The surge in tensions between India and Pakistan sparked by a deadly shooting in Indian-administered Kashmir last week has not so far sounded the global alarm it merits. The killing of 25 tourists and a resident in the disputed region was the worst terrorist attack on civilians in India since the 2008 Mumbai attacks that killed 166. New Delhi has linked the violence to Pakistan; Islamabad has denied any connection. The nuclear-armed neighbours are in a dangerous stand-off. India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, has given his army “operational freedom” to respond. Pakistan’s government claimed on Wednesday to have credible intelligence of an imminent Indian military strike.
The dispute over Kashmir, claimed by both India and Pakistan but divided between them, has already sparked three wars. A group said to be linked to the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba militant group that seeks to reunify Kashmir — and was behind the 2008 Mumbai attacks — initially appeared to claim responsibility for last week’s massacre in Pahalgam but then said its social media had been hacked. Indian police have named two Pakistani nationals with alleged links to LeT and a Kashmiri as suspected gunmen.
Frictions have rapidly intensified. India downgraded diplomatic relations with Pakistan and suspended participation in a cross-border water treaty. The two sides have been exchanging gunfire across the de facto border in Kashmir.