List of wars involving Pakistan

Since its establishment in 1947, Pakistan has been involved in numerous armed conflicts both locally and around the world. The main focus of its military operations have both historically and currently been on neighbouring India—against whom Pakistan has fought four major wars in addition to commonly-recurring border skirmishes and standoffs. The two nations have had a hostile and turbulent relationship since their independence from the United Kingdom and subsequent war over the Himalayan region of Jammu and Kashmir. Both India and Pakistan claim Kashmir in its entirety but have not exercised control over the entire region, which remains divided and contested between the two states by the Line of Control. The Kashmir conflict has seen extensive—albeit unsuccessful—intervention and mediation by the United Nations.

Pakistan has also had a turbulent relationship with neighbouring Afghanistan,[1] characterized by armed border skirmishes and periods of diplomatic tension. The Pakistani government has increased military activity along the Afghanistan–Pakistan border and built a border barrier to crack down on illegal immigration, militancy,[2] and smuggling.[3][4]

Outside of its home region of South Asia, Pakistan has also engaged in international conflicts in the Middle East and Africa as part of larger coalitions, and remains one of the largest contributors of troops to various United Nations peacekeeping missions. The country was designated as a major non-NATO ally by the United States in 2004,[5] and has participated extensively in the American-led war on terror following the 9/11 attacks.

List

  Pakistani victory
  Pakistani defeat
  Another result (e.g. a treaty or peace without a clear result, status quo ante bellum, result unknown or indecisive)
  Ongoing conflict
Conflict Pakistan
and allies		 Opponents Results
First Indo-Pakistani War
(1947–1948)[6][7]		  Pakistan
Azad Kashmir
Furqan Force
Swat State[8]
Hunza State[9]
Nagar State[9]
Chitral State[10]		  India
Jammu and Kashmir		 Ceasefire[11]
  • Partitioning of Kashmir between India and Pakistan
First Kalat Rebellion
(1948)[12][13]		  Pakistan Kalat insurgents Victory[13]
  • Defeat of the insurgents
Waziristan rebellion (1948–1954)

Pakistan Pakistan

Waziristan
Supported by:
Afghanistan
India[14]

 Pakistani victory
  • Failure to foment an extensive uprising[15]
  • End of Insurrection[16]
  • Datta Khel area of Waziristan recaptured by Pakistan
Second Kalat Rebellion
(1958–1959)[17]		  Pakistan Kalat insurgents Victory[18]
Dir campaign
(1959–1960)

Supported by:
Swat state

Supported by:
Afghanistan (until 1960)

 Pakistani/Opposition victory
  • Overthrow of Nawab Jahan Khan
Bajaur Campaign
(1960–1961)

Pakistan

Afghanistan

 Pakistani victory
1960s insurgency in Balochistan
(1963–1969)[19]		 Pakistan
Supported by:
Pahlavi Iran Iran		 Parrari
PFAR
Baloch Liberation Front
Bugti militia
Supported by:
Kingdom of Afghanistan[20]
Iraq First Republic of Iraq (until 1968)[21]
Iraq Ba'athist Iraq (from 1968)[21]
Syria Syria[21]		 Ceasefire
Second Indo-Pakistani War
(1965)		  Pakistan  India Inconclusive
1971 JVP insurrection
(1971)		 Dominion of Ceylon Ceylon

Australia Australia
Egypt Egypt
India India
Pakistan Pakistan
Singapore Singapore
Soviet Union Soviet Union
United Kingdom United Kingdom
United States United States
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Yugoslavia
China China

 JVP

Supported by:
North Korea (alleged)
Ba'athist Iraq ASBPI
CCP (Maoist) (alleged)

 Victory
  • Rebel forces surrender
  • Ceylonese government reestablishes control over entire island
Bangladesh Liberation War
(From March 1971)
Third Indo-Pakistani War
(From Dec 1971)		  Pakistan Bangladesh Provisional Government of Bangladesh
 India		 Defeat
1976 Dir rebellion (3–10 September 1976)

Pakistan
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Dir Levies

Dir rebels

 Pakistani victory
  • Suppression of rebellion
Fourth Balochistan Conflict
(1973–1978)[23][24]		 Pakistan
Iran		 Baloch separatists
Afghanistan Pashtun Zalmay[25]		 Victory[26]
Soviet–Afghan War
(1979–1989)		 Afghan mujahideen
Pakistan Pakistan		 Soviet Union
 Afghanistan		 Victory[27]
Siachen conflict
(1984–2003)		  Pakistan  India Defeat
Malakand insurrection
(1994–1995)		 TNSM
Black turbans
Foreign jihadists		 Victory
  • Suppression of rebellion
Kargil War
(1999)		  Pakistan  India Defeat
War in North-West Pakistan
(2004–2017)[29][30]
Drone war
(2004–2018)		 Pakistan[31][32]
United States[33][34][35]

