A senseless confrontation
After nearly two weeks of tension and skirmishes tempers seem to be cooling down on both sides. During this latest bout of tensions, the Pakistan-India peace process, initiated in 2001, was brought to a grinding halt. The killings of three Pakistani and two Indian soldiers suddenly soured relations between the two countries. The incidents were followed by the routine summoning of each other’s High Commissioner to their respective Foreign Offices. Whenever armies of two countries with a long history of hostilities conduct aggressive border patrolling, sporadic incidents of the sort are likely to happen. Keeping in view the sensitivity of the situation, care should have been taken by commanders on both sides to avoid any ugly situation. Subsequent events show that this was not done. The killing of two Indian soldiers, with one allegedly beheaded and his head taken away, led in India to a rise of chauvinist sentiment which was fanned by right wing politicians like Sushma Swaraj. This was by no means unusual for this is precisely what would have happened on this side of the border if the soldier had been a Pakistani. It was unusual, however, for the Indian army chief to yield to the chauvinistic sentiment by expressing resolve to fight fire with fire along the Line of Control and directing all Indian battalion commanders to retaliate with all their might if the Pakistani army provokes them by violating the ceasefire or pushing militants into the occupied Kashmir.
There is a need to stop any further deterioration of relations. Pakistan needs to seriously look into Indian complaints and address them adequately if found to be genuine. The peace process needs to be pursued as it is of vital importance for not only the stakeholders but also the region. It is particularly important for Kashmiris with divided families living on either side of the LoC, for the progress and prosperity of Pakistan and India and for peace in South Asia. Any attempt to endanger it would have grave consequences for all the three. Pakistan has done well to agree to hold talks directly with India. What stands in the way is the statement from Manmohan Singh, who too has chosen to play to the gallery. His statement that it “cannot be business as usual with Pakistan” is a throwback to the Mumbai attack. The statement was followed by India sending back Pakistan hockey team and by putting the easing of visa reforms on hold.
The talks by the DGMOs of the two countries seem to have made some progress. Sanity requires that Pakistan’s offer of talks at the foreign secretary level is accepted by India so that the issue could be resolved at the earliest. Both countries would be losers if the leaders, both civilian and military, allowed the senseless confrontation to continue.
