United Nations India-Pakistan Observation Mission (UNIPOM)
- Duration
- 23 September 1965 - 19 March 1966
- Military personnel
- 6
- Fatalities
- none
- Decorations
- none
Straight after the Second World War, the differences between Muslims and Hindus in colonial British India turned out to be irreconcilable. This meant that after the transfer of sovereignty by the British government on 15 August 1947, there were 2 beneficiaries: the Muslim state of Pakistan and the Hindu state of India.
Sources of border conflicts
2 regions in particular, the principalities of Jammu and Kashmir in the Himalayas continued to give rise to numerous border conflicts. Between October 1947 and January 1949, there were battles in Kashmir between Indian and Pakistani troops: the first India-Pakistan war. The Security Council called upon both parties to implement a ceasefire. A military observer mission monitored observance of the ceasefire from January 1949.
Second India-Pakistan War
However, in 1964 and 1965 the number of incidents in Jammu and Kashmir increased rapidly, resulting in the second India-Pakistan war. The Security Council called for a new ceasefire. The task of monitoring the ceasefire in the India-Pakistan border region from Kashmir to the Arabian Sea coast was assigned to the new United Nations India-Pakistan Observation Mission (UNIPOM).