US President Donald Trump, during a press briefing at the White House, termed the situation between Pakistan and India as ‘very dangerous’. His remarks came after a week-long war of words between the two nuclear-armed neighbours intensified over the Pulwama suicide attack with Director-General of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major General Asif Ghafoor promising a ‘surprise’ should any Indian misadventure take place over the coming days or weeks. Trump has signalled backdoor diplomatic measures which imply that tensions may be addressed through US officials as it has happened in the past. This will be a welcome intervention since the Afghan peace process is currently underway, and another regional crisis could mar its prospects for success. Even UN Secretary-General António Guterres has offered assistance in diffusing hostilities between Islamabad and New Delhi. Meanwhile, the situation along the Line of Control (LoC) and Working Boundary (WB) is tense. Locals in Azad Kashmir have been asked to distance themselves from the border region and even asked to build necessary bunkers as a pre-emptive measure. On Thursday evening, the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) was also placed on high alert. However, the key messages from Islamabad and New Delhi are starkly different. While Pakistan is emphasising on constructive dialogue and de-escalation of the hostilities, India is threatening with ‘dire’ consequences that potentially includes another conflict and squeezing water supplies even though the latter is more of a symbolic threat. Moreover, India is also trying to ‘isolate’ Pakistan from diplomatic, sports and cultural communities. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has already suspended talks with New Delhi for refusing visas to two Pakistani shooters on political grounds. In the cricketing realm, the Indians are lobbying to oust Pakistan from the upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup to be held in England & Wales. This may likely backfire since jingoism has taken over policy. Indeed, the Pulwama attack was dastardly but New Delhi needs to introspect on its internal policies in Kashmir. Reportedly, some 10,000 troops of the Indian Army have recently been airlifted to Srinagar for a major operation. Several separatist leaders of the valley, including Yasin Malik, have also been arrested. This would further aggravate the already volatile situation in Kashmir. New Delhi is yet to realise that such heavy-handedness is only breeds more anger and hatred for the Indian state. Before sabre rattling, New Delhi should address the human rights abuses in the valley, review its flawed security policies and initiate a meaningful dialogue with Kashmiri leaders for the sake of regional stability. * Published in Daily Times, February 24th 2019.