Deaths, blame game and Indo-Pak ceasefires, when will it end?

We all need to keep in mind that in an “India versus Pakistan” situation, there can be no “winner”.

Abdul Rauf October 09, 2014
While celebrating Eid, it was quite tragic to hear about the trade of attacks, continuing till date, across the Line of Control (LoC), near the Sialkot border, resulting in heavy causalities – of civilians, mostly.

Like always, both sides are shifting the blame on each other for the “unprovoked violation of ceasefire”. This is followed by expressions of intense, outrageous emotions in both countries, all escalated to the point that many seem excited for a full-fledged war between the two countries.



https://twitter.com/zoyaejaaz_PTI/status/519947140609474561









However, such an event is not happening for the first time. Someone ignites the fire, we kill a few of theirs and they kill a few of ours, ceasefire is imposed and then the cycle repeats. That’s how it is.

This was seen last year in January, when the rising tensions on the LoC led to border skirmishes that continued till August 2013. At the time, it seemed like war was imminent. However, it ended with another ceasefire, with heavy military and civilian causalities on both sides. Though the warmongers were disappointed, the families of those killed in this crossfire had their worlds turned upside down.

And so, the cycle continued.

What’s most disappointing in all this is the lack of maturity shown by our public – the emotional reaction by the masses in both countries and how they get excited about these escalations. The way they are obsessed with the “they killed one of us, so we should kill 10 of them” ideology or the “let’s go on a full-fledged war and teach them a lifelong lesson” doctrine is truly disturbing. Don’t they understand that war is never the solution? People of India and Pakistan need to look at the bigger picture; wars benefit no one and they are not something to look forward too.

There is no disagreement that the side igniting such sparks needs to be given an appropriate response but this doesn’t need to be hyped up and escalated every time by predictions of war. As a result, both sides end up suffering heavy losses before the military heads call for a flag meeting.

People living along the LoC or the poor soldiers at the front posts suffer the most. I am not talking about one country in particular – in such skirmishes, both sides end up losing people, and that is never right, especially when after all the killing, the two states end up having a ceasefire.

My point is, why not initiate a ceasefire earlier so that innocent lives can be saved.

What’s required from military brasses, commanding officers in particular, on both sides, is to take a swifter action before things go out of control and jingoistic elements spark a wave of hatred and anger among the people of both countries.

The masses need to realise that they have other, bigger problems to get rid of in their respective countries. Going to war will only add more baggage. They need to come out of this obsession they have about Indo-Pak rivalry. Only then can the two countries move forward. Only then can they progress and prosper.

Although it’s not possible to simply ignore matters like Kashmir, the water disputes, or the “ceasefire violations” but instead of getting excited and hoping for the situations to escalate, as warmongers on both sides hope for, we need stop letting these issues overwhelm us.

With such an attitude, both countries can spare a good part of their defence expenditures to help solve all the other, more pressing problems that these countries face.

We all need to keep in mind that in an “India versus Pakistan” situation, there can be no “winner”.
WRITTEN BY:
Abdul Rauf An engineering cadet, studying at an armed forces institute, who loves to read and analyse national security and defense.
The views expressed by the writer and the reader comments do not necassarily reflect the views and policies of the Express Tribune.

COMMENTS (49)

saswath | 9 years ago | Reply politically unstable Pakistan, and poverty-stricken India????....
saswath | 9 years ago | Reply we'll sustain after little burn...its should go either side this time.
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