As the number of casualties keeps getting higher and higher with no hope of peace in sight, one wonders what direction Kashmir valley is being pushed to. Should it turn into another Syria or Afghanistan before the leaders wake up and decide it needs a serious redressal? It’s unfortunate how the high and the mighty on either side of the LoC are unwilling to press into action serious efforts to come to the table and resolve the issue amicably.
India, despite its lofty claims, especially under the current regime, has failed on every count as far as Kashmir is concerned. While Pakistan can surely do a bit more on the diplomatic front to get India pressurized by the comity of nations, the ball however is in India’s court and it has to take an initiative and engage Pakistan and Kashmiri leadership.
From doling out loads of money to using all coercive tactics from killings to maimings to forced disappearances, India has failed to tame a common Kashmiri. It’s strange that with writing so clear on the wall, India chooses to look in the other direction.
It’s imperative all stakeholders come on the table and start initiating confidence building measures that lead to a permanent resolution of the Kashmiri crisis. It won’t happen overnight, there are forces inimical to peace, who have made a fortune out of the conflict, and they would never want it to end soon. But those with a vision and farsightedness can’t allow that to deter them from working out a pragmatic and everlasting solution.
