Pakistan Warns Of “Accidental War” With India On Line Of Control

Pakistan’s foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi warned last week that the situation on the Line of Control (LoC) in the Jammu and Kashmir region continues to deteriorate and risks sparking an “accidental war,” reported the Hindustan Times.

Qureshi was speaking on the sidelines of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on Wednesday. He told journalists that Pakistan and India “understand the consequences of a conflict”. But he added that “an accidental war” cannot be ruled out. “… If the situation persists … then anything is possible,” he said

Requesting the Human Rights Council to immediately investigate the dire situation in the Jammu and Kashmir region, Qureshi told journalists UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet would “visit both places and report as objectively as she can so that the world knows what the true… situation is.” 

Qureshi said Bachelet “was keen to visit.”

He told the press that bilateral talks to resolve the tensions along the LoC were off the table for now. 

“In this environment and with the mindset that we see in New Delhi today, I do not see any room for bilateral engagement,” he said. 

Qureshi said a multilateral forum would likely be needed. “If the US plays a role that can be important because they have a considerable influence in the region.”

New Delhi insists the situation on the LoC in Kashmir is a domestic issue, rejecting all international intervention in the region.

India then delivered a rebuttal to Qureshi’s claim at the UN human rights body in Geneva, indicating his statement was a “fabricated narrative from the epicenter of global terrorism.”

By late week, Pakistan published a “joint statement” on the human rights situation in Jammu and Kashmir which it said has the support of 60 countries. It reportedly said the 57-member Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and China are backing Pakistan in the crisis.

Kashmir has been a highly volatile region since Britain split the region between India and Pakistan in 1947. Both countries have fought three wars over the territory. 

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi revoked Article 370 in the Indian constitution that allowed Kashmir special autonomy last month. India deployed troops and military equipment in the region to keep the peace and was preparing for a possible attack by Pakistan. Indian officials cut all telephone and internet services in the Kashmir region. 

The move by India infuriated Pakistan, which also controls parts of Kashmir, calling it the decision “illegal” and recently expelled the Indian ambassador from Islamabad.

An “accidental war” could be brewing between India and Pakistan. But also a shooting war between Saudi Arabia and Iran could be nearing as well. Nevertheless, a possible conflict is heating up in the South China Sea with the US and China. 

The world is on edge, and geopolitical tensions are heating up worldwide as economic growth crashes and central bank effectiveness via loose monetary policy has become ineffective. It seems that global elites are overwhelmingly deciding that war could be the best fiscal stimulus to save the world economy.