The UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan

Mission Mandate

In January 1948, UN Security Council Resolution 39 established the UN Commission on India and Pakistan (UNCIP) to send unarmed military observers to mediate and investigate the dispute between India and Pakistan over Kashmir; these observers eventually evolved into the UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP). In 1971, a resurgence of hostilities in the region ended when India and Pakistan reached a ceasefire agreement that UNMOGIP monitors.

The Mission's mandate includes:

•  Monitoring the ceasefire;
•  Investigating complaints of ceasefire violations; and
•  Submitting its findings to each party and to the Secretary-General.

Background

When India and Pakistan won independence from the British in 1947, Kashmir, a territory on the border of India and Pakistan, acceded to India, setting the stage for the dispute between India and Pakistan that continues today. Read more || Hide text

How This Affects American Interests

• Supports regional stability. India and Pakistan are strategic and economic allies of the United States. They are nuclear powers, each country having conducted successful nuclear tests in 1998, and are confirmed to have nuclear stockpiles today. Both lie along the border of Afghanistan, the site of a major US military operation. UNMOGIP’s monitoring of the ceasefire between India and Pakistan in the Kashmir region, along a flashpoint for both countries, is clearly in the United States’ best interests.
  
  
• Promotes dialogue. In 2004, leaders of India and Pakistan began to normalize relations through the Composite Dialogue. These talks were supported by the U.S. and the UN to help thaw relations, build confidence between the two nations, and resolve the dispute over Kashmir. UNMOGIP plays a key role in their success by reducing the possibility that conflict might derail the Composite Dialogue. Talks resumed in July 2011, when India and Pakistan's foreign ministers met to discuss Kashmir. Compromises were reached about travel permits to the Kashmir region, and both ministers agreed to meet again in earl 2012 to discuss additional progress.

Ongoing Challenges

• Tensions in the aftermath of the Mumbai attacks. In 2008, terrorists took over multiple locations across Mumbai, India, killing 173 and wounding 300. India and Pakistan built up troops on the border of Kashmir which put a hold on the ongoing Composite Dialogue talks toward better India-Pakistan relations. India blamed the Mumbai attacks on Pakistan’s militant Islamic group Lashkar-e-Taiba and urged Pakistan to act. In 2009, Pakistan acknowledged that the extremist group was behind the attacks, easing tensions to some degree.In July 2011, explosions rocked Mumbai again, and these have not been attributed to Pakistan.
  
  
• Escalation of violence. Over the last few years, India and Pakistan have increased the number of ceasefire violations. In July 2008, both India and Pakistan violated the ceasefire agreement with a series of gunfire exchanges and a 12-hour firefight. Given India and Pakistan’s nuclear status, this escalation of violence concerns the U.S. and the international community, which demonstrates the need for the UNMOGIP mission.