There is a risk of war between India and Pakistan
The United States and the Kashmir War. What Do We Need to Know About the Indian-Pakistan Conflict? A Senior Analyst’s Report to the International Crisis Group
Praveen Donthi, a senior analyst for India with International Crisis Group, said the international community needed to take the conflict between India and Pakistan seriously.
India struck several targets in Pakistan, which the military claimed were terrorist infrastructure. The Indian government said the strikes were in response to an attack by gunmen that killed at least 26 tourists in India-administered Kashmir.
President Trump told reporters in the Oval Office this week that the strikes were “a shame” and that he hoped the fighting would end “quickly.” He added that the two had fought for decades and “centuries.” Pakistan was founded in 1947.
Donthi: It’s only the United States which can actually put an end to these hostilities, which it did successfully in 2019. Because power really works. There are other friendly nations from the Middle East who have tried to help, but that is not going to work unless the U.S. takes full ownership of the situation.
He said the view of the international community was a huge risk due to the fact that both India and Pakistan are nuclear powers.
You said that India may have struck due to public pressure and I want to hear about it. And now Pakistan is under pressure to strike back in some dramatic way because of public pressure to do something.
Inskeep: India says it’s striking air defenses in Pakistan. Let’s assume that’s true for purposes of this question. When you strike air defenses, it is often to clear the way for hitting something else, to clear out the airspace. Is there an expectation of another strike by India?
Donthi was present. They say it’s an ongoing operation. They said they hit nine sites, which they called “terror infrastructure.” So more strikes are on the way. And Pakistan is bound to retaliate and retaliate strongly because they are under immense public pressure, because this time around there have been civilian casualties, unlike the last time.
When India revoked Kashmir’s special status, and began a campaign of abuses against residents of the Muslim-majority state, Donthi was referring to.
What’s going on in the Indian and U.S. nuclear space? — Comment on President Trump’s ‘centuries’ with India’s Prime Minister
That’s correct, Donthi. There have been tit-for-tat diplomatic moves followed by military strikes. And every time there seems to be a demand for a more forceful strike, we don’t know what’s going to come next. This time, it looks very serious. But the world seems to be not taking it seriously. President Trump talked about how this conflict has been going on for many decades. He said “centuries” which may mean it’s been going on for a while and they will stop at one point. But that carries a big risk, huge risk, because both are nuclear powers and all it takes is a miscalculation or a mistake. So both these powers are not completely in control of the escalation dynamics, which the world seems to believe.
Donthi: What is it? Yes, exactly. India and the U.S. have grown closer over the past decade even though President Trump claimed to be close to both powers. There are historic ties with Pakistan as well. The U.S. can bring both the parties to the table.
Diaa Hadid reported in Mumbai, India. Betsy Joles contributed from Pakistan, Omkar Khande the from Mumbai, and also had reporting from Srinagar in Indian Kashmir.
He said Washington had the best chance of ending the hostilities, because of the country’s historic ties with Pakistan, and its increasing closeness to India.
In his call with Pakistan’s prime minister, Secretary of State Rubio “expressed U.S. support for direct dialogue between India and Pakistan and encouraged continued efforts to improve communications,” according to a State Department statement.
Hundreds of Rohingya refugees and security forces in the Indian-dominated Kashmir crisis: David Nazir and his family in the village of Makhan Windi
Nazir said his wife was spared because she was pregnant. Nazir said he, and some other Rohingya managed to flee, and slept in a park. A lawyer, Colin Gonsalves, who is representing the detained people, said the government appeared to have taken advantage of the situation to detain the men. Delhi police did not reply to the repeated requests for comment.
Even as hostilities gripped the public’s attention, human rights activists said Indian authorities had rounded up and detained more than 30 Rohingya refugees from their homes in the Indian capital, including the elderly parents of David Nazir.
Most of his neighbors fled after the shelling in India’sheld Kashmir, says the local resident. A twin boy and girl were killed by Pakistani shelling, according to a resident.
On Thursday, Indian residents piled by the roadside to watch security forces gathered around one fallen projectile in a field in the village of Makhan Windi, some 25 miles from the Pakistani border. The mood was more curiosity than fear.
