Fear of War Rises Again from the Indian- Pakistani Conflict

While the dispute between India and Pakistan showed signs of peaceful settlