Daily Times

In violation of the ceasefire agreement along the Line of Control, the Indian Army resorted to a round of unprovoked firing in Kotli that resulted in one casualty. However, the scale of the incident does not hold any bearing on its legal standing in the international court of law. The blood of even one innocent man should be deemed important to take any and all transgressors to the task. Previously in June, two more civlians had embraced martyrdom when the Indian Army had opened “indiscriminate fire” at the LOC. On May 15, a 65-year-old woman was mercilessly killed just because she happened to have stepped into the forbidden land.

These displays of callous inhumanity when ordinary civilians living on the fringes are traumatised from carrying on with their daily routines should be considered by the international community if it wishes to continue championing the sanctity of human life. By choosing to aim at the defenceless, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi routinely sends a clear message across the table: he does not have time for idealistic propositions like peace. The hotline contact established between the estranged neighbours in 2021 clearly appears to be heading for the trash can because why bother discussing the impact of these breaches on the bilateral ties when one party has lost its interest? In contrast, Pakistan and its preference for maximum restraint in matters of crucial significance are ignored amid calls to “do more” about the terrorist networks. This provision of unnecessary support, come what may, by the leading players has granted Mr Modi and his team an artificial sense of impunity: their actions and policies would not be questioned. Turning a blind eye to India’s transgressions had begun in the picturesque valley of Kashmir but now fires raging across the length and breadth of the “incredible” land are being given the notorious silent treatment. Why should the shakers and the movers waste time dabbling in ideological debates when the Indian economy has so much to offer? The hypocrisy is too out in the open to be pushed aside. *