2001–2002 India–Pakistan standoff
2001–2002 India–Pakistan standoff
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2001–2002 India–Pakistan standoff

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2001–2002 India–Pakistan standoff

The 2001–2002 India–Pakistan standoff was a military standoff between India and Pakistan that resulted in the massing of troops on both sides of the border and along the Line of Control (LoC) in the region of Kashmir. This was the second major military standoff between India and Pakistan following the successful detonation of nuclear devices by both countries in 1998, after the Kargil War of 1999.

The military buildup was initiated by India responding to a terrorist attack on the Indian Parliament in New Delhi on 13 December 2001 (during which twelve people, including the five terrorists who attacked the building, were killed) and the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly on 1 October 2001 in which 38 people were killed. India claimed that the attacks were carried out by two Pakistan-based terror groups fighting in Indian-administered KashmirLashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad, both of whom India has said are backed by Pakistan's ISI–a charge that Pakistan has denied. Farooq Abdullah the then chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir state urged India to launch a war against militant training camps across the border in Pakistan.

In Western media, coverage of the standoff focused on the possibility of a nuclear war between the two countries and the implications of the potential conflict on the American-led "Global War on Terrorism" in nearby Afghanistan. Tensions de-escalated following international diplomatic mediation which resulted in the October 2002 withdrawal of Indian and Pakistani troops from the international border.

The Indian codename for the military mobilization was Operation Parakram, which has been characterized by Sanjay Ahirwal of NDTV as a manifestation of India's "resolve to have an eyeball to eyeball confrontation" with Pakistan, and also an operation which led to attainment of some of its military and political objectives.

Towards the end of the protracted military standoff, in a surreptitious operation, India's Jat Regiment occupied a strategically important mountain peak on the Pakistani side of the LoC near Dras, Point 5070, and subsequently rechristened it Balwan. This had implications for the Pakistani army, which was accustomed to occupying the peak during summer, as the peak gave India a vantage view of Gultari valley which sustained Pakistani posts in Dras. In consequence, the Pakistani army dispensed its entire chain of command, including the Pakistani Brigade Commander and GOC of the Northern Areas over the loss of this peak, while their Indian counterpart Lt. Gen. Deepak Summanwar was felicitated with an Uttam Yudh Seva Medal as a recognition of India's complete domination of the boundary area near Dras.

On the morning of 13 December 2001, a cell of five armed men attacked the Parliament of India by breaching the security cordon at Gate 12. The five men killed seven people before being shot dead by the Indian Security Forces.

World leaders and leaders in nearby countries strongly condemned the attack on the parliament, including Pakistan. On 14 December, the ruling Indian National Democratic Alliance blamed Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) for the attack. Indian Home Minister L.K. Advani claimed, "we have received some clues about yesterday's incident, which shows that a neighboring country, and some terrorist organizations active there are behind it", in an indirect reference to Pakistan and Pakistan-based militant groups. The same day, in a démarche to Pakistan's High Commissioner to India, Ashraf Jehangir Qazi, India demanded that Pakistan stop the activities of LeT and JeM, apprehend the organisation's leaders and their access to all financial assets. Following the Indian Government's statements, Pakistan put its military into full combat readiness the same day.

The spokesman for the Pakistani military's public media wing (ISPR), Major-General Rashid Qureshi, said that the attack on the Indian parliament was a result of India's efforts to start a conflict with Pakistan, claiming that "Those [Indians] who can kill thousands of defenseless people in Kashmir can resort to such tactics to gain international sympathy. We demand the international community probe this attack independently to know the truth." while another senior official maintained that India's failure to solve internal problems have caused them to blame Pakistan for everything without cause, stating "Why have the Indians rejected the U.S. government’s offer to send an FBI team to investigate the attack on the parliament?"

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