SRINAGAR, June 1: The chief of Kashmir’s main political alliance said on Friday India would be responsible if a war erupted between it and Pakistan over the disputed Himalayan region.

Tension between the South Asian rivals have been running high since a deadly raid on an army camp in Kashmir this month that New Delhi blamed on Pakistan-based Kashmiri freedom fighters, stoking fears of a fourth war between India and Pakistan.

With both sides exchanging daily fire across their frontier, the United States and Russia have stepped up efforts to pull them back from the brink of war.

Abdul Gani Bhat, chairman of the All Parties Hurriyat (Freedom) Conference, said India was to blame for the decades-old dispute over Kashmir.

“If war breaks out the responsibility shall rest where it should, which is Delhi,” Bhat told Reuters in an interview.

“Who is responsible for not addressing the sensitivities, not addressing the root cause? Who has created problems? Who has gone back, who has flagrantly violated the UN Security Council resolution?” Bhat said.

“The leaders in Delhi and Islamabad, I trust, will exhibit deeper sense of responsibility and higher degree of understanding in dealing with the situation,” Bhat said.

“India and Pakistan, I suspect, can never fight a war. The reason is India is a nuclear country, so is Pakistan. If war breaks out, limited or total, it would spell total disaster.”—Reuters