ONCE again, the Pakistani and Indian states are resorting to violence and, once again, it is civilians who are paying the price. The eruption of serious violence along the Working Boundary and the deaths of several Pakistani and some Indian citizens is as tragic as it is unnecessary. The usual set of accusations and recriminations have been on full, tawdry display. The Indian side claims to be responding to either infiltrations from the Pakistani side or to prohibited security-related activities along the boundary. The Pakistani side vehemently denies the Indian claims and alleges instead that India is attacking Pakistani civilians unprovoked or that India is using disproportionate force to settle relatively minor disputes. The claims of both sides are never independently verified and all that is certain is the death toll — though even there the numbers are sometimes manipulated to whip up nationalist sentiment in one or the other country. It is nothing but callous madness — and it needs to stop.

Once the guns fall silent, there is an immediate opportunity for high-level consultations on Line of Control- and Working Boundary-related issues. While the NSA talks were cancelled, the meeting between the DG Rangers and the DG Border Security Force is still scheduled to take place in New Delhi in September. Face-to-face meetings between the commanders of the forces exchanging fire are a time-tested way of reducing tensions along the LoC and Working Boundary. Both the directors general will know the details of what is really taking place in the zones of violence and will surely, if the Delhi meeting is not politicised, be able to identify measures to help restore calm and relative peace. Not only can they do so, they also owe it to the respective populations whose security they are in charge of in the Kashmir region. The problem though clearly goes beyond local commanders. The Indian government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has almost boasted about its use of disproportionate force along the LoC and Working Boundary since last year — without having anything meaningful to show for it in terms of disproportionate force acting as a deterrent. Similarly, if infiltration has gone up, what real benefit has Pakistan accrued from tweaking its policy?

There is another tragedy — India and Pakistan appear to have learned all the wrong lessons from history. Could the latest violence be linked to jingoism in the run-up to the 50th anniversary commemorations of the 1965 war? Quite possibly. But that conflict ought to really stand as a warning of how seemingly small miscalculations can lead to all-out war. Fifty years on, there have been two other wars and nuclear weapons added to the equation. Perversely, there may be a temptation to believe that this makes low-level violence and conflict more permissible and manageable. But when it comes to the old rivals, it is best that theories of violence not be tested so brazenly.

Published in Dawn, August 30th, 2015

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