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pulwama attack

Tributes paid to CRPF
soldiers martyred in
Pulwama attack

is 488 which makes the ratio of killings of security India-Pakistan dialogue which had almost culminat-
personnel and the militants in the state as 1:2. ed into a peaceful resolution of Kashmir. Ever since
So, any fresh military action against Pakistan the two countries have struggled to get back to en-
had to be bigger and visible, one that satisfied the gagement,” says the political commentator Gowhar
enraged public and also inflicted a deterrent blow Geelani. “Now Pulwama attack and the India-Pak
on Pakistan Army. But this calculation seems to have confrontation is likely to make it further difficult for
gone awry, as Pakistan has chosen to respond. Situa- the two countries to resume talks. That is, unless both
tion if not contained could trigger a war. recognize that the only way to peace is to engage and
“And the continuing escalatory spiral could end up resolve the issues breeding violence and instability”.
into a full-fledged war and a possible breach of the
nuclear threshold of the either country,” an editorial ElEphant in thE room
in Kashmir Observer says. “This is a doomsday sce- Kashmir has largely been absent from the political
nario that alarms the world and should also deeply and media narrative generated by the Pulwama at-
concern the people of the region”. tack. The state has only been in news for the attacks
However, whether the war comes through or not, on Kashmiri students and traders in other parts of
the Pulwama bombing has delivered a crushing the country. The narrative has so much been Paki-
blow to any hope of the resumption of India-Paki- stan and terrorism-centric that the hard questions
stan dialogue after the elections. about the attack itself and its place of occurrence
“Mumbai attack in 2008 derailed a promising have been quietly ignored. Intelligence failure aside,

Tehelka / 15 march 2019 15 www.Tehelka.com