LETTER: Kashmir is a pawn in a bitter power struggle
Conflict is one of many between nuclear neighbours India and Pakistan
While conscription is compulsory in many countries, and refusing to serve (à la Muhammad Ali) equally a right, most soldiers, except for those who are gung ho and itching for conflict, are weary of the many wars that have yielded nothing more than personal glories for leaders and their generals. The conflict benefits armaments manufacturers, which seem to forecast such wars as part of their “projected business plans”. The conflict on the subcontinent, exacerbated by a suicide bombing in the Kashmir Valley, is one of many between nuclear neighbours India and Pakistan that have claimed thousands and displaced many, not forgetting the enormous damage to their economies. This war, on the cusp of Indian elections, is an attempt to show muscle by both nations — one to coax voters to usher the incumbent into a second stint, and for Pakistan, after injections of cash by both the Saudis and China, a new president showing grit to appease his constituency. This destabilisation, in an already t...
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