Demands for retaliation are growing in India after a deadly attack by armed militants that killed 18 Indian soldiers early Sunday morning at a base in the Kashmir region controlled by India near the border with Pakistan. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has vowed that “those behind this despicable attack will not go unpunished.” For India’s military, there is no doubt where responsibility lies: Pakistan.
Pakistan has denied involvement, but that rings hollow: Its military has long supported terrorist groups intent on attacking India. India’s director general of military operations, Lt. Gen. Ranbir Singh, said the attackers were “foreign terrorists” whose weapons bore “Pakistani markings.”
On Thursday, Indian troops were reported to be fighting militants in Kashmir near the Line of Control that splits the region.
India and Pakistan have fought two wars over Kashmir. Both India and Pakistan are nuclear powers, and Pakistan has been building up its nuclear arsenal faster than any other country. It would be disastrous if the current situation escalated into a full-fledged military confrontation. A retaliatory strike by India against Pakistan risks doing just that. It is highly irresponsible for the national general secretary of Mr. Modi’s governing Bharatiya Janata Party to urge, as he did on Facebook after the attack: “For one tooth, the complete jaw. Days of so-called strategic restraint are over.”
This is also no time for India to damage the confidence of the international investors Mr. Modi has been assiduously wooing; they would certainly be spooked by a widening conflict with Pakistan.
In the meantime, Indian security forces have been battling with civilians protesting India’s military presence in Indian-administered Kashmir since July, with more than 80 people killed and thousands wounded — including many blinded by pellet guns. Mr. Modi’s government further inflamed the situation by blocking a Kashmir rights activist, Khurram Parvez, from flying to Geneva last week to attend a meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Council. Mr. Parvez, who was subsequently detained on spurious charges, should be released and allowed to travel.
Only a durable political solution can bring peace to the Indian side of Kashmir. As for reducing cross-border conflict between India and Pakistan, a lot depends on whether Pakistan, which receives military aid from the United States, can be persuaded to stop expanding its nuclear arsenal and sponsoring terrorist groups that threaten the region. The New York Times
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