ISLAMABAD – Kashmir could provide the spark that lights South Asia’snuclear fuse, warns a report by United States-based think tank *Stratforlink.*
The report highlights the “specter of nuclear war” looming over tensionsbetween nuclear-armed neighbours Pakistan and India, which have spikedsince New Delhi’s illegal revocation of Indian Occupied Kashmir’s (IOK)special status.
It states that the possibility of the conflict going nuclear increasedafter India’s Defence Minister Rajnath Singh made a veiled threat ofnuclear war in the region.
Although Singh did not name any country, it is understood the threat wasdirected at Pakistan.
Pokhran is the area which witnessed Atal Ji’s firm resolve to make India anuclear power and yet remain firmly committed to the doctrine of ‘No FirstUse’. India has strictly adhered to this doctrine. What happens in futuredepends on the circumstances.
— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) August 16, 2019link
The report states that if Pakistan and India use nuclear weapons, it wouldbe the first use in war since the US destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasakiin 1945.
It also disagreed with the view that Kashmir is “India’s internal affair”or even a “bilateral issue between India and Pakistan”.
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The report mentions Prime Minister Imran Khan’s efforts to protect theMuslim-majority IOK and seek support from the international community,including fellow Muslim leaders.
The report also discusses Pakistan’s victory in February 2019 when its airforce downed an Indian fighter jet and captured its pilot, AbhinandanVarthaman.
It points out that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi “did notacknowledge” Pakistan’s attempt to extend an olive branch when Islamabadreturned the captured Indian pilot on March 1.
The report states that India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in1947 promised Kashmiris a plebiscite – the direct vote of all the membersof an electorate on an important public question such as a change in theconstitution – which never took place.
According to the US think tank, the only way to save the world from nuclearwar is by asking the Kashmiris what they want.
