Two nuclear nations are facing off with rising tensions and even higher stakes.

What should you know about India, Pakistan, and Kashmir?

That's our topic today. I'm Jenna. And this is Smarter News.

Just a quick note before we begin our conversation for clarity. The conflict between India and

Pakistan dates back decades and centers in an area called Kashmir that both India and Pakistan

claim. Recently, Indian tourists were murdered in Kashmir and India has blamed Pakistan and now has retaliated with force

bombing deep into Pakistani territory, not just the disputed area of Kashmir. With that very

simple introduction, let's bring in Holly McKay. Well, we're lucky enough to be joined again by

Holly McKay, who's a work correspondent and

writer and someone who has actually traveled to India, Pakistan, and Kashmir. So this is very

unique to be able to speak to someone that's been to all three places. And Holly, perhaps we can

start with a real basic question. Where is Kashmir and why is it at the center of this story?

Yeah. Well, Kashmir is a dividing line between India and Pakistan, sometimes referred to as

the line of control, depending on who you speak to, it belongs to Pakistan, it belongs to India, and then there are parts

that are controlled by both parties. And is the conflict around territory? Is that really

where the conflict over Kashmir, when we see it flare up and flare back down periodically

over the last several decades, Is it really about territory and who

owns it or controls it? Yeah, it is at its face value. It's a story of sort of territorial

control. Kashmir is a sort of a very beautiful area. I can certainly attest to that. But it's,

it goes a little bit beyond just sort of who this territory belongs to.

And it becomes sort of a little bit of part of national identity and religious identity, really.

As we know, India is predominantly a Hindu country and Pakistan is predominantly a Muslim country.

...