South Asia contested borders

South Asia's frictions are organised around Pakistan, which is a party to four of the theater's five fault lines. The largest by volume is the conflict with Afghanistan: cross-border air strikes, clashes along the Durand Line, and short ceasefires that have repeatedly lapsed, with both governments describing the relationship in terms of open war. The India-Pakistan relationship is in a post-conflict phase a year after a ceasefire ended open hostilities; its live threads are the suspended Indus Waters Treaty, a recurring airspace ban, disputed responsibility for the Pahalgam attack, and sovereignty claims exchanged at the United Nations. Inside Pakistan, the Balochistan insurgency continues, with Islamabad attributing the attacks to Indian backing and India rejecting the charge. The India-China border, by contrast, has been quiet: talks on delimitation have resumed and Ladakh coverage has largely moved to domestic Indian politics.

Tensions in this zone:5

Attributed headlines:435

Competing narratives

Coalitions with their own frame on the same underlying confrontation.

Indian claim and counter-terrorism framing

167sources

Pakistani counter-terrorism framing

35sources

Pakistani grievance framing

43sources

Indian framing of Pakistan as destabiliser

61sources

Coverage by country

last 180 days · 507 events

Countries directly involved in these tensions, or whose own outlets cover them.

India204 Pakistan180 Afghanistan73 United States11 China

Narratives in detail

Loaded vocabulary per coalition and recent headlines.

Supporting · 2

Indian claim and counter-terrorism framing

167 sources

View position:India's account: Pakistan sponsors militancy; Kashmir is integral; treaty obsolete →

Loaded vocabulary

“integral”“vacate”“terror”“Sindoor”“Lashkar”“sponsor”“unwarranted”“outdated”+1

The Indian account (Indian mainstream press) runs through the three disputes in which India is the acting party: Jammu and Kashmir is Indian territory and the question is closed, the attacks on Indian soil are traced to groups operating from Pakistan with official tolerance, and the Indus Waters Treaty is an arrangement from another era that a state sponsoring militancy cannot expect to continue unchanged.

Coalition

India

Covered by:Times of India · The Times of India · Hindustan Times · NDTV · The Hindu · Indian Express · +5

Headlines under this frame

China This Week | China reveals Op Sindoor help to Pakistan, Trump-Xi meeting, and death to ‘corruption’
Indian ExpressMay 10
Indus Waters Treaty will be in abeyance till Pakistan irrevocably stops sponsoring cross-border terrorism: Govt.
The HinduJul 3
PM Modi Changes X Profile Picture to 'Operation Sindoor' Tribute, Honours Indian Armed Forces - Republic World
Republic TVMay 7
One Year On, Global Leaders Remember Pahalgam Attack, Back India Against Terror
DD IndiaApr 22
Pahalgam Terror Attack: PM Modi Remembers Victims of Pahalgam Terror Attack Anniversary
WIONApr 22
India stands firm against terror: PM Modi pays tribute to Pahalgam victims
DD IndiaApr 22

Pakistani counter-terrorism framing

35 sources

View position:Pakistan's security account: cross-border counterterror is legitimate →

Loaded vocabulary

“terrorist”“militant”“sanctuar”“TTP”“BLA”“Ghazab”“Indian-backed”“operation”+1

The Pakistani security account (Pakistani press) covers the two conflicts in which Pakistan is the acting party: strikes into Afghanistan are presented as hitting Tehreek-e-Taliban sanctuaries that Kabul will not close, and the insurgency in Balochistan is presented as externally sponsored terrorism rather than an indigenous political movement. In both, Pakistan casts itself as responding to violence organised beyond its control.

Critical · 3

Pakistani grievance framing

43 sources

View position:Pakistan's account: India coerces, weaponises water, occupies Kashmir →

Loaded vocabulary

“occupied”“disputed”“self-determination”“weaponisation”“water aggression”“false narrative”“unsubstantiated”“binding”

The Pakistani account (Pakistani press) reverses the Indian one across the same three disputes: Kashmir's status is unresolved and its people are owed self-determination rather than a settlement imposed from Delhi, the Pahalgam allegations have never been substantiated and serve to justify pressure and strikes, and suspending a treaty on which a downstream population depends for its crops and drinking water is coercion whatever the pretext.