altmuslim
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After gunmen killed 30 people earlier in May in Indian-held Kashmir, both India had Pakistan have proceeded to escalate their tensions to unprecedented levels (er… since the last war). For now, the conflict is limited to cross-border firing and Pakistan’s missile tests (and the lobbing of war metaphors), but the world can’t get its mind off the “somewhere between terrible and catastrophic” nuclear exchange that would kill up to 12 million, despite reassurances from both sides that they won’t start it first. Of course they won’t talk to each other either, preferring to trade accusations of continued miltancy (on the Pak side) and kidnappings (on both sides). Russia has offered to mediate the conflict though most others want to just stay out of the way. The U.S. has advised its citizens to leave the area (including a possible airlift), with countries from Ireland to Iran following suit (even though Iran was asked to back Pakistan up). As a sign of the tightrope Pakistan has to walk, the U.N. and G8 have demanded that terrorists be reined in while militant groups have railed against what they see as President Pervez Musharraf’s inability (or unwillingness) to give war a chance.
Zahed Amanullah is associate editor of altmuslim.com. He is based in London, England.
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