The Bhutanese Leading the way.
The brutal terror attack and killing of 26 innocent tourists on 22nd April in Jammu and Kashmir has triggered military conflict and attacks between India and Pakistan.
From the wee hours of 7th May till 9th May there were military attacks and exchanges between both sides with the situation only escalating with each day.
In recent past conflicts between the two countries, the attacks were either shelling across the Line of Control or limited attacks on each other.
However, now there are unprecedented attacks covering wider and wider swathes of people and territory on both sides which only means more civilians and cities coming under possible attack.
In some aspects the frustration of India is understandable bearing around 4 decades of militant and terrorist attacks against both military and civilian targets across India. Pakistan also feels the need to stand up to India.
However, as the largest two countries of South Asia it must be remembered that if the ladder of escalation continues then there is no telling where it may lead.
The two countries and the entire South Asian region has huge challenges of climate change, poverty, disease etc. that need to be tackled. The last thing the region needs is all out war between India and Pakistan.
Any conflict will impact the other South Asian countries. Already, Bhutanese students in India and their parents at home are worried.
A military conflict could destabilize Pakistan whose economy is in the ICU and a destabilized Pakistan may be far more unpredictable with its many nukes and the extremist groups there.
India is the economic power house of South Asia and any war will also impact Indian economic growth which in turn will affect India’s neighbors.
More importantly a military conflict will lead to huge losses of lives on both sides, both military and civilian, as we are already seeing.
India must consider that it is now a global player and so it should not get bogged down in a regional war with Pakistan. A war which in the worse case scenario could even go nuclear.
Whatever said and done, one cannot choose their family and neighbors. India and Pakistan are born from the same womb prior to partition and share a lot of history, culture, language, religion and arts.
Cooler heads need to prevail and there must be a return to peace for our collective sake.
“Peace is its own reward.” – Mahatma Gandhi