LoC skirmishes

Continuous firing mars ties between two countries and threatening to encroach into other areas, including visa regime.

The repeated exchange of fire over many weeks along the Line of Control (LoC) dividing Kashmir between Pakistan and India has had repercussions that extend far beyond this zone. Dampening the spirit of goodwill that had so far existed between both men, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said he is disappointed with his Pakistani counterpart Mr Nawaz Sharif’s failure to act on commitments to ease LoC tensions made when the two leaders met last month in New York.

These skirmishes have since accelerated, with India claiming the death of two Border Security Force personnel, and Pakistan of one member of a paramilitary force and three civilians in October alone. With India set for an election next year, Mr Singh’s sharp words are not entirely unexpected. While it is impossible to pin down the truth as far as cross-LoC firing goes, the Indian prime minister is right when he says much could have been gained by both countries had the agreement reached in 2003 to try and uphold the ceasefire on the LoC been adhered to.

Sadly, this did not happen. The continuous firing, with hundreds of incidents reported this year alone, mars ties between the two countries and is already threatening to encroach into other areas, including the visa regime. The waves of tension could radiate further, and the continuing incidents make it clear that steps are required to prevent the disruptive impact these have on peace efforts. Rather than pointing fingers, both nations need to find ways to stop them and ascertain why the mechanisms developed for this in the past have failed to work. Why have others not been put in place — such as the joint investigation of incidents suggested by Islamabad; combined patrolling; a look at why fencing put up by India has not worked and a meeting between the army chiefs of both nations. This, after all, is no trifling matter. It is one that raises huge concerns for the future and as such requires urgent attention. We must not wait.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 26^th, 2013.

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