Pakistan Warns Of War After India's Move To End Kashmir's Special Status

NPR ^ | August 7, 2019·4:27 AM ET | Diaa Hadid, Abdul Sattar, Scott Neuman

[BenLurkin]

Pakistan's prime minister warned that a move by India to strip Kashmir of its special status could lead to war between the two countries and the "ethnic cleansing" of Muslims in the restive Himalayan region.

Imran Khan referred to a suicide attack in February that killed at least 40 Indian security forces in Indian-controlled Kashmir, and was followed by airstrikes and a dogfight between Indian and Pakistani pilots.

"Such incidents are bound to happen again. I can already predict this will happen," Khan said, addressing a joint session of Parliament on Tuesday.

A Pakistan-based militant group, Jaish-e-Mohammed, claimed responsibility for the February suicide attack. India blamed Pakistan, and Islamabad denied any responsibility.

"They will attempt to place the blame on us again," Khan said. "They may strike us again, and we will strike back. ... Who will win that war? No one will win it and it will have grievous consequences for the entire world."

Khan also accused India's Hindu nationalist government of promoting a "racist ideology." He predicted India would intensify a crackdown on Kashmiris, saying, "I fear they may initiate ethnic cleansing in Kashmir to wipe out the local population."

The disputed Muslim-majority territory of Kashmir is split between India and Pakistan. They have fought two major wars over the region, which is a source of constant tension between the rival neighbors.

In recent weeks, President Trump has offered to mediate between India and Pakistan over Kashmir, something India has rejected. Pakistani officials say they intend to ask Trump if he might be willing to press India again.

"We will ask USA to play an active role on this issue," said Fawad Chaudhry, the minister for science and technology and a former government spokesman. President Trump, Chaudhry said, "fully realizes the importance of this issue."

Pakistan is helping the United States to negotiate a deal with the Taliban that would allow American forces to withdraw from Afghanistan. But if conflict flares up surrounding Kashmir, those efforts could be upended, said Mosharraf Zaidi, a columnist for the Pakistani daily The News.

"It will fundamentally alter the ability of Pakistan to try and support the U.S. in its mission in Afghanistan," he said.

Indian-administered Kashmir has remained on lockdown following a decree from India's president on Monday rescinding the region's special status. On Tuesday, India's parliament passed the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Bill formalizing the change, which is likely to be challenged in court on constitutional grounds.

Since it acceded to India in 1947, Kashmir-- which also has sizeable Hindu and Buddhist minorities — has enjoyed a semi-autonomous status. But discontent there has fueled a protracted separatist movement that has claimed some 45,000 lives since the late 1980s.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party won an overwhelming victory in elections this spring, vowed in the campaign to revoke the constitutional clause dealing with Kashmir, known as Article 370.

Meanwhile, in Kashmir, where Internet and phone service was cut off ahead of Monday's decree, some 400 local politicians have been placed under arrest by Indian security forces, according to India Today.

The magazine reports that hotels, guest houses, government and private buildings have been turned into makeshift jails to house the detainees, which include separatist leaders and even politicians seen as working for an accommodation with India.

Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police Dilbagh Singh was quoted by the Press Trust of India as saying Kashmir's summer capital, Srinagar, was "totally peaceful."

Although the communications blackout made it difficult to know the situation in Kashmir, there were reports of sporadic protests. There have also been numerous protests across Pakistan, proclaiming solidarity with India's Muslim Kashmiris.

A spokesman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Civil Rights, Rupert Colville, on Tuesday expressed deep concern over the situation in Kashmir. "We are seeing, again, blanket telecommunications restrictions, perhaps more blanket than we have ever seen before, the reported arbitrary detention of political leaders and restrictions on peaceful assembly," he told reporters in Geneva.

[Little Ray]

Am I bad person for not caring if the next India-Pakistan war goes nuclear?

[ClearCase_guy]

Perhaps the Global Warming folks would welcome a little Nuclear Winter.

[Zhang Fei]

It won’t go nuclear. Win or lose in Kashmir, it’s pointless to lose your capital in a nuclear exchange.

[SaveFerris]

[ Pakistan Warns Of War After India’s Move To End Kashmir’s Special Status ]

I figured that was coming.

[momincombatboots]

Am I a bad person because I thought of all the job openings? Better get cracking on my coding class.
I thought the same thing. We both know the true answer is.. we value all life, so we would be mournful of the lost lives.
Right now... red flag laws are coming and the Republic is about to breathe it’s final free breath.

[Mark17]

No one will win it and it will have grievous consequences for the entire world."

Nucs???

[The Sons of Liberty]

Am I bad person for not caring if the next India-Pakistan war goes nuclear?

I'm right there with you - it would certainly fix a LOT of problems with the pakis, move call centers back here and shut down the H1B scam.

[z3n]

Am I bad person for not caring if the next India-Pakistan war goes nuclear?

~~~

Oh the humanity of it.

That’s an enormous number of lost souls and suffering... and over a territorial issue.
It wouldn’t be the first time in history, but nukes really need to stay out of everything.

Also, both of these countries have treaties and alliances. How likely is it to remain a two party affair?

[hal ogen]

pakistan is one screwed-up country with a screwed-up culture. Oh, they are moozlum? You don’t say.

[fishtank]

Kashmir - Led Zeppelin

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfR_HWMzgyc

[Cronos]

not going to happen - Pakistan already controls 1/3rd of Kashmir called "Azad Kashmir" by the Pakis and "Pakistan Occupied Kashmir" by India.

Kashmir was in a state analogous to Puerot rico in the sense of being a state in the Indian union (India is a union of 28 nations) but not quite part of it. Now this act has made it part of the union. This will have zero effect on the culture or language - after all there are Tamil, Marathi, Assamese language states and places like Nagaland, Mizoram that are 100% Christian, Punjab that is 80% Sikh and Lakshwadeep that is 90% muslim and their demographics haven't changed in 70 years as part of the Indian union

[Little Ray]

Well, that’s a relief.
What a mess that area looks!