India and Pakistan deadly brinkmanship

India launched missile attacks on “militant” sites in Pakistan and in Pakistani-controlled Kashmir in retaliation for the terrorist strikes two weeks ago which killed more than two dozen Indian tourists. The military action raised already heightened tensions between India and Pakistan, both of whom are nuclear weapon states. India said in a statement that it had attacked nine locations. Pakistan countered by claiming three sites had been hit and that a child had been killed and two others injured. However, India said it had restricted its missile strikes on infrastructure used by militants in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and in eastern Punjab province, “where terrorist attacks against India have been planned”. From early reports it seemed the missiles were fired from fighter aircraft operating inside Indian territory. Pakistan claimed none of the aircraft had entered Pakistani airspace. In a statement, India’s defence ministry said: “Our actions have been focused, measured and non-escalatory in nature. No Pakistan military facilities have been targeted.” The statement added: “India has demonstrated considerable restraint in selection of targets and method of execution.” Although Pakistan claimed it had responded to the attacks, raising fears of prolonged retaliatory action, there were hopes that the Indian government might feel it had taken sufficient revenge for the terrorist attack two weeks ago and would hold back from launching further strikes. Speaking at the White House, President Donald Trump said he was not surprised by the attacks since the two neighbouring countries had experience hostile relations for decades. However, he added: “It’s a shame. I just hope it ends very quickly.” There were calls last night for intensive diplomatic efforts to stop the outbreak of cross-border violence from developing into a full-scale war. A spokesman for Antonio Guterres, the United Nations secretary-general, said he urged “maximum military restraint from both countries”. “The world cannot afford a military confrontation between India and Pakistan,” the spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, said. The Indian government had warned that it would retaliate for the terrorist attack on 22 April in which 26 people were shot dead by gunmen near the resort town of Pahalgam in the region of Kashmir controlled by India. Although India described it as a terrorist attack, the government blamed Pakistan for backing the armed group responsible, identified as the Kashmir Resistance. Pakistan denied involvement. India administers the southern and southeastern regions of Kashmir and Pakistan controls the northern and western areas. China controls the eastern section. It has been a volatile region since the partition of India into India and Pakistan in 1947. India and Pakistan have already fought four wars. The first was in 1947-1948 and was known as the first Kashmir war. The second Kashmir war was in 1965. In December 1971 the two countries went to war after the Bangladesh liberation movement fought for independence in eastern Pakistan. India backed the nationalist movement against Pakistan. In 1999, an Indian-Pakistan war, also known as the Kargil war, erupted from May to July. It was focused on the Kargil district in Kashmir when Pakistani troops crossed the so-called Line of Control, the de facto border between Pakistan-controlled and India-controlled Kashmir.