Reports that gunfire was exchanged between Indian and Pakistani troops sent shock-waves rippling throughout the world; but this was not the end of the story. Six Pakistani civilians were killed in the violence, with a further forty left to languish in hospital with potentially fatal injuries. There were three Indian fatalities, and twenty-two injured. On the fiftieth anniversary of the Indo-Pakistani War, in which India claims victory, the two countries may be their closest in armed conflict in decades. Predictably, just like Pakistan’s Operation Gibraltar back in 1965, it began in Kashmir. India and Pakistan, since their very inception, have been involved in various bitter border disputes. Gilgit-Baltistan is such one example, Kashmir, however, is the most bitter.
The Kashmiri battleground is a frequent theatre for hostilities between the two countries. The skirmishes in the disputed region are a microcosm, representing deep fissures in the relationship between the two countries. Afghanistan is already in a state of disrepair. Any further instability in the region could prove detrimental to Asia, and the world as a whole. Increased hostilities and violence between two nuclear powers does not inspire confidence in the world’s future safety.
[via Al Jazeera]
The tensions have reached such a point that the international community has felt forced to give stern warnings. China, which is hardly a paragon of restraint when it comes to territorial matters, has advised India to exercise restraint. The gunfire at the border violated the ceasefire which India and Pakistan had agreed to. Urging the two countries to use dialogue to prevent destabilising the region, China is fearful of the potential spillover. China must juggle territorial disputes with Japan and internal sovereignty movements, clearly, there is little appetite for further violence close to its southern border. The United States has taken the more tough line, saying that it is time that India and Pakistan ultimately decided on their relationship, adding that it is fearful of further conflict which could diminish efforts to fight against terrorism.
In the days since the first attack, tensions have been at an all-time high. Could it be that after fifty years of official peace between the two countries, they are now hurtling towards war? Many factors may be at play: the election of Narendra Modi, an avowed nationalist, in 2014; Pakistan’s fractious political state of affairs. This latest conflict is merely at the beginning. Given that India once considered military strikes on Pakistan’s nuclear facilities, nothing can be ruled out.
