Violence in Kashmir continues

Post the death of a popular separatist field commander in July, the violence in Kashmir has augmented over the past couple of months, and there’s no sign of it abating. On September 18, four separatist Kashmiri rebels carried out an armed raid on a military base in the Uri area near Srinagar that resulted in their own deaths and those of 17 Indian soldiers. Indian officials have termed the attack being ‘crossborder terrorism’ to imply the involvement of Pakistani elements, a claim that is made repeatedly when such incidents occur. As the facts of this latest attack continue to emerge, it has become obvious that at the very least, this will impact the already shaky liaison between Pakistan and India even further. The two countries have been engaged in a war of words during which the Indian establishment has decided to conflate the Balochistan issue in Pakistan with the freedom struggle of Kashmiris.



The international community has, by and large, decided to stay neutral on this matter although the US has recently issued a statement clarifying that it does not support separatist movements in Balochistan. Both Pakistan and India have announced their intentions to raise their concerns at the UN General Assembly. However, the attack in Uri and the implication that it may have, been either tacitly or directly supported from across the border will create diplomatic problems for Pakistan, that has, in fact, been focusing on highlighting the civilian toll in Kashmir. Several unarmed individuals have lost their lives and hundreds, including children, have been injured by the Indian military. Life in the India-held Kashmir region has ground to a halt due to military imposed curfew. While the establishment in both countries well realise that the issue of Kashmir cannot be resolved through military means, any diplomatic resolution thus far remains elusive. Meanwhile, the Kashmiri people continue to wait for an end to the decades-long turmoil that has claimed so many of their lives.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 20^th, 2016.

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