The din of jingoistic outrage and hyper-nationalism in the Indian media initiated in the wake of the recent killing of five Indian army personnel at the Line of Control (LoC) in Indian-administered Kashmir, and copied by some in the Pakistani media, has highlighted the very uncomfortable truth of the status of an unfinished ‘war’ between Pakistan and India. The issue is Kashmir and has been since the British demarcation of territories in 1947. As the Indian Defence Minister A K Antony changed his initial statement and the Pakistan government spokesperson insisted the firing at the LoC was still being continued by the Indian side, there is an air of exaggerated hostility that needs all efforts by peace-loving segments of both nations to diffuse. Two of the three wars between Pakistan and India have had the unresolved issue of ‘who will own Kashmir’ as the raison d’être to perpetuate hostilities between the two nations, which it seems did not learn any substantial lesson from the bloodied division, whose stains have affected the apparent normalisation of relations to date. In the two nuclear-armed countries, a handful of military strategists and generals seem to hold sway over almost two billion people. The poverty-stricken masses, afflicted by disease, famine, floods and earthquakes, besides many-made calamities, are the least of the concern of the powerful few in Pakistan and India who remain busy in the perpetuation of their limited but devastatingly detrimental policy of hostility. Despite several UN interventions and diplomatic pressure from several countries, the guns are always cocked at the LoC, and the victims are the nameless soldiers, and subsequently, the ongoing efforts to call it a ceasefire in the true sense of the word. Notwithstanding the ‘war chant’ from some ultra-nationalist sections of the Indian media, it is imperative that the bigger picture not be lost here. The 2003 ceasefire may not have been very effective in defusing the ‘fire’ of enmity forever, but the very fact of its existence is an indication of the desire of the successive governments of Pakistan and India to implement a long-lasting peace plan. The very unfortunate events of Kargil and the 2008 Mumbai attacks may have been used as vehicles to block the efforts of peace aspirants by some state and non-state actors.. However, the recent announcement of the newly inducted government of Pakistan headed by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and the willingness of Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmoham Singh to open a new dialogue for a long-lasting rapprochement is a very positive indicator despite the air being thick with war cries. The resolving of the Kashmir issue amicably, without more lives lost on both sides, focusing on the wellbeing of the people of Kashmir, should be the top agenda of any Pakistan-India talks now. And not a moment too soon. *