Hostilities at border

Both countries need a cool headed approach

Both Pakistan and India have more than just peace put on risk with their recent spate of clashes at the Line of Control border in the disputed area of Kashmir. While both sides have made claims and counter claims, the truth that this is only hurting their relation and peace efforts in the region outweigh all of their arguments. These incidents have created an air of mistrust, that too right when both countries had shown inclination in resuming the composite dialogue process for peace.

According to the Indian claims, a jawan of BSF was injured by firing from the Pakistani side in Jammu. Another such incident had put a head constable of the BSF in hospital with a sniper fire to the chest a day earlier. Five Indian soldiers were killed in another such incident a few days ago, India claims though Pakistan has denied any involvement in these incidents. Pakistan claims that a Pakistani soldier was killed on July 27 in a cross-border ceasefire violation. How far the claims and counter claims turn out to be true remains yet to be seen but given the tension at the border, both international and LoC, both countries need to take a break from levelling allegations on each other and start inquiries into the incidents to hold the guilty ones responsible. On the political leadership level, both New Delhi and Islamabad need to pitch in and put a stop to this madness. They should devise a way not only to handle these incidents but also to make sure that no such incidents could derail the process of peace talks between them. The nuclear armed neighbours have been at each other’s throat since long, it would rather be positive and interesting to see what they can achieve with dialogue and discussion instead of bullets and bombs.

The leaders of the two countries are supposed to meet on the side-lines of the UN General Assembly session in September in New York. With the Indian opposition pressurising the government to cancel the meeting in protest to these incidents, it is even more important for the leadership of both countries to not let these incidents get in the way of greater good for the region. They need to rather push for developing a mechanism to tackle these issues along with other long standing issues. Hostilities won’t benefit anyone, except those who want to see chaos and terror in the region. The only way forward is to work together by tackling these issues on a priority basis.