75 Years After Partition

By Fayaz Bukhari and Gibran Naiyyar Peshimam

TEETWAL, India/CHILEHANA, Pakistan (Reuters) - A roaring Himalayan river and one of the world's most militarised borders separate the Khokhar family in Kashmir, a mountainous region divided between India and Pakistan - arch rivals that gained independence from Britain 75 years ago.

Abdul Rashid Khokhar lives on the Indian side, in the village of Teetwal.

Across the fast-flowing waters of the Neelum River, also known as the Kishanganga, his nephews - Javed Iqbal Khokhar and Muneer Hussain Khokhar - run small stores in the hamlet of Chilehana in Pakistan.

Above them, on both sides, loom tall, green mountains from where the militaries of the nuclear-armed neighbours have intermittently rained mortars, shells and small arm fire on each other through the decades.

Since early 2021, the Line of Control (LOC), a 740-km (460-mile) de facto border that cuts Kashmir into two, has been mostly quiet, following the renewal of a ceasefire agreement between India and Pakistan.

After years of bombardment and destruction in this part of Kashmir, farmers have returned to abandoned fields and orchards, markets are bustling, small businesses are expanding and schools are back to normal routines, residents on both sides said.

But the broken diplomatic ties between India and Pakistan, who fought two of their three wars over Kashmir, continue to cast a dark shadow over the region. Kashmir, claimed by both nations, remains the biggest unresolved issue between the two, much the same as it was in 1947.

India and Pakistan have no viable trade links and their diplomatic missions are downgraded. Visas to visit from either side are extremely limited.

The picture-postcard valleys and mountains of Kashmir are divided into Pakistani and Indian sectors, while China controls a slice of the region in the north.

The narrow rope bridge that connects Teetwal to Chilehana is blocked on both sides by barbed wire, and no crossings have been allowed since 2018.