A week after a deadly attack in Indian-administered Kashmir, tensions between India and Pakistan are still high.
Pakistani authorities said on Tuesday that they are preparing legal action over New Delhi’s punitive suspension of an important water treaty, and that Indian authorities have announced the closure of numerous tourist destinations in the area, which both nations have claimed since 1947.
For the fifth consecutive night, fire was exchanged along the Line of Control (LoC), the de facto border between Kashmir’s Indian and Pakistani-controlled areas. Pakistan reported that a drone had been downed, sparking concerns about an escalation between the nuclear powers.
In the picturesque Himalayan region, the Indian-administered Kashmir government announced it had shut down 48 of 87 of its tourist destinations.
Due to panic-stricken tourists’ desire to leave early, no specific date was given for the initiative.
In a message to Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, UN Secretary Antonio Guterres also spoke with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.
His spokesman Stephane Dujarric stated in a statement that Guterres “underlined the necessity of avoiding a confrontation that could have tragic consequences” and “expressed his deep concern about rising tensions between India and Pakistan.”
Dujarric continued, “The UN Secretary-General offered his Good Offices to help de-escalate the effort.”
The United States urged both nations to work toward a “responsible solution” in the meantime.
A State Department spoke to reporters while quoting a statement from Secretary of State Marco Rubio, “We are reaching out to both parties, and telling, of course, them to refrain from further the situation.”
Rubio also stated that he would discuss the situation with the Indian and Pakistani foreign ministers on Tuesday or Wednesday and that he would encourage other foreign ministers to do the same.
Tit-for-tat
Following last week’s gun attack that mostly targeted Hindu tourists and left 26 people dead, India has accused Pakistan of funding and encouraging “cross-border terrorism” in Muslim-majority Kashmir.
Islamabad demands a fair investigation and denies any role.
Following this, there have been a number of diplomatic tit-for-tat diplomatic measures, including the recall of diplomats and the cancellation of visas.
India has barred Pakistanis from entering its country. Pakistan has threatened to ditch the 1972 Simla Agreement, which had some degree of normalized relations between the two nations, and has announced border and airspace closures.
The Indus Waters Treaty, a 1960 agreement that supplies 80% of Pakistan’s irrigated agriculture, was also suspended by New Delhi last week.
بھارت کی جانب سے عائد کیے گئے الزامات بے بنیاد اور محض منفی پروپیگنڈے کا حصہ ہیں۔ بھارت کو دوسروں پر الزام تراشی سے پہلے اپنے داخلی مسائل کی اصلاح پر توجہ دینی چاہیے۔ سندھ طاس معاہدہ کسی صورت یکطرفہ طور پر معطل نہیں کیا جا سکتا۔ پاکستان عالمی بینک اور مستقل ثالثی عدالت سمیت تمام… pic. twitter.com/bMBeUMSJcq
Aqeel Malik, the minister of state for law and justice in Islamabad, stated that Pakistan would file legal claims against India’s action on Tuesday in Islamabad at “all available legal forums, including the World Bank and the Permanent Court of Arbitration.”
He claimed that Pakistan could file a lawsuit against India’s violation of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties of 1960.
Military incursion that is “imminent”
Along the LoC, firing continued for a fifth night straight.
Around midnight, the Indian army claimed to have responded to “unprovoked” small arms fire from various Pakistani army posts. There were no additional details or injuries reported.
Pakistan has not confirmed the exchange of fire, but a state broadcaster, Radio Pakistan, reported that the military had shot down an Indian “quadcopter,” calling it a violation of its airspace.
The incident occurred at a distance of no where. India has not yet made a comment.
Source: Aljazeera
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