Canada established bilateral relations with the Dominion of Pakistan shortly after the latter's independence from British rule in 1947. When the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947-48 broke out in Kashmir in that same year, Canada strongly expressed the desire for a rapid and peaceful solution to the conflict and was also one of the first few countries to provide United Nations peacekeeping in the volatile region of Kashmir as early as 1949. Throughout Pakistan's history and wars with neighbouring India, Canada has expressed its concern with regards to the stability of the region and repeatedly urged restraint and diplomatic discussion to resolve the Kashmir conflict. Canada has historically and presently remained neutral in all of the Indo-Pakistani wars and standoffs in contrast with the neighbouring United States—which had both directly and indirectly favoured Pakistan due to the latter's alliance with the Western Bloc during the Cold War.