ABSTRACT
The issue of Kashmir has plagued India-Pakistan relations since both countries gained independence in 1947. The state of Kashmir posed a unique problem. Led by a Hindu monarch and composed of a predominantly Muslim population, Kashmir was contiguous to Pakistan and India. A number of issues prompted Pakistan's military ruler, President Mohammed Ayub Khan, to reassess Pakistan's Kashmir policy. Apart from the military difficulties of fighting a full-scale war with India, there are important political costs that a war might well entail for the Pakistani regime. A war between India and Pakistan is not only fraught with substantial domestic political costs for both sides, it could also impose significant costs for India's foreign relations, regardless of the outcome of the war. Indo-Fakistani differences over other compelling regional issues also provide certain groups in Pakistan further incentive for involvement in Kashmir.
