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

This is a list of wars. For a list of military engagements and battles within wars, See Outline of Pakistan military history for additional information.

  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 (1947–1949)	Pakistan	India	Ceasefire One-third of Jammu and Kashmir controlled by Pakistan. Indian control over remainder.[6][7] See Aftermath
First Balochistan conflict (1948–1950)	Pakistan	Kalat insurgents	Pakistani victory Suppression of rebellion Surrender of Prince Agha Abdul Karim and Prince Muhammad Rahim Pakistan recaptures Jhalawan
Waziristan rebellion (1948–1954)	Pakistan	Waziristan Supported by: Afghanistan  India	Pakistani victory Failure to foment an extensive uprising[8] End of Insurrection[9] Datta Khel area of Waziristan recaptured by Pakistan
Second Balochistan conflict (1958–1960)	Pakistan	Kalat insurgents	Pakistani victory Suppression of rebellion Surrender of Nauroz Khan
Dir campaign (1959–1960)	Pakistan Dir opposition Supported by: Swat state	Dir state Jandol  Afghanistan	Pakistani/Opposition victory Overthrow of Nawab Jahan Khan
Bajaur Campaign (1960–1961)	Pakistan	Afghanistan	Pakistani victory Deterioration of Afghanistan–Pakistan relations
Third Balochistan conflict (1963–1969)	Pakistan Supported by: Iran Oman	Parrari PFAR BLF Bugti militia Supported by: Afghanistan First Republic of Iraq (until 1968) Ba'athist Iraq (from 1968) Ba'athist Syria	Ceasefire and end of insurgency[10] General amnesty to militants Abolition of the One Unit Scheme
Second Indo-Pakistani War (1965)	Pakistan	India	Inconclusive Status quo ante bellum
Al-Wadiah War (1969)	Saudi Arabia Supported by: Pakistan (air support)	South Yemen	Saudi victory al-Wadiah and Sharurah captured by Saudi forces
1971 JVP insurrection (1971)	Ceylon Sri Lankan Coalition (from 15 May) SLFP CCP (Pro-Soviet) LSSP Military intervention: India Pakistan Soviet Union	JVP Supported by: North Korea[11][12][13] Albania (arms support)[14] China (alleged) ASBPI[15][16] CCP (Maoist) (alleged) Diplomatic support: South Yemen[17]	Ceylonese government victory Rebel leaders were captured and the remaining members surrendered Ceylonese government re-established control of the entire island Expulsion of North Korean diplomats The JVP controlled Ceylon's Southern Province and Sabaragamuwa Province for several weeks
Bangladesh Liberation War (26 March – 16 December 1971)	Pakistan	Bangladesh India (3–16 Dec.)	Bangladeshi-Indian victory[18][19][20] Surrender of Pakistani forces Independence of Bangladesh Military Officer's Revolt in Pakistan East Pakistan secedes from Pakistan as the People's Republic of Bangladesh
Third Indo-Pakistani War (3–16 December 1971)	Pakistan	India Bangladesh	Indian victory[21][22][23] Eastern front: Surrender of East Pakistan military command East Pakistan secedes from Pakistan as Bangladesh Western front: Ceasefire agreement[24][25][26] Indian forces captured around 15,010 km2 (5,795 sq mi) of land in the West but returned it in the 1972 Simla Agreement to prevent further conflict.[27][28][29] India retained 883 km2 (341.1 sq mi) of the gained territory in Jammu and Kashmir while Pakistan gained160 km2 (60 sq mi) territory[30][31][additional citation(s) needed] Pakistan captures significantly greater economic value worth of land in Punjab, India than what India captured in Sindhi Desert, despite lower quantity.[32][33]
Fourth Balochistan Conflict (1973–1978)	Pakistan Supported by: Iran Oman	Baloch separatists Pashtun Zalmay[34]	Pakistani victory[35] Insurgency Halted Baluch Militant Groups Dismantled Restoration of status quo ante bellum
1976 Dir rebellion (3 September 1976–10 September 1976)	Pakistan Dir Levies	Dir rebels	Pakistani victory Suppression of rebellion
Soviet–Afghan War (1979–1989)[36]	Mujahideen  Pakistan	Soviet Union DR of Afghanistan	Victory[37] Afghan mujahideen victory[38]
