One of the hottest topics today was India’s attack on Pakistan. The editors of the Washington Post declaim:
A plausible way out of this mess exists, and it could follow a familiar script: Both sides can declare victory. India appears to already have paid a price for carrying out its attacks with the loss of its fighter planes. Even so, India maintains that its strikes were sufficient revenge for the Pahalgam atrocity. Pakistan’s friends, including China, should now help find an acceptable narrative for their side, perhaps by claiming that the downing of the Indian planes has restored deterrence. There are signs that this might be happening. On Wednesday, Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif indicated to Bloomberg TV that “if India backs down, we will definitely wrap up these things.”
Once both sides have stepped back from the brink, diplomacy will need to continue. India could reinstate the Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan it had suspended after the Pahalgam attack, perhaps in exchange for visible efforts by Pakistan to rein in the terrorist networks operating within its borders. Most of all, Delhi and Islamabad should work to reestablish diplomatic and military back channels. Nuclear brinkmanship is hair-raising in any context; it’s even worse when the two sides are not communicating.
while Wall Street Journal columnist Sadanand Dhume remarks:
Indians are right to wonder why Pakistan picks fights with a larger neighbor. It happens in large part because in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the army—steeped in hostility toward “Hindu India”—calls the shots. For India, ending the symbiosis between the Pakistani army and jihadism in the near term may not be possible. But New Delhi has no choice but to try.
Wednesday’s strikes send a message to Pakistan that it can no longer expect to target Indians with impunity and that it will be held responsible for groups that shelter on its soil. Even if the U.S. doesn’t play an active part in the conflict, it should wish India well. A less dangerous Pakistan would be a gift to the world.
A key problem is that both India and Pakistan are nuclear powers. That Pakistan should support Kashmiri terrorists is reckless on their part. Just as is the case in Israel and the Palestinians Pakistani militancy has resulted in the rise of Hindu nationalism in India. I have said for years that the most likely place for a nuclear war to begin is between India and Pakistan and the danger of that is probably higher now than at any time in the past. This would be a very good time for Russia and the United States to agree on their opposition to escalation of the conflict between India and Pakistan. Unfortunately, both countries are otherwise preoccupied.
