In 2003, after decades of tensions and sniping along the Line of Control, the de facto international border in disputed Kashmir, India and Pakistan finally agreed to a cease-fire. The agreement came in the aftermath of a major crisis in 2001-2002, which had brought the two states to the brink of war.
That meltdown started with an attack that Jaish-e-Mohammed, a Pakistan-based terrorist organization, launched on the Indian parliament in December 2001. In response, India undertook a massive military mobilization along its borders with Pakistan to force it to end its support for a range of terrorist groups operating from its soil. Pakistan made some nods toward reining in various terrorist groups, but it was clear that it was not prepared to bow to Indian pressure.
