Srinagar: Just last week when the Indian and Pakistan army exchanged fire in the civilian areas in north Kashmir’s Uri area many hundred families were shifted to safer places. These families who tried to escape the wrath of the weapons the armies were using are so scared that they have decided to stay put at the relief camps and are not willing to go back to their homes for the fear of cross border shelling.

The armies of India and Pakistan have been staring at each other for many decades now. But the situation in the state of Jammu and Kashmir has been volcanic from the past two months now.

From the past few weeks now around three dozen people including several army men, para military troopers, militants and civilians have been killed on both sides of the divide. So much so that the perilous state of relations between the two countries ought to be a matter of urgent concern for both the state and society in the two countries.

The escalation on the border has touched a new high, with almost every day armies from the two warring neighbors not only targeting each other but in many cases even civilian areas have been bearing the brunt of the anger.

As a result of this faceoff many a families have lost several members and thousands had to flee to safer areas, leaving all that they have back on the mercy of the shelling that has already made these people shiver down the spine.

The situation that is reflected on the borders and the Line of Control (LoC) tells us that the leadership in both the countries have failed to the extent that they are not able to see or witness the pain and sufferings the people of these areas have to face.

Every now and then people have to move out of their residential areas with bare hands and come to safeguard themselves from the wrath of the roaring guns. These people are jumbled in many camps and have to live a life of destitute till the borders become calmer and they come back to pick up the threads once again that they had left while fleeing to save their lives.

Just yesterday India’s Union Minister for Defence Subash Bhambre while speaking in a seminar in Delhi said that the situation along the LoC is a cause of concern and the situation is such that it can escalate any time.

The situation is the same on both sides, however, the egoistic mindset of those who are at the helm of affairs in both the countries fail to see the reality. Anything done to nudge open a door to dialogue or prevent a further deterioration in relations is not seen among the ruling class.

With both the countries turning a deaf ear to the plight of the people, any intervention to turn the situation back to normal mode may take months together. But the moot question is that, can the two nations afford the situation?

India and Pakistan have been witnessing the worse phase in their relations during the past two decades. Political ineptness though does not invalidate the likely idea behind initiating any dialogue immediately. Every government has come to understand and embrace the benefit of back channels in the Pakistan-India relationship. Both the countries need to understand this and initiate a dialogue, the sooner the better.

Guest