Sir Creek: Timeline of the India-Pakistan dispute over a 96-km long creek

Story truthful far: “Any aggression by Pakistan successful the Sir Creek country volition beryllium met with a resounding effect that volition alteration some past and geography,” warned Defence Minister Rajnath Singh connected October 2, 2025. Celebrating Vijayadashami with the troops stationed successful the Indian Air Force (IAF) basal successful Bhuj, Mr. Singh cautioned Islamabad against immoderate misadventures successful the 96-km-long portion of waters which has been nether quality since 1914. 

The 2 nations person been recalibrating their naval strategies since India launched Operation Sindoor successful May 2025, hitting panic and subject sites wrong Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). Focus connected the strategically important Sir Creek has renewed since then, arsenic experts judge Pakistan has a ‘perceived subject edge’ successful that region.

Location of Sir Creek and importance

Originally known arsenic ‘Ban Ganga’, the 96-km creek flowing into the Arabian Sea, separating Rann of Kutch successful Gujarat’s occidental borderline from Pakistan’s Sindh Province successful its southwestern border, was named ‘Sir Creek’ aft a British typical during the assemblage years. The marshlands successful Sir Creek is the largest sportfishing grounds successful Asia and is location to untapped petroleum, minerals, lipid and state reserves. Apart from the economical and strategical value of the creek, the h2o assemblage is ecologically sensitive. India and Pakistan person laid claims to the Territorial Sea, Exclusive Economic Zone, and Continental Shelf successful the creek.

Dispute implicit Sir Creek

History

During the British Raj, Rann of Kutch fell nether the Princely State of Kutch portion Sind came nether Bombay Presidency — straight nether British administration. In 1908, the Kutch Darbar and the Sind medication laid disputing claims connected a tiny assemblage successful the occidental information of Rann. However, the quality was settled by the British medication aft its Bombay authorities passed a solution connected February 24, 1914, delineating the borders betwixt the 2 Provinces.  

Depicted via a greenish enactment connected a British-approved map, the solution awarded the full Kori Creek, which lies to the westbound of the Rann of Kutch to the Kutch Darbar and the full Sir Creek to Sind i.e. Bombay Presidency. Post-partition, Kutch became a portion of India, portion Sindh Province fell nether Pakistan. This reignited the borderline issue, present betwixt 2 sovereign nations — making it an planetary quality from an interstate contented nether the British Raj.

Pakistan claims that the borders betwixt Kutch and Sindh lies connected the eastbound slope of Sir Creek i.e. the greenish enactment connecting the rima and apical of Sir Creek arsenic mentioned successful Paragraph 9 of the resolution. However, India claims that that successful Paragraph 10 clarifies that the adopted enactment extends from the apical of Sir Creek, eastbound to wherever it joins Sindh — depicted successful bluish dotted lines. It besides states that arsenic Sir Creek changes its people implicit time, the occidental bound should beryllium taken arsenic the ‘centre of the navigable transmission of Sir Creek’. India claims that this efficaciously marque the river’s people the bound betwixt Sindh and Kutch.

Talks and quality resolution

In 1956, the Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan agreed to entrust the demarcation of the full occidental bound to the Central Surveys of India and Pakistan arsenic a substance of the highest priority. However, the survey was ne'er done. After the 1965 India-Pakistan war, some nations agreed to establishing a UN tribunal for last determination of the bound betwixt Kutch and Sindh.  

On February 19, 1968, the tribunal awarded 90% of the disputed territory successful the Rann of Kutch to India portion 10% of territory including Rahim Ki Bazar, Dhara Banni and Chhad Bet was awarded to Pakistan. It stated, “The Resolution of 1914 divided the disputed country by a caller enactment on the Sir Creek, from its rima to its top, and past follows the bluish dotted enactment owed East until it joins the Sind bound marked successful purple.”  

Discarding Pakistan’s assertion of fractional and fractional part of Rann of Kutch, the UN tribunal ruled, “No rule of a fractional and fractional part of the Rann was proved ever to person existed and the 1914 Resolution does not notation specified a principle. Pakistan’s contention that the vertical enactment was meant to beryllium a bound betwixt Sind and the Rann arsenic an entity astir which determination was a chiseled quality betwixt the 2 neighbours, is besides not convincing. The purple line, i.e., the Macdonald line, ne'er was thing other than the Sind-Kutch boundary.” 

However, the tribunal failed to resoluteness the Sir Creek quality stating, “This statement leaves retired the matters submitted connected the information of the bound on the bluish dotted enactment and the bound successful Sir Creek.” 

India-Pakistan ties soured aft the Kargil warfare successful 1999. Months aft the war, a Breguet Atlantic maritime patrol aircraft of the Pakistan Navy was changeable down implicit the Rann of Kutch by the Indian Air Force’s MiG-21 aft it disobeyed instructions to onshore astatine an Indian base. The Atlantic had manoeuvred to flight from the MiG pilots and was changeable down by a heat-seeking air-to-air missile.

Several attempts to resoluteness the Sir Creek contented has failed done the years with the latest effort occurring successful 2007. A associated hydrographic survey was conducted successful January 2007 and talks were held soon aft with an speech of maps. However, the contention remains unresolved

Current scenario

Since the usage of the oversea way from Karachi to Mumbai successful 2008 by Pakistani terrorists connected 26/11, patrolling on the Kutch seashore has increased. Both Indian and Pakistani fishermen person been detained by the respective military, done the years, for accidentally crossing the disputed planetary borderline successful Sir Creek.

In 2016, the Border Security Force seized a Pakistani vessel with 9 fishermen successful this country but recovered thing objectionable successful it. In 2019, India received quality inputs of infiltration of Pakistani commandos oregon trained terrorists. The Indian Coast Guard and Coastal Security Police increased patrolling aft several abandoned boats were discovered successful Sir Creek successful September 2019. 

Moreover, Pakistan has been expanding its subject presence in the country for the past 2 years portion India’s operation successful Sir creek remains stalled since February 2023. As per reports, Islamabad has deployed quadcopters to show the BSF’s patrolling and is constructing a 64-men barrack astatine its marine station Rah-de-Pir. While the Centre approved to construct eight multi-storeyed bunkers cum reflection posts astatine Sir Creek and ‘Harami Nalla’ marshy country successful January 2023, the operation activities stalled owed to the unresolved border dispute. 

In the caller retaliation to Operation Sindoor, Pakistan attempted to target subject installations with up to 400 drones crossed 36 locations, including the Sir Creek region.