Peace on the Line of Control is the building block

The Line of Control (LoC) between India and Pakistan is the symbolic sharp-edged side of mutual relations. Maintaining aceasefire here, or ensuring a speedy cessation of hostilities if an “incident” does take place, would, thus, be a prerequisite for wider negotiations. The meeting of the Directors-General of Military Operations, which “reiterated the resolve and commitment” of both sides to try and ensure peace on the LoC is, therefore, a step in the right direction.

The ceasefire initiated in 2003, had, remarkably, held for over a decade. Until the beginning of this year, when the killing of two Indian soldiers sparked off hostilities which left that decade-old quiet in tatters.

Often, Pakistan has used such ceasefire violations to try and push in militants. Such attempts might be made again, and India must foil them. But the multi-pronged engagement necessary for dealing with a state like Pakistan means maintaining that vigil, being ready to respond with force on the LoC if necessary, should go hand-in-hand with the objective of a wider engagement with the power centres in Islamabad and Rawalpindi. The LoC is a scenario where a localised spark can cause a conflagration that threatens all others spheres of mutual contact.

Not just soldiers manning this long, heavily militarised zone suffer, but also civilians, with their lands, lives and livelihoods hostage to tensions on what is, in effect, an artificial divide. Incidents here have, and can, stymie confidence-building measures, sporting ties and diplomatic-political relations, aside from rousing war-cries on both sides.

The LoC is reflective of mutual mistrust. Meltdowns in relations have started here, and there is every chance another “incident” can threaten to do so again. Ensuring a ceasefire here is, thus, imperative for enlarging bilateral engagement.