Finding some way ahead within the India-Pakistan war | Letters

Your editorial (The Guardian view on India and Pakistan: a newly bad second in an previous dispute, 7 May) underscores the alarming escalation between India and Pakistan, however the suspension of the Indus waters treaty and the missile moves are greater than only a go back to acquainted hostility. They replicate a deeper development that I name the urgency-actionability entice: the impulse to answer provocation, even if the ones responses, whether or not symbolic or army, be offering little sturdy get advantages and possibility spiralling escalation.

India’s suspension of the Indus treaty is technically restricted – it can’t “turn off the tap” in a single day – but it surely units a deadly precedent in normalising water as a weapon. Pakistan’s retaliatory posture, in a similar way, satisfies home politics whilst weakening regional water safety. Neither motion advances balance; each beef up mistrust.

There is a slim however actionable trail ahead. Engineering international relations, rooted in medical realism, suggests small, verifiable steps – reinstate real-time information sharing; deploy impartial tracking; and rebuild the conduct of cooperation that lengthy stored this basin out of the fireplace. Principled pragmatism – the power to behave in techniques which might be each practical and values-based – is urgently wanted.

When symbolism overtakes technique, rivers turn into battlegrounds. But they don’t have to be. The time to revive channels of communications, on the other hand modest, is now.
Prof Shafiqul Islam
Director, water international relations programme, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, US

Mirza Waheed’s poignant article underscores a crucial oversight within the discourse surrounding the Kashmir war: the chronic marginalisation of Kashmiris (A bloodbath has reignited the eternally struggle between India and Pakistan – over again, Kashmiri voices are lacking, 29 April). As a resident of Shopian, I’ve witnessed first-hand the cyclical nature of violence that has plagued our area. The contemporary escalation following the tragic assault in Pahalgam has as soon as once more thrust Kashmir into the highlight, but the narratives predominantly focal point at the geopolitical tensions between India and Pakistan, sidelining the lived studies of Kashmiris.

India’s revocation of Article 370 in 2019, as highlighted through Waheed, marked a vital shift in India’s method to Kashmir, resulting in larger militarisation and a way of disfranchisement amongst locals. This transfer, accomplished with out session with Kashmiris, has deepened the chasm between the area and the central executive.

For any lasting answer, it’s crucial that the voices of Kashmiris aren’t handiest heard however are central to the discussion. The global neighborhood, media and policymakers should prioritise inclusive conversations that cope with the aspirations and grievances of the Kashmiri folks.
Wajid Mushtaq Teli
Shopian, Jammu and Kashmir, India