Modern wars · 1999

Kargil War

Pakistani troops and fighters took heights across the Line of Control a year after both countries tested nuclear weapons. After weeks of fighting and US pressure, Pakistan withdrew in July 1999.

The site of the battle on the 2026 map. Shaded: Countries hit by major wars since 1979, Gaza and the West Bank.

Key facts

When: 1999
Where: Kargil, Ladakh
Sides: Pakistan vs India
Result: Pakistani forces withdrew
Type: Modern wars
Chapter: 7. The Modern Muslim World

The wider picture: Nation states and modern wars

Most Muslim lands won independence between the 1920s and the 1960s. Since then the region has seen more war than almost anywhere else: Israel's wars with its neighbours, two Afghan wars, the Iran Iraq war, American wars in Iraq, civil wars in Syria and Yemen, and in 2026 a war on Iran.

See the 2026 map Read chapter 7

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