PROXY WARFARE: CASE STUDY OF PAKISTAN-INDIA RIVALRY

Abstract

Pakistan and India remained indulged in hostility towards each other right after the partition of Indian subcontinent. The territorial dispute over Kashmir has been rationalized as the major cause of inimical bilateral relations. The three major wars and regular border skirmishes made regional peace and stability in South Asian region as a distant dream. The emergence of nuclear deterrence in the region transformed the dynamics of conflict from conventional symmetric warfare to non-conventional asymmetric warfare, often defined as proxy warfare in peace and conflict literature. Both states accused each other for sponsoring and facilitating terrorism in their respective territories. This study assumes that both states used proxy warfare as tool to destabilized one another. The significant inquiry in this research is that why Pakistan and India has remained engaged in proxy warfare and why it is significant for both states strategically. The case study method of qualitative research provides the methodological framework for this research. Theoretically, the realist paradigm suggests that state‘s survival and territorial integrity is the primary objective and core national interest of any state. Pakistan and India‘s territorial claims motivate the strategic tool of proxy warfare. This study finds that Pakistan‘s claim over Kashmir as an integral territorial part made Pakistan to use every available mean to achieve this end. Similarly, Indian claim over Kashmir rationalizes its proxy wars inside Pakistan to destabilize Pakistan and take control of Kashmir