India and Pakistan, two perennially feuding nuclear neighbours, again on the verge of an all-out military confrontation!?

[Sukla Sen]

<<India and Pakistan appear on the verge of another military conflict, as India promises retaliation for a deadly terrorist attack in Kashmir that it says was linked to Pakistan. Tensions have risen so sharply that India has vowed to disrupt the flow of a major river system into Pakistan, a step it has never taken before, even during the wars the two countries have fought over the decades.

Pakistan, which denies involvement in the Kashmir attack, has called the water decision an “act of war.”

The slaughter on Tuesday of more than two dozen tourists in a scenic valley shocked Indians and put Mr Modi under tremendous domestic pressure to strike Pakistan. Analysts warn of the prospect of a protracted and dangerous standoff, with diplomatic channels between the two nuclear-armed countries having withered years ago and global powers now distracted by other crises.

But India, the analysts say, may be restrained by the risk of exposing a military that is still under transformation.>>

<https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/1305643-as-tensions-rise-with-pakistan-a-moment-of-truth-for-india-s-military-nyt>

This piece, rather shockingly, simply ignores the huge elephant in the room.

Not for once it discusses the implications of two nuclear neighbours engaging in an all-out military clash and its bone-chilling possibilities.

But from one who is virtually arguing for larger military expenditure by India, despite India being globally one of the two top importers of armaments (ref.: <https://www.business-standard.com/external-affairs-defence-security/news/ukraine-replaces-india-as-world-s-largest-arms-importer-shows-sipri-data-125031001154_1.html>) this is probably only to be expected.

What however is more relevant that it very rightly mentions, even though almost accidentally, that very much unlike on the past occasions this time the "global powers [are] now distracted by other crises."

Even Trump was on the previous occasion, during Pulwama-Balakot, far more serious (ref.: <https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/donald-trump-says-we-have-some-reasonably-decent-news-from-india-and-pakistan-report-2000565> and compare with the gross flippancy displayed this time round: <https://x.com/ANI/status/1915900674669244630>) with his the then National Security Adviser actively engaging to de-escalate (ref.: <https://www.reuters.com/article/us-india-kashmir-crisis-insight-idUSKCN1QY03T>).

That, obviously, makes things significantly more worrisome.

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Peace Is Doable