At least nine people were killed and dozens wounded in cross-border firing by Indian and Pakistani forces. This was less than a week after high level talks between these estranged neighbors were called off, it is safe to say that enough is enough. The firing coincided with the day India marks the 50th anniversary of the 1965 war between the neighbors. India has not moved far from its warmongering, and that India would celebrate the war and fire at Pakistan the same day is proof.
Both sides have accused each other of starting this exchange, where both Pakistani and Indian security officials said they were responding to unprovoked firing from the other side. Three civilians were killed in the Indian border region of Jammu, part of the disputed Kashmir region, and 20 others were injured. The Pakistani side started shelling around midnight that intensified early Friday morning around dawn. However, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry is of the opinion that Indian forces started firing across the border at 11:30 pm on Thursday. Six civilians were killed and at least 47 were injured on the Pakistani side in the firing, where Pakistan has lodged a formal protest with India.
The exchange of fire has been on going for months, and so has India’s provocations. The prime ministers from both countries had agreed on a number of measures last month to reduce tensions, including a meeting between senior border security officials from both sides, but only Nawaz Sharif has seemed sincere in his words. All Indian promises have been broken, and they seem set on confrontation.
Innocent civilians have always been collateral damage in the “peace” process. India accuses Pakistan of supporting armed Kashmiri separatists and harboring militants who carry out cross-border terror attacks. Pakistan denies the allegations, saying it only offers moral and diplomatic support to the people of Kashmir. The Indian and Pakistani troops occupy the heights on either side of the Kashmir valley, leaving the civilian population stuck in the middle, and badly exposed. Families have fled villages to take cover in wooded areas on nearby hillsides.
Crops are destroyed, schools forced to close for weeks and shops open only long enough for people to buy essentials.
It is high time armchair politics stop. If talks are failing between both countries, maybe it is time to reach out for international help. But can international organisations see through India’s smokescreen of bright Bollywood colors and Modi’s selfies? If they could, the matter of Kashmir, water and terrorism would have been sorted long ago.