First Afghan Civil War (1989–1992)	Afghan Interim Government[39] Jamiat-e Islami Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin (until July 1989)[39] National Islamic Front of Afghanistan Ittehad-e Islami Hezb-i Islami Khalis Harakat-i Inqilab-i Islami[40] Independent Factions: Khalq (1990)[41] Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin (from July 1989)[39] Junbish-i Milli (from 1992) Foreign Mujahideen: Al Qaeda[42] Maktab al-Khidamat Various factions also fought among each other Supported by: Pakistan United States Saudi Arabia United Kingdom China Germany Iran	Republic of Afghanistan Supported by: Soviet Union (until 1991) India Commonwealth of Independent States (from 1991)[43] Tajikistan Turkmenistan Uzbekistan	Afghan Interim Government victory Dissolution of the Homeland Party Government The Peshawar Accord leads to the creation of the Islamic State of Afghanistan on 28 April 1992 Continued civil war among Mujahideen forces
Gulf War[44] (1990–1991)	Kuwait United States United Kingdom France Saudi Arabia Egypt Coalition: Pakistan[45][46] Afghan mujahideen[46] Argentina Australia  Bahrain Bangladesh Belgium Canada Czechoslovakia Denmark Germany Greece Honduras Hungary Italy Japan Luxembourg Morocco Netherlands New Zealand Niger Norway Oman Philippines Poland Portugal Qatar Romania Senegal Sierra Leone Singapore South Korea Spain Sweden Syria Turkey United Arab Emirates	Iraq	Victory[47] Iraqi withdrawal from Kuwait; Emir Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah restored Heavy casualties and destruction of Iraqi and Kuwaiti Infrastructure
Second Afghan Civil War (1992–1996)	Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin (until late 1994) Khalq (pro Gulbuddin factions, until late 1994)[48] Supported by:  Pakistan (until late 1994) Taliban (from late 1994) Khalq (pro Taliban factions, from late 1994) Al-Qaeda (from early 1996) Supported by:  Pakistan (from late 1994)[49][50]	Islamic State of Afghanistan Northern Alliance Jamiat-e Islami Shura-e Nazar Hezb-e Islami Khalis (until mid-1992) Ittehad-e Islami Harakat-i-Inqilab Jebh-e Nejat-e Melli Mahaz-e Milli Harakat-i Islami Hezb-i Wahdat (until Dec. 1992) Junbish-i Milli (until Jan. 1994, again from Aug. 1994) Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin (from late 1994) Supported by:  Saudi Arabia  Uzbekistan (until Jan. 1994, again from Aug. 1994)  Iran (until Dec. 1992) Separate Factions: Hezb-i Wahdat (after Dec. 1992) Supported by:  Iran (from Dec. 1992)[51] Junbish-i Milli (Jan. 1994-Aug. 1994) Supported by:  Uzbekistan (Jan.-Aug. 1994) Regional Kandahar Militia Leaders Afghan Army and Airforce Remnants (allegedly, until October 1992)	Victory Taliban victory Taliban take control of Kabul and most of Afghanistan;[52] Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan established Thousands of civilians killed, millions driven from their homes,[53] Kabul heavily damaged.[54] Grave mistreatment of civilians (murder, looting, extortion)[55] Civil war continues (1996–2001)
Third Afghan Civil War (1996–2001)	Islamic Emirate (Taliban) Pakistan Haqqani Network Al-Qaeda 055 Brigade[56]	Islamic State (Northern Alliance)	Stalemate Taliban controls up to 85% of Afghanistan including the capital Kabul
Kargil War (1999)	Pakistan	India	Defeat India regains possession of Kargil Return to status quo ante bellum[57]
Insurgency in Sindh (2003–present)	Pakistan Sindh	Sindhudesh separatist groups Supported by: Baloch separatist groups	Ongoing Low-level insurgency[58][59][60]
War in North-West Pakistan First Phase:- (16 March 2004 – 22 February 2017)[61][62] Drone war (2004–2018) Part of the war on terror and the War in North-West Pakistan Location: Pakistan MQ-1 Predator drones typically used in covert bombing operations in Pakistan.	Pakistan  United States[63][64][65] Pakistan[66][67] United States  USAF CIA Supported by: United Kingdom	Insurgents Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan Jamaat-ul-Ahrar[note 1] Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi[note 2] Lashkar-e-Islam[note 3] Al-Qaeda Lashkar-e-Jhangvi Haqqani network Jundallah (until 2014) Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (until 2015) Turkistan Islamic Party (until 2015)[69] ISIL-aligned groups  Islamic State Khorasan Province Jundallah[70] Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan[71] Jamaat-ul-Ahrar[68]	Victory[72] Most areas under Pakistani control with the Success under Operation Zarb-e-Azab[72][73][74][75] Main force of Pakistani Taliban take refuge in Afghanistan[76] United States-Allied Victory 430 drone strikes confirmed[77] 81 high-level insurgent leaders and thousands of low-level insurgents killed[78] Large number of insurgents killed while some fled to Afghanistan[79] Most recent drone strike launched in January 2018[80]
