No dead end to Indo-Pak hostility

Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan Narendra Modi and Imran Khan sitting face to face at the dinner at Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit hosted by Kyrgyzstan President Sooronbay Jeenbekov in Bhishkek but not exchanging pleasantries shows that intensifying hostility between India and Pakistan is not heading to any dead end and may continue for some more time. The increasing hostility is not as much a deeper concern for the people in other states of the country as it is for the people of Kashmir. With India responding to Pulwama attack with air strikes on Balakote in Pak Administered Kashmir (PaK) and Pakistan carrying out retaliatory air strikes on some areas on this side of Kashmir the threat of one more limited war scared civilian populations in Jammu & Kashmir when the campaigning for just conclude parliamentary elections was going on. India turning down the offer of dialogue amid war cries from Pakistan created an impression that composite dialogue may be resumed after the takeover by the new government in Delhi. Though Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan had said that Prime Minister Modi, if re-elected with a divisive mandate for second consecutive term would create a conducive atmosphere for the restoration of peace talks between the two countries but after his re-election with a massive mandate Prime Minister Modi instead of responding to offer of peace talks from Pakistan is choosing to continue the hard posturing on relations with Pakistan.
Shutting doors for resumption of peace talks with Pakistan and delaying assembly elections amid fiddling with the legislations concerning the special status of Jammu & Kashmir shows that Modi government after its return to power for the second consecutive term tends to deal with the Kashmir crisis through military means. As even top retired military generals have recently in their statement asked the Modi government to pursue the process of political engagement for restoration of peace in Kashmir, the resumption of dialogue with Pakistan and Kashmir separatist leadership obviously is the only way forward. Intensifying counter militancy operations and fiddling with the special legislations concerning special status of Jammu & Kashmir won’t take Modi government nearer to restoration of peace in Kashmir.