India and Pakistan have fought three wars since independence, two of them over Kashmir, in 1947 and 1965. A third in 1971 led to the creation of Bangladesh. In 1999, the they clashed again in the Kargil region in what was described as an undeclared war. A U.N.-brokered ceasefire line, the Line of Control, now divides the region.

The region's strikingly beautiful mountains, valleys and grand Mughal-era gardens had drawn record tourist arrivals stemming from five years of relative safety.