Supported by:
United Kingdom

 Taliban

Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan

ISIL-aligned groups
 Islamic State

 Victory[40]

United States-Allied Victory

  • 430 drone strikes confirmed[45]
  • 81 high-level insurgent leaders and thousands of low-level insurgents killed[46]
  • Large number of insurgents killed while some fled to Afghanistan[47]
  • Most recent drone strike launched in January 2018[48]
Insurgency in Sindh
(2003–present)		 Pakistan Pakistan
Ongoing (extremely low-level)
Insurgency in Balochistan
(2004–present)[49]		 Pakistan
Iran[54]
Former belligerents:
Former belligerents:
 Ongoing[63][64]
War against the Islamic State
(2013–present)		 In multiple regions:
In Syria
In Egypt
In Libya
In Afghanistan
In Pakistan
Ongoing
  • Coalition victory (territorial)
    • Ongoing low-intensity insurgency|
      • Airstrikes on IS positions in Iraq, Syria, Libya, Nigeria and Afghanistan
      • Multinational humanitarian efforts
      • Arming and supporting local ground forces
      • Millions of civilians in Iraq and Syria flee their homes, sparking a refugee crisis
      • Terrorist attacks in Paris (Jan 2015 and Nov 2015), Brussels (Mar 2016) and many other places
      • Thousands of civilians executed by IS forces in Iraq and Syria
      • IS controlled around 40% of Iraq at its peak in mid-2014[75]
  • IS controlled around 50% of Syria by late May 2015[76][77]
      • Emergence of independently-governed Kurdish regions
      • IS military defeated and lost all of its territory in Libya in December 2017[78][79]
      • Boko Haram loses territory, but its insurgency continues[80]
      • IS controlled 5.67% of Syria's land by November 2017[81] and around 3% of Iraq by October 2017[82]
      • IS loses all territory in Iraq and most territory in Syria in December 2017[83]
      • IS loses all remaining territory in Syria in March 2019[84]
2024 Iran–Pakistan conflict
(16–18 January 2024)		 De-escalation
2025 India–Pakistan conflict  Pakistan  India Ceasefire[87][88][89]
2025 Afghanistan–Pakistan conflict Ceasefire
2026 Afghanistan–Pakistan war  Pakistan  Afghanistan
Pakistani Taliban		 Ongoing[92]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Until 2020, when it re-merged into the TTP.[36]
  2. ↑ Collaboration with the TTP in 2007.
  3. ↑ Collaboration with the TTP in 2015.