Fifth Balochistan Conflict (2004–present)[81]	Pakistan Forces involved: Pakistan Armed Forces  Pakistan Army (until 2008, again from 2024)[82][83][84]  Pakistan Air Force  Pakistan Navy Pakistan Marines Special Forces: SSG SSW SSG-N Civil Armed Forces Frontier Corps[85] Frontier Corps Balochistan (North) Frontier Corps Balochistan (South) Pakistan Coast Guards Pakistan Levies Frontier Constabulary Pakistan Police Balochistan Police Counter Terrorism Department Balochistan Levies Pakistani Intelligence community NACTA ISI MI FIA Iran[86] Forces involved: Iranian Armed Forces Artesh (since 1979)  Ground Forces  Air Force Navy Special forces: NOHED Brigade 3rd Marine Brigade IRGC (since 1980) Ground Forces Aerospace Force Navy Basij Special forces: Saberin Takavar Brigade 110th Salman Farsi Special Operations Brigade Sepah Navy Special Force Iranian police Border Guard (since 2000) Ministry of Intelligence Imperial Iranian Army (until 1979)	Baloch separatist factions BLA Majeed Brigade Fateh Squad BLF Baloch Raaji Aajoi Sangar LeB (inactive) BLUF (2009–2010) BSO (Azad) (inactive) BNA (2022–2023) BRA (2006–2022) UBA (2013–2022) Other Baloch Separatist groups Sectarian factions Ansar Al-Furqan (since 2013) Jaysh al-Adl (since 2012) Harakat Ansar (2012–13) Hizbul-Furqan (2012–13)[87] Jundallah (2003–12)[citation needed] Islamic State (since 2014)[88] IS-KP (since 2015)[89] IS-PP (since 2019)[90][89] Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (since 2007) Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (1996–2024)[91] Sipah-e-Sahaba (1985–2018)[91]	Ongoing[92][93] Extension of the conflict into Iran[94] Operation Azm-e-Istehkam continuous
War in Iraq (2013–2017)	Iraq Peshmerga Sinjar Alliance CJTF–OIR United States Canada United Kingdom France Germany Australia Belgium Netherlands Denmark Turkey Jordan Morocco Iran Hezbollah Liwa Zainebiyoun[95] Further support:- Pakistan[96] see others	ISIL Ansar al-Islam SCJL Naqshbandi Army Mujahideen Army	Victory Iraqi territorial integrity preserved ISIL expelled from all strongholds in Iraq[97]
War in North-West Pakistan Second Phase:- (23 February 2017–present)[98][99][100]	Pakistan Pakistan Armed Forces  Pakistan Army  Pakistan Air Force Special Forces: SSG SSW Civil Armed Forces Frontier Corps FC KPK North FC KPK South Pakistan Rangers Pakistan Levies Frontier Constabulary Pakistan Police Counter Terrorism Department KPK Police Dir Levies Malakand Levies Pakistani Intelligence community NACTA ISI MI FIA United States (until 2018)	Taliban (major in the Durand Line border skirmishes since 2022)[101][102] Insurgents: Pakistani Taliban Jamaat-ul-Ahrar[a] TNSM[b] Lashkar-e-Islam[c] Tariq Gidar Group Tehreek-e-Jihad Pakistan[103] Inqilab E Islami Pakistan (IIP) Hafiz Gul Bahadur Group[104] Jaish-e-Fursan-e-Muhammad[105] Al-Qaeda (AQIS) Former belligerents Jundallah (until 2014) Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (until 2015) Turkistan Islamic Party (until 2015)[106] Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (until 2024) Sipah-e-Sahaba (until 2018) Supported by: Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (until 2021)[107] Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (since 2022)[108][109] Islamic State Islamic State – Pakistan Province[110] Khorasan Province Jundallah[70] IMU[71] Jamaat-ul-Ahrar[68]	Ongoing[111] Operation Azm-e-Istehkam continuous
India–Pakistan Conflict (2025)	Pakistan	India	Ceasefire [112] [113][114]

See also

• Outline of Pakistan military history
• Other military conflicts involving Pakistan:
  • Kashmir conflict
  • 2001–2002 India–Pakistan standoff
  • 2008 Indo-Pakistani standoff
  • India–Pakistan border skirmishes (disambiguation)
  • Afghanistan–Pakistan skirmishes
  • 2017 Afghanistan–Pakistan border skirmish
  • 2008–12 Pakistan–United States skirmishes

Notes

1. Until 2020, when it re-merged into the TTP.^[68]
2. Collaboration with the TTP in 2007.
3. Collaboration with the TTP in 2015.

1. Until 2020, when it re-merged into the TTP.^[68]
2. Collaboration with the TTP in 2007.
3. Collaboration with the TTP in 2015.