Daily Times

Peace between Pakistan and India faced a serious threat following exchange of fire across the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir, and the resultant casualties on both sides in the second week of January. Each side accused the other of provocation and violation of the ceasefire agreement the two countries signed in November 2003. The agreement has been hailed as the most successful CBM between Pakistan and India, as peace along the 740 kilometre long Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir had remained largely intact during the last more than eight years. There had been some minor incidents of crossfire but they were immediately contained through the intervention of higher officials of the border security forces of the two countries. But the incident involving the Indian attack on a Pakistani check post inside Pakistani territory on January 6, killing a Pakistani soldier and injuring another, set in motion a series of violations and cross-border exchange of fire that not only threatened the ceasefire agreement, it also tended to seriously undermine the revived peace process between Pakistan and India. The skirmishes across the LoC had brought the forces of the two countries to an eyeball-to-eyeball position with alarm bells ringing in all the big capitals of the world. Although calm prevails on the border, the situation remains potentially explosive as the stalemate between the two countries continues on how to ensure that such incidents do not take place again.

The unfolding of events in the wake of clashes on the LoC exposes both the vulnerabilities and strengths of the ongoing peace process between Pakistan and India. Pakistan had viewed with serious concern the violation and attack on its check post on January 6, which unfortunately led to the death of a soldier. The Foreign Office summoned the Indian Deputy High Commissioner and registered a strong protest against the incident. On the other end, the Indians reacted very strongly against the killing of two Indian soldiers in an ambush allegedly carried out by Pakistani troops across the LoC. The Indians accused Pakistani troops of mutilating the bodies of the dead soldiers and beheading one of them. The Indians also alleged that the Pakistani troops had taken the severed head of the Indian soldier while retreating into their territory.

Not only did the Indian media go into a well-orchestrated hype calling for a stern response to Pakistan, the Indian political and military leadership also issued bellicose statements, raising the temperature between the two countries. Indian Air Force chief ACM N A K Browne stated that his country might have to look at some other options to stop what he alleged was the continuous violations of the LoC by Pakistan. The army chief General V K Singh went a step further, terming the beheading of an Indian soldier a “most unpardonable act” and warned that India reserved the right to retaliate at a time and place of its own choosing. Defence Minister A K Antony called the incident a turning point and said that the repeated LoC violations were an issue of serious concern for India. Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid termed the incident as inhuman, provocative, barbaric and unfortunate, and said that Pakistan would have to account for this act. The Indians claimed that the Pakistan army had carried out a raid in collaboration with the Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, whose chief Hafiz Saeed had visited the area close to the border a few days before the incident took place. Saeed however denied it. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also issued a stern warning to Pakistan and said that after this “…brutal act, it cannot be business as usual with Pakistan.” At Jaipur where Congress held a three-day chintan shivir (introspective meeting), the tempers were equally high. Party President Ms Sonia Gandhi, while underscoring the need for her country to maintain friendly and cooperative relations with Pakistan, declared that it could be possible only on the basis of civilised norms. The opposition BJP called for an end to the dialogue with Pakistan and the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha, the BJP’s Sushma Swaraj demanded 10 heads for one in retaliation against Pakistan. The situation became more worrisome when India rejected a Pakistani offer for a UN probe, and the flag meeting at the brigade level failed to break the deadlock between the two sides. Things seemed to move towards a dangerous escalation, as there were two more LoC violations by India, resulting in the martyrdom of two more Pakistani soldiers. Cross-LoC trade and travel halted; Pakistan’s hockey players booked for the Indian Hockey League returned without taking part in the tournament; and a Pakistani business delegation scheduled to take part in a meeting in New Delhi cancelled its visit.

The measure of gravity can be gauged from the fact that the US and China urged Pakistan and India to resolve the dispute and maintain peace on the LoC. The US ambassadors in Islamabad and New Delhi met Pakistani and Indian high foreign ministry officials respectively, in an attempt to restrain the situation from becoming further aggravated. Then, people living on both sides of the LoC protested against the LoC violations and called on both Pakistan and India to maintain peace and resume trade and travel across the LoC, as they had horrible memories of pre-ceasefire days when civilians were mostly the victims of incessant cross-LoC shelling. US intervention and sharp reaction from the people, including businessmen, traders and members of civil society, seems to have moderated the high temperature on both sides of the LoC.

Although the situation along the LoC has stabilised and the governments of Pakistan and India have reiterated their commitment to respect the 2003 ceasefire agreement and continue the resumed dialogue process, the events of the past two weeks amply show that peace between Pakistan and India remains hostage to the hardliners on both sides, who will miss no opportunity to sabotage the evolving détente in the region. The flare-up also underlines the centrality of the Kashmir issue in the search for Pakistan-India normalisation, reminding the two countries that unless the core issue of Kashmir is addressed, peace between the two countries would remain tenuous.

Peace between Pakistan and India faced a serious threat following exchange of fire across the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir, and the resultant casualties on both sides in the second week of January. Each side accused the other of provocation and violation of the ceasefire agreement the two countries signed in November 2003. The agreement has been hailed as the most successful CBM between Pakistan and India, as peace along the 740 kilometre long Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir had remained largely intact during the last more than eight years. There had been some minor incidents of crossfire but they were immediately contained through the intervention of higher officials of the border security forces of the two countries. But the incident involving the Indian attack on a Pakistani check post inside Pakistani territory on January 6, killing a Pakistani soldier and injuring another, set in motion a series of violations and cross-border exchange of fire that not only threatened the ceasefire agreement, it also tended to seriously undermine the revived peace process between Pakistan and India. The skirmishes across the LoC had brought the forces of the two countries to an eyeball-to-eyeball position with alarm bells ringing in all the big capitals of the world. Although calm prevails on the border, the situation remains potentially explosive as the stalemate between the two countries continues on how to ensure that such incidents do not take place again.

The unfolding of events in the wake of clashes on the LoC exposes both the vulnerabilities and strengths of the ongoing peace process between Pakistan and India. Pakistan had viewed with serious concern the violation and attack on its check post on January 6, which unfortunately led to the death of a soldier. The Foreign Office summoned the Indian Deputy High Commissioner and registered a strong protest against the incident. On the other end, the Indians reacted very strongly against the killing of two Indian soldiers in an ambush allegedly carried out by Pakistani troops across the LoC. The Indians accused Pakistani troops of mutilating the bodies of the dead soldiers and beheading one of them. The Indians also alleged that the Pakistani troops had taken the severed head of the Indian soldier while retreating into their territory.

Not only did the Indian media go into a well-orchestrated hype calling for a stern response to Pakistan, the Indian political and military leadership also issued bellicose statements, raising the temperature between the two countries. Indian Air Force chief ACM N A K Browne stated that his country might have to look at some other options to stop what he alleged was the continuous violations of the LoC by Pakistan. The army chief General V K Singh went a step further, terming the beheading of an Indian soldier a “most unpardonable act” and warned that India reserved the right to retaliate at a time and place of its own choosing. Defence Minister A K Antony called the incident a turning point and said that the repeated LoC violations were an issue of serious concern for India. Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid termed the incident as inhuman, provocative, barbaric and unfortunate, and said that Pakistan would have to account for this act. The Indians claimed that the Pakistan army had carried out a raid in collaboration with the Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, whose chief Hafiz Saeed had visited the area close to the border a few days before the incident took place. Saeed however denied it. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also issued a stern warning to Pakistan and said that aft