It seems that the Indian government is running out of patience. After the act of terrorism in Kashmir on May 14, when 34 people were killed and 57 wounded, the official Delhi announced that it was going to conduct the tactics of preventive strikes on terrorists’ camps on the territory of Kashmir, which is controlled by Pakistan. The Indian commander-in-chief of land squadrons stated that it was time for the action.
The Indian parliament is also going to pass a special resolution today, to support the course of changing the tactics of the anti-terrorist struggle. Jasjit Singh, the Director of the Institute of Defense Studies and Analysis in Delhi said that the resolution would most likely include the ultimatum to Pakistan – “to execute the requirements of Delhi.
Such menacing statements from Delhi began after the Indian special services found out that the terrorists, who arranged a massacre in Kashmir, were the nationals of Pakistan. Anyway, the Indian government has already said that many times, that Pakistan supported terrorists. This is one of the reasons why the conflict between India and Pakistan worsened. But this conflict has been limited to skirmishes on the border up until now. However, this may now expand to a large conflict.
If the Indian army starts preventive strikes on the Pakistani part of Kashmir, then Islamabad is not likely to remain indifferent to it. For the military elite of Pakistan, for the Palestinian society Kashmir is the land, which is populated by Muslim people – the same people that they are themselves. And they should be protected from “the Indian oppression.” Of course, the fact that there are not only Muslims there, but also Buddhists, Sikhs, is not taken into consideration. So, Pakistan may claim that India shows aggression against its own country, in case if the Indian army starts preventive strikes. In this case the two countries will not have any opportunities to avoid the military conflict of large scale, it will be almost inevitable.
Nevertheless, the war between India and Pakistan is not likely to happen under the current conditions, although both Delhi and Islamabad are interested in maintaining a certain tension on the border. The governments of the two countries need that to deviate the attention of India’s and Pakistan's citizens from serious internal problems. So the languid contradiction is good both for the Indian and Pakistani governments.
It should be mentioned here that the reaction of the world community on the latest events in Kashmir (and on harsh statements from India) was limited to this one phrase: “Another act of terrorism, another turn of the contradiction.” Nothing more. It seems like no one is going to claim responsibility for the regulation of the longstanding conflict, taking into consideration the fact that India (which is running for the status of the regional super-power) is not likely to accept someone’s mediation. The same can be said about Pakistan. So everything depends on Delhi and Islamabad - if there is peace or war in the region.
Vasily Bubnov PRAVDA.Ru
Translated by Dmitry Sudakov
BBC photo
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