The Line of Control (LoC) is the military control line between India and Pakistan in Jammu and Kashmir, while the Line of Actual Control (LAC) is the loosely defined demarcation between Indian-controlled territory and Chinese-controlled territory.
- The LoC runs about 740 km in Jammu and Kashmir; it originated as the Cease-Fire Line after the 1947 to 1948 war and was renamed the Line of Control under the Shimla Agreement of 1972.
- The LoC is a clearly delineated military line (not a legally recognised international boundary), and the area is heavily guarded against infiltration; the Border Security Force and the Army are deployed.
- The LAC separates India and China and is around 3,488 km long, running through Ladakh, the middle sector, and Arunachal Pradesh; it is not mutually agreed or marked on the ground, leading to differing perceptions and face-offs.
- The Indo-Tibetan Border Police guards the India-China border (LAC) in peacetime, alongside the Army.
- A further line, the Actual Ground Position Line, marks positions on the Siachen Glacier beyond the LoC.
The LoC and LAC, their lengths, the forces deployed (BSF, ITBP), and the treaties behind them are core strategic-geography and border-management facts for CAPF.
LoC is with Pakistan (Jammu and Kashmir, delineated, BSF and Army); LAC is with China (longer, undemarcated, ITBP and Army). The international boundary with Pakistan in the plains is separate from the LoC.
LoC is the delineated India-Pakistan control line in Kashmir; LAC is the undemarcated India-China line, guarded by the ITBP.