Old Chasm Between India & Pakistan

Old Chasm between India & Pakistan again echoes with warnings and fears
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Old Chasm between India & Pakistan again echoes with warnings and fears
1.0 Introduction
In the selected news article, Craig and Gowen (2) report about the current uneasiness between India and Pakistan which are long-standing adversaries. According to the authors, a military operation carried out by the Indian military alongside its border with Burma on the East has brought apprehension among the leaders of Pakistan, resulting in threats of speedy reprisal in case the Indian military tries such manoeuvres alongside its border with Pakistan on the West. Pakistani leaders issued declarations that Pakistan, just like India, also has nuclear armaments. Such statements by leaders from Pakistan yet again expose the entrenched mistrust between Pakistan and India in spite of groundbreaking outreach to reduce tensions (Craig and Gowen 2).
Craig and Gowen (3) pointed out that media outlets and leaders in Pakistan have accused Indian leaders of sponsoring terrorist attacks within Pakistan and maligning Pakistan at international meetings. Moreover, past accusations have been dusted off, for instance the claim that India contributed to Pakistan’s loss of territory that became Bangladesh over 40 years ago. In turn, India has been infuriated by decision made by a court in Pakistan in April 2015 that granted bail to the suspected architect of the terrorist attacks in Mumbai in 2008 – Zaki Lakhvi (Craig and Gowen 4). The decline in relations between the two nations includes overt speculation in Pakistan with regard to the likelihood of a cross-border strike by Indian military. Although actually remote, such worries carry increased resonance between India and Pakistan; nations with military forces facing one another in the Kashmir disputed area. Asif Khawaja, the defense minister of Pakistan, has even warned of a possible nuclear warfare should Indian forces ever carry out such incursion into Pakistani territory (Craig and Gowen 5).
This article was interesting since it highlights uneasiness between two countries both possessing deadly weaponry; uneasiness that challenges the leaders of both Pakistan and India who in recent years have been making an effort to overcome the rifts and shift to common issues for instance water resources, regional economic cooperation, as well as rise of radical militant groups. It is worth mentioning that these two nations have battled 3 major battles since the year 1947, fought in the ‘90s and engaged in a nuclear arms race during the ‘80s. The article is also interesting since it brings to light an issue that calls for more political and diplomatic efforts in order to reduce the tensions and a potential nuclear warfare. The tensions have increased in the past few weeks after Special Forces from India carried out an operation to follow rebels who killed 18 Indian forces in early May 2015. Media in India reported that those Indian Special Forces crossed the border into neighbouring Burma and shot a number of militants dead.
2.0 Locations of the event
The events in the article occur in southern Asia or South Asia and the principal countries involved are India, Burma and Pakistan. It is notable that the term South Asia is often used in representing the southern expanse of the continent of Asia, which consists of the sub-Himalayan nations as well as the adjacent nations to the east and west (Dash 13). Topographically, South Asia is dominated by the Indian Plate that rises above the sea level as India’s northern sections south of the Himalaya Mountains and the Hindu Kush. On the south, the region is bounded by the Indian Ocean. It is also bounded by East Asia, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, and West Asia. This region has more than 1/5 of the entire population of the world and is thus the most densely populated and most populous geographical region globally (Bose and Jalal 43). The current countries of Pakistan, India and Bangladesh, which used to be the core of the British Empire before the year 1947, make up the central part of South Asia. The territory of Burma is also commonly included as part of this area (Bose and Jalal 17).
3.0 Cultures of group involved
Those involved are largely Indians and Pakistanis, but Burma is also involved although not very much. The cul...