References

  1. ↑ Allott, Daniel (2021-03-27). "Ending Pakistan's proxy war in Afghanistan". The Hill. Retrieved 2021-03-29.
  2. ↑ "Three killed, 13 injured in blast at Pakistani-Afghan border". Reuters. Retrieved 2021-03-29.
  3. ↑ Basit, Abdul. "Pakistan-Afghanistan border fence, a step in the right direction". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2021-03-29.
  4. ↑ Farmer, Ben; Mehsud, Ihsanullah Tipu (2020-03-15). "Pakistan Builds Border Fence, Limiting Militants and Families Alike". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-03-29.
  5. ↑ "Pakistan status of major non-NATO ally may be terminated". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 2021-03-29.
  6. ↑ Nawaz, Shuja (May 2008), "The First Kashmir War Revisited", India Review, 7 (2): 115–154, doi:10.1080/14736480802055455, S2CID 155030407
  7. ↑ "Pakistan Covert Operations" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 September 2014.
  8. ↑ Jamal, Shadow War 2009, p. 57.
  9. 1 2 Brown, William (30 November 2014). "Chapter 4 : The Coup D'état (October to November 1947)". Gilgit Rebelion: The Major Who Mutinied Over Partition of India. Pen and Sword. ISBN 978-1-4738-2187-3.
  10. ↑ "Chitral's Role In The Liberation Of Gilgit-Baltistan". The Friday Times. 24 November 2021. Retrieved 8 April 2025.
  11. ↑ "BBC on the 1947–48 war". Archived from the original on 30 January 2015.
  12. ↑ Qaiser Butt (22 April 2013). "Princely Liaisons: The Khan family controls politics in Kalat". The Express Tribune.
  13. 1 2 Qaiser Butt (22 April 2013). "Princely Liaisons: The Khan family controls politics in Kalat". The Express Tribune. Archived from the original on 12 August 2023. Prince Agha Abdul Karim Baloch, father of Irfan Karim and younger brother of Khan-e-Kalat Mir Ahmed Yar Khan, had revolted against his brother's decision of accession of Kalat State to Pakistan at the request of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah in 1948. Abdul Karim took refuge in Afghanistan to wage an armed resistance against Pakistan. However, he ultimately surrendered to Pakistan in 1950.
  14. ↑ Malik, Hafeez (2016-07-27). Soviet-Pakistan Relations and Post-Soviet Dynamics, 1947–92 (ebook). Palgrave Macmillan UK. ISBN 9781349105731.
  15. ↑ Leake 2017, p. 137.
  16. ↑ Martel 2012, p. 712.
  17. ↑ Harrison, Selig S. (1981). In Afghanistan's shadow: Baluch nationalism and Soviet temptations. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. pp. 27–28. ISBN 978-0-87003-029-1.
  18. ↑ Harrison, Selig S. (1981). In Afghanistan's shadow: Baluch nationalism and Soviet temptations. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. pp. 27–28. ISBN 978-0-87003-029-1.
  19. ↑ "Asia Report No. 119". Pakistan: The Worsening Conflict in Balochistan. International Crisis Group. 14 September 2006. p. 4.
  20. ↑ "Popular Front for Armed Resistance". South Asia Terrorism Portal Index (SATP). Retrieved 5 May 2019.
  21. 1 2 3 "Baluch Liberation Front – Mapping Militant Organisation". web.stanford.edu. Retrieved 1 December 2018.
  22. ↑ Pakistan: The Worsening Conflict in Balochistan (PDF). International Crisis Group, Asia Report No. 119. p. 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-05-20. Retrieved 2015-09-19.
  23. ↑ Abbas, Hassan (2005). Pakistan's Drift Into Extremism: Allah, the Army, and America's War on Terror. M.E. Sharpe. p. 79. ISBN 0-7656-1496-0.
  24. ↑ Jalal, Ayesha (2007). The State of Martial Rule: The Origins of Pakistan's Political Economy of Defence. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521051842.
  25. ↑ Paliwal, Avinash (2017). My Enemy's Enemy: India in Afghanistan from the Soviet Invasion to the US Withdrawal. Oxford University Press. pp. 38, 240 and 241. ISBN 9780190685829.
  26. ↑ Newsline: A History of the Baloch Separatist Movement
  27. ↑
  28. ↑ "Pakistani opposition presses for Sharif's resignation". Wsws.org. 1999-08-07. Retrieved 2012-06-15.
  29. ↑ "The War in Pakistan". The Washington Post. 25 January 2006. Archived from the original on 1 April 2012. Retrieved 19 October 2008.
  30. ↑ Abbas, Zaffar (2004-09-10). "Pakistan's undeclared war". BBC. Archived from the original on 2008-09-15. Retrieved 2022-05-08.
  31. ↑ Rashid, Ahmed (2012). Pakistan in the Brink. Allen Lane. p. 54. ISBN 9781846145858.
  32. ↑ A Quiet Deal With Pakistan Archived 7 November 2017 at the Wayback Machine, The Washington Post, 4 October 2008
  33. ↑ "Pakistan: $1 billion from U.S. to fight terror". Aki/Dawn. 14 November 2006. Retrieved 24 November 2006.
  34. ↑ Bergen, Peter; Tiedemann, Katherine (3 June 2009). "The Drone War". New America Foundation. Archived from the original on 6 December 2011. Retrieved 16 December 2011.
