India and Pakistan must de-escalate tension

Despite mutual distrust, the two nations have also shown the ability to overcome their differences

Tension has once again escalated between India and Pakistan over the deaths of two Indian soldiers at the Line of Control with Pakistan, with India complaining that the soldiers were killed and their bodies mutilated and Pakistan asking for “actionable evidence” and cautioning that “any misadventure shall be appropriately responded to”.

This latest standoff once again highlights the cyclic nature of negative engagement between the two neighbours, and reiterates the complexity of the task that lies ahead of the two in negotiating their way towards mutual amity. This complexity, and the need to resolve it, is the most pressing priority between India and Pakistan because with each standoff and the accompanying hawkish rhetoric on both sides, it becomes harder in the din to catch the voice of political sobriety. And sobriety must prevail. For both, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, this sobriety is a known modulation and they must employ it without further delay to de-escalate the situation. After all, what other option is there? In a global climate where peace, security and understanding between nations seem to be diminishing virtues, where the utter fragmentation of the human condition has become a testimony to the consequences of intolerance and aggression, the need for countries to speak the language of hope and peace has never been more wanting.

Despite mutual distrust being the dominant tone of India-Pakistan ties, the fact remains that the two countries have from time to time also demonstrated the ability to overcome their differences and pursue peace and friendly ties.

It is a path that is familiar to India and Pakistan and sooner rather than later, the two must invite each other to walk down it again.