TENSIONS between nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan have jumped following an attack on an Indian army base which left 18 soldiers dead and 20 more wounded. Four armed guerrillas were also killed in the three-hour gun battle that broke out at dawn on Sunday. The attackers, India claimed, had crossed the border from Pakistan—a claim Pakistan denies. The base, at Uri in the valley of the Jhelum river, is situated some 6km from the “line of control”, the boundary between the Indian- and Pakistani-administered parts of the disputed territory of Kashmir.
Most of the Indian casualties were incurred when fire spread from fuel tanks to residential units. The death toll, the highest for a single incident in the past 25 years of insurgency in Kashmir, prompted calls for harsh reprisals against Pakistan. “Pakistan is a terrorist state and it should be identified and isolated as such,” tweeted India’s home minister, Rajnath Singh. “For one tooth, the complete...Continue reading
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