“What we can do is try to encourage these folks to de-escalate a little bit, but we’re not going to get involved in the middle of a war that’s fundamentally none of our business and has nothing to do with America’s ability to control it.”
There were loud blasts above the towns in Jammu and Achabal in Indian-administered Kashmir by Thursday evening. An army spokesman told NPR that the districts along the line of control between India and Pakistan have been put on high alert. There is a shortage of power.
The information ministry of India said that the armed forces targeted air defence radars and systems in Pakistan, and that it has been learned that an Air Defence system at Lahore has been neutralised.
The blasts appeared to be related to one of the drones, which army spokesman Sharif said had “managed to engage a military target near Lahore.” Four army personnel were injured in that incident.
Muhammad Abbas, a 47-year-old groundskeeper in an upscale Lahore suburb, was washing a car when he heard a bang. People carried on despite a few people being frightened. “Pakistani people are not cowards who hide in their houses. Whatever happens, will happen to all of us.”
Pakistan’s Army Fires: A Serious Provocation for the Security and Security of the Armed Forces in the Indian-Pakistan Conflict
Pakistan’s army said it shot down 25 military drones that fanned over population centers — including the city that houses Pakistan’s general army headquarters.
“This is a serious, serious provocation,” Pakistani army spokesman Maj. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhary said of the Indian drones in an English-language statement. “It appears that India has apparently lost the plot. Rather than going on a path of rationality, it is further escalating in a highly charged environment.”
Amid the tensions, the U.S. Consulate General in Lahore, Pakistan, directed its staff to shelter in place. Operations were suspended in Indian and Pakistani airports near their border. School was out in border areas of both Pakistan and India.
Parents on one Pakistani WhatsApp group exchanged emergency checklists that included baby milk powder and coloring books to keep kids busy. “Stay calm, stay prepared. May we all remain safe,” the list concluded.
Vance’s question about India-Pakistan conflict: a response to a question about the Trump administration’s nuclear sensitivity to “no our business”
Vance spoke on Fox News late Thursday, in response to a question about if the Trump administration was worried about nuclear conflict. “We want this thing to de-escalate as quickly as possible,” and added: “We can’t control these countries though.”
He did not think the nuclear war was a likely scenario because he said the administration was trying to de-escalation through diplomatic channels. Marco Rubio spoke to the foreign ministers of India and Pakistan.
AriFAS said that the comments of Vance signaled a more hands-off foreign policy. During previous escalations in 2019 and 1999, Washington worked intently to dial down tensions.
She said Pakistan often sought international intervention because it saw itself as the weaker party in its decades-long crisis with India, largely over the disputed region of Kashmir. Both countries claim to be the exclusive owners of this Himalayan territory, which is divided between them.
There were at least two projectiles that landed in the city of Okara. Residents filmed one careering to the ground, spinning across a field while emitting plumes of smoke as young men dashed out of the way. Two residents spoke to NPR independently, but both requested anonymity because they didn’t want to anger Pakistani authorities who have not commented on the incident.
“There were a lot of fireballs in the sky”, said Gowher Ahmad, of Jammu city. Friday was quiet, but Ahmad said he feared the night.
Source: Vice President Vance says India-Pakistan fighting is ‘none of our business’
The Kashmiri Pastor of the Border Village, Jaspreet Kaur, accused of trespassing on Indian-held Kashmir
Jaspreet Kaur, from the border village of Ajote, said most of the 10,000 residents had fled. The rest of the group are in the basement of the building. According to Karamat Hussain, many residents of Khari couldn’t flee because they care for their livestock like his elderly parents.
As violence continues, India appears to be cracking down more intently on critics. Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, a prominent Kashmiri preacher who advocates independence for the territory, said on X that he was not allowed to attend Muslim Friday prayers in Indian-held Kashmir. He shared a video of his previous Friday sermon, and wrote, “I urge both the countries to urgently de-escalate and not to tread on this dangerous path, which can only lead to destruction.”
The social media network said in its message on its global affairs account that it received “executive orders” from the Indian government to block more than 8,000 accounts. Anuradha Bhasin, a prominent Kashmiri journalist, was blocked from The Wire, a New Delhi-based news site. Indian authorities did not respond to requests for comment.