  35. ↑ "Obama unveils new US policy for Pakistan, Afghanistan". Archived from the original on 1 April 2009. Retrieved 2 July 2009. Unfolding a new US strategy to defeat Taliban and Al-Qaeda, Obama said Pakistan must be 'stronger partner' in destroying Al-Qaeda safe havens. In this connection, he said Pakistan would be provided financial assistance of 1.5 billion dollars each year for the next five years.
  36. 1 2 Mehsud, Katharine Houreld (12 March 2015). "Pakistani splinter group rejoins Taliban amid fears of isolation | Reuters". Reuters. Archived from the original on 19 August 2017. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  37. ↑ "Pakistan says has eliminated Uighur militants from territory". Reuters. 18 October 2015.
  38. ↑ "Pakistan Taliban splinter group vows allegiance to Islamic State". Reuters. 18 November 2014. Archived from the original on 19 November 2014. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
  39. ↑ Says, Battu (31 March 2015). "Uzbek militants in Afghanistan pledge allegiance to ISIS in beheading video". The Khaama Press News Agency. Archived from the original on 13 July 2015. Retrieved 6 July 2015.
  40. 1 2 Javaid, U. and Javaid, R. (2016). Zarb-e-Azb: A Successful Initiative to Curtail Terrorism. South Asian Studies, 31(1), 281–296. – Argues that Operation Zarb-e-Azb was highly successful in dismantling terrorist networks in North Waziristan.
  41. ↑ Khan, S.R. and Khan, A. (2020). From War to Peace: The Challenges and Opportunities in Pakistan's Counter-Terrorism Environment Post Operation Zarb-e-Azb. Journal of Policing, Intelligence and Counter Terrorism, 15(2), 121–139. – Notes that Operation Zarb-e-Azb secured control over previous militant strongholds and denied them space.
  42. ↑ Gulf News (2016, June 16). Two years after 'Zarb-e-Azb': Pakistan stronger against terror. https://gulfnews.com/world/asia/pakistan/two-years-after-zarb-e-azb-pakistan-stronger-against-terror-1.1850692 – Contemporary news analysis of the success of Operation Zarb-e-Azb after two years.
  43. ↑ Roul, A. (2016). How Operation Zarb-e-Azb Changed Pakistan's Tribal Areas. Jamestown Foundation Terrorism Monitor, 14(12), 5–7. – Discusses gains made by Pakistan army in previously uncontrolled tribal areas during the operation.
  44. ↑ Weinbaum, Marvin G. (2017). "Insurgency and Violent Extremism in Pakistan". Small Wars & Insurgencies. 28 (1): 45. doi:10.1080/09592318.2016.1266130. S2CID 151596312.
  45. ↑ "Drone War: Pakistan". The Bureau of Investigative Journalism. Retrieved 2018-04-20.
  46. ↑ "Pakistan Leaders Killed" Archived 18 September 2017 at the Wayback Machine. New America Foundation. 23 June 2018
  47. ↑ "US Drone Kills Afghan-Based Pakistani Taliban Commander". Voice of America (VOA). 4 July 2018.
  48. ↑ "CIA drone strikes in Pakistan, 2004 to present". Bureau of Investigative Journalism. 24 January 2018. Archived from the original on 5 March 2017. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
  49. ↑ "Balochistan Insurgency". www.globalsecurity.org. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  50. ↑ "FC placed under Balochistan govt's control". Dawn News. 2 November 2011. "Since January 2008, military has conducted no operation in Balochistan," said Gen Abbas, dispelling a perception that the army was still in the field there.
  51. ↑ "No military operation in Balochistan". Nation. 20 January 2012. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  52. ↑ "No army operation in Balochistan: Kayani". Dawn News. 7 September 2013. 'Not a single soldier of Pakistan Army is involved in any operation in Balochistan,' Gen Kayani said.
  53. ↑ "FC accelerates intelligence-based operations in Balochistan". Dawn News. 27 August 2017.
  54. ↑ "Mapping Militant Organisation: Baloch Liberation Front". web.stanford.edu. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  55. ↑ Cite error: The named reference baloch_insurgency was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  56. ↑ "Iran Update, December 15, 2025". Institute for the Study of War. 15 December 2025.
  57. 1 2 3 Solomon, Christopher (2025-12-19). "Iran Update, December 18, 2025". Institute for the Study of War. Retrieved 2025-12-21.
  58. ↑ "Iran Sunni Baloch Insurgents: "Union with Hizbul-Furqan Strengthens Our Front Against Safavids"". 21 December 2013.
  59. 1 2 B Raman (25 January 2003). "Iraq's shadow on Balochistan". Asia Times. Archived from the original on 15 April 2003.
  60. ↑ Ayaz, Ahmed. "Islamic State Comes to Balochistan". THE DIPLOMAT. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  61. 1 2 Gul, Ayaz (15 May 2019). "Islamic State Announces 'Pakistan Province'". Voice of America. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
