The revocation of Article 370 in August 2019 further integrated J&K into the Indian constitutional framework, a step Pakistan vocally opposes at international forums.
2. Cross-Border Terrorism
India’s consistent allegation — backed by international evidence — is that Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) provides safe havens, funding, and logistical support to terror groups (Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed, Hizbul Mujahideen) operating against India. Pakistan has faced FATF grey-listing consequences for its failure to crack down on terrorist financing.
3. Indus Waters Treaty — Current Status
The Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) of 1960, brokered by the World Bank, allocated western rivers (Indus, Jhelum, Chenab) to Pakistan and eastern rivers (Ravi, Beas, Sutlej) to India. Following the Pahalgam attack and Operation Sindoor, India announced the suspension of IWT discussions pending Pakistan’s commitment to end cross-border terrorism. This represents the most serious challenge to the Treaty in its 65-year history.
4. Trade Relations (Frozen Since 2019)
After the Balakot strikes in 2019, India revoked Pakistan’s MFN status and imposed 200% customs duty on Pakistani goods. Bilateral trade, which had reached approximately USD 2.4 billion (2018), collapsed to near zero. There has been no bilateral trade normalization since.
5. The Nuclear Dimension
Both nations are nuclear-armed states with declared no-first-use (NFU) policies, though Pakistan’s NFU commitment is more ambiguous. Pakistan’s lower nuclear threshold and battlefield nuclear weapons doctrine create escalation risks. The nuclear overhang makes every India-Pakistan conventional military exchange a potential global concern, bringing major powers into every crisis as mediators.
India’s Current Policy Approach
India’s current foreign policy stance on Pakistan rests on three pillars:
- “Terror and Talks Cannot Go Together”: Bilateral dialogue is contingent on Pakistan dismantling terrorist infrastructure — a position India has maintained since Pathankot (2016)
- International Isolation: India has consistently raised cross-border terrorism at UN bodies, FATF, and bilaterally with major powers (USA, France, UK, Russia) to constrain Pakistan’s strategic options
- Calibrated Military Response: Surgical Strikes (2016), Balakot (2019), and Operation Sindoor (2025) established a new deterrence norm — India will respond kinetically to major provocations without escalating to full-scale war
Key Events Timeline — India-Pakistan Relations
| Year | Event | Significance for UPSC |
|---|---|---|
| 1947 | Partition; Instrument of Accession; First Kashmir War | Foundation of bilateral dispute |
| 1960 | Indus Waters Treaty signed | Only surviving bilateral cooperative agreement |
| 1965 | Second Kashmir War; Tashkent Declaration | Soviet mediation; Shastri’s death |
| 1971 | Bangladesh Liberation; Shimla Agreement | India’s strategic dominance; bilateral framework for Kashmir |
| 1998 | Both nations test nuclear weapons | Nuclear deterrence established in South Asia |
| 1999 | Lahore Declaration; Kargil War; Operation Vijay | Peace-war paradox; Pakistan Army’s role exposed |
| 2008 | 26/11 Mumbai Attacks | Composite dialogue ended permanently |
| 2016 | Uri Attack; Surgical Strikes | New deterrence threshold established |
| 2019 | Pulwama; Balakot airstrikes; MFN revoked; Article 370 abrogated | Most significant escalation post-Kargil |
| 2025 | Pahalgam Attack; Operation Sindoor; IWT suspended | New military and diplomatic precedent |
UPSC Mains Model Answer Framework
Introduction (30 words): Define the relationship as a “hyphenated rivalry” — two nuclear-armed neighbours sharing colonial partition legacy and contested territorial history that has prevented normal bilateral relations despite geographic, cultural, and economic complementarity.
Body Para 1 — Historical Foundation (50 words): Mention Partition, Instrument of Accession, four wars (1947, 1965, 1971, 1999), and bilateral agreements (Shimla, Lahore). Connect each conflict to its structural cause — territorial dispute, terrorism, or Pakistan Army’s institutional interests.
Body Para 2 — Current Challenges (70 words): Cross-border terrorism (26/11, Uri, Pulwama, Pahalgam), IWT suspension, trade freeze, nuclear overhang, Pakistan’s internal instability. Mention Operation Sindoor as a milestone in deterrence evolution.
Body Para 3 — Way Forward (60 words): Track-II diplomacy, people-to-people contact, trade normalization when terrorism is addressed, confidence-building measures, SAARC revival. India’s precondition: Pakistan must dismantle terror infrastructure before talks resume.
Conclusion (40 words): Quote Vajpayee: “You can change friends, but not neighbours.” Argue that sustainable peace is strategically vital but cannot be unilateral; it requires Pakistan’s civilian and military establishment to choose development over proxy war.
Essay Angle: Balancing Security with Diplomacy
For UPSC Essay on India-Pakistan, the central tension is between:
- Realist School: Pakistan’s deep state (ISI-Army nexus) uses terrorism as state policy; dialogue without security conditions is strategically naive
- Liberal School: Economic interdependence, people-to-people contact, and SAARC trade would create vested interests in peace; isolation deepens radicalization on both sides
- Nuclear angle: Even limited conventional conflicts carry nuclear escalation risk — making diplomacy not just desirable but strategically necessary for both nations
Constitutional Angle: Article 1 and J&K
Article 1 of the Indian Constitution states: “India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States.” Jammu and Kashmir is listed as one of the states of India. The abrogation of Article 370 in 2019 removed J&K’s special status and reorganized it into two Union Territories — J&K and Ladakh. India’s consistent legal position is that this is an internal constitutional matter and Pakistan has no locus standi to raise it internationally or at the UN Security Council.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Shimla Agreement and why is it important for UPSC?
The Shimla Agreement (July 2, 1972) was signed between PM Indira Gandhi and Pakistan President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. It established the Line of Control in J&K and committed both nations to resolving disputes bilaterally without third-party intervention. It is India’s foundational legal argument against Pakistan internationalizing the Kashmir issue at the UN or elsewhere. UPSC frequently asks about this agreement in the context of India’s neighbourhood policy.
What is the current status of the Indus Waters Treaty?
The Indus Waters Treaty (1960), brokered by the World Bank, allocated western rivers (Indus, Jhelum, Chenab) to Pakistan and eastern rivers (Ravi, Beas, Sutlej) to India. Following the Pahalgam attack (2025) and India’s Operation Sindoor, India announced the suspension of IWT discussions. India has also pushed for modification of the Treaty to account for India’s hydropower development needs and climate change impacts on river flows.
What was Operation Sindoor and why is it relevant for UPSC 2026?
Operation Sindoor (May 2025) was India’s military response to the Pahalgam terrorist attack (April 2025) in which 26 tourists were killed. India conducted precision strikes against terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The operation is critical for UPSC 2026 as it represents the most significant India-Pakistan military escalation since Balakot (2019) and raises questions about deterrence evolution, nuclear threshold management, and India’s emerging doctrine of decisive response to state-sponsored terrorism.
How should I structure a UPSC Mains answer on India-Pakistan relations?
A strong UPSC Mains answer on India-Pakistan relations should: (1) Begin with historical context covering Partition, wars, and key agreements; (2) Identify structural reasons why normalisation has been elusive — terrorism, nuclear deterrence, Pakistan Army’s institutional interests; (3) Cover current issues — Kashmir post-Article 370, trade freeze, Indus Waters Treaty suspension, Operation Sindoor; (4) Suggest a realistic way forward — conditional engagement, track-II diplomacy, people-to-people contact; (5) Conclude with a vision of peace as a strategic necessity. Use Vajpayee’s quote: “You cannot choose your neighbours.”
