Overview: Kashmir dispute and milestones

Peace Bridge, India/Pakistan border - India and Pakistan are due to launch a bus service which will link the disputed and divided region of Kashmir for the first time in more than half a century.

The bus service is the most tangible sign of progress yet of a slow peace process between the nuclear-armed rivals which have gone to war two times over their claims for the Himalayan region.

But Islamic militants fighting against Indian rule of the area have threatened to sabotage the service and attacked a government complex housing passengers of the first bus on the eve of its launch. No passengers were injured.

Following are some key details about Kashmir, an overview of the dispute and landmarks in its troubled history:

POPULATION: 10 million in Indian Kashmir and over three million in Pakistani Kashmir. About 70 per cent are Muslim and the rest Hindus, Sikhs and Buddhists.

AREA: 222,236 square km, slightly bigger than the US state of Utah and almost as big as Britain. India controls 45 per cent, Pakistan about a third and China the rest.

ECONOMY: About 80 per cent of Kashmiris are engaged in farming. Tourism once flourished but has been badly hit by conflict.

HISTORY: After partition of the subcontinent in 1947, Kashmir was expected to go to Pakistan. Its Hindu ruler wanted to stay independent but, faced with an invasion by Muslim tribesmen from Pakistan, hastily acceded to India in October 1947 in return for help against the invaders.

After the ensuing war between India and Pakistan, UN resolutions called on troops to withdraw and for Kashmiris to choose between India and Pakistan. The resolutions have yet to be implemented. India and Pakistan again fought over Kashmir in 1965 and it was also a factor in a 1971 war.

REVOLT: Simmering resentment against Indian rule erupted into open revolt in 1989. India says 45,000 people, including thousands of civilians, have been killed. Separatists put the toll at nearly 100,000.

India accuses Pakistan of arming and training the guerrillas, charges Pakistan denies. Pakistan says it only gives moral and diplomatic support to what it calls Kashmiri "freedom fighters".

OFFICIAL POSITIONS: New Delhi claims the whole of Jammu and Kashmir as an integral part of India. Islamabad says a UN-mandated referendum should still take place, expecting that the majority would decide to join Pakistan.

In December 2003, President Pervez Musharraf said Pakistan was prepared to put aside its insistence on a referendum and meet India half-way in a bid to end the dispute.

Last year, Musharraf suggested demilitarising the territory while a compromise was sought over its status. He said this could include joint control, some form of UN control or independence. But India rejects any redrawing of its borders.

CHRONOLOGY:

Aug 1947 - India and Pakistan win freedom from British rule amid bloodletting between Hindus and Muslims.

Oct 1947 - Two countries go to war in Kashmir after its Hindu ruler opts to join secular India rather than Islamic Pakistan.

Jan 1949 - UN Security Council-ordered ceasefire takes effect in Kashmir.

Sept 1965 - India and Pakistan go to war over Kashmir again. Combat ends after UN calls for ceasefire.

Dec 1971 - Third India-Pakistan war over East Pakistan ends when 90,000 Pakistani troops surrender leading to creation of Bangladesh (formerly East Pakistan).

July 1972 - Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and Pakistani President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto sign accord envisaging bilateral settlement of disputes including Kashmir.

Jan 1990 - Indian army opens fire in Srinagar, Kashmir's summer capital, during protest against crackdown on separatism, killing 38. Tens of thousands of people are killed in ensuing insurgency over the next 15 years.

May 1999 - Two nations face off when India launches offensive, including air strikes, against Pakistan-backed infiltrators near icy heights around Kargil in Kashmir.

July 2001 - Musharraf and Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee hold summit in Indian city of Agra, but fail to agree on how to bury differences over Kashmir.

Dec 2001 - Gunmen attack Indian parliament. New Delhi blames Pakistan-based Kashmiri militants, Islamabad denies this. India snaps air, rail and road links and cuts diplomatic staff.

Jan 2002 - India masses hundreds of thousands of troops on border. Islamabad follows suit, raising spectre of another war.

April 2003 - Vajpayee says he wants to make final push for peace in his lifetime and offers Pakistan a "hand of friendship".

Nov 2003 - Pakistani Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali announces ceasefire on military line of control in Kashmir. India accepts and truce takes effect on November 26.

Jan 2004 - Vajpayee and Musharraf meet in Islamabad, giving big push to peace process, and agree to resume peace talks.

Feb 2005 - Indian Foreign Minister, Natwar Singh, meets Pakistani counterpart Khursheed Mehmood Kasuri. They agree to launch bus service between Indian and Pakistani Kashmir.

- REUTERS