  62. ↑ "دولت اسلامیہ: نام نہاد 'پاکستان صوبے' کے نام سے پہلی ویڈیو جاری". BBC News اردو (in Urdu). 23 March 2021. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
  63. ↑ "Over 300 anti-state militants surrender arms in Balochistan". Dawn News. 9 December 2017. The largest province of the country by area, Balochistan is home to a low-level insurgency by ethnic Baloch separatists.
  64. ↑ Desk, Quetta Voice Web (20 December 2023). "BNA Commander Sarfaraz Bangulzai Along With 72 Militants Surrender". Quetta Voice Breaking News, English News, Technology, Health. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  65. ↑ Zia Ur Rehman (May 2014), "The Baluch insurgency: linking Iran to Pakistan" (PDF), The Norwegian Peacebuilding Resource Centre, archived from the original (PDF) on 6 May 2016
  66. ↑ Nadimi, Farzim (10 September 2014). "Iran Is Expanding Its Military Role in Iraq in a Bunch of Ways". Business Insider. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
  67. ↑ Marusic, Sinisa Jakov (28 February 2017). "Albanian Troops to be Sent in Iraq Against ISIS". Balkan Insight. Retrieved 2026-03-14.
  68. ↑ Andrew, Walks. "Turkey says it will join with neighbors to fight the Islamic State group in Syria". The Associated Press. Retrieved 2025-02-02.
  69. 1 2 "U.S. Launches Major Strikes on Islamic State Targets in Syria". The New York Times. 10 January 2026.
  70. ↑ "US envoy says SDF's role in Syria has 'largely expired' after ISIL". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2026-01-20.
  71. ↑ "Islamic State claims Hadera attack; minister: the two terrorists were linked to IS". The Times of Israel. 28 March 2022.
  72. ↑ "Explainer: Amidst Gaza war, IS still loathes Hamas". BBC Monitoring – Essential Media Insight. Retrieved 2025-07-16.
  73. ↑ Panda, Ankit (3 February 2015). "Islamic State in Afghanistan: Start of a Turf War?". The Diplomat. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
  74. ↑ Akbarzai, Sahar; Ehsan, Popalzai; Kottasová, Ivana (3 July 2022). "Taliban labels Islamic State affiliate a 'false sect'". CNN. Retrieved 4 July 2022. The Taliban has declared the Islamic State affiliate ISIS-K a corrupt "sect" and forbidden Afghans from contact with it.
  75. ↑ "ISIL now controls 'less than 6 percent of Iraq'". Al Jazeera. 12 April 2017. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
  76. ↑ "Bustle". Bustle. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
  77. ↑ "Isis controls over 50% of Syria after taking Palmyra". Newsweek. 21 May 2015. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
  78. ↑ "As Caliphate Shrinks, ISIS Expected to Head for the Hills". Middle East Online. 12 January 2017. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
  79. ↑ Helfrich, Kim (7 January 2017). "Islamic State moves to Libya's desert valleys after Sirte defeat – defenceWeb".
  80. ↑ "Boko Haram War Not Yet Over". Leadership. 24 February 2017. Archived from the original on 24 February 2017. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
  81. ↑ "The regime forces impose their control over about 100 thousand square km of the area of the Syrian territory and the last fighting against the "Islamic State" organization rages8 in Deir Ezzor". SOHR. 12 November 2017. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
  82. ↑ Tomlinson, Lucas; Griffin, Jennifer. "What comes after Raqqa for ISIS?". Fox News.
  83. ↑ Cite error: The named reference :14 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  84. ↑ "Caliphate defeated but IS remains a threat". BBC News.
  85. ↑ Khattak, Arsalan (2024-01-18). "Details of Weaponry Pakistan Used in Iran Strike". ProPakistani. Retrieved 2026-06-29.
  86. 1 2 3 Cite error: The named reference “PAF was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  87. ↑ "Uneasy India-Pakistan ceasefire holds but is a return to war inevitable". The Guardian.
  88. ↑ "India-Pakistan ceasefire appears to hold after accusations of violations". BBC.
  89. ↑ "Operation Sindoor Live Updates: Ceasefire from 5pm today; top India, Pakistan military officials to talk again on May 12". Times of India. Retrieved 2025-05-10.
  90. ↑ "Kabul retaliates: Taliban seize multiple Pakistani Army outposts along Durand Line". Business Today. Retrieved 12 October 2025.
  91. ↑ Cite error: The named reference AlJazeera-10killed was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  92. ↑ "Pakistan bombs targets in Afghan cities, minister calls it 'open war'". Reuters. 27 February 2026.

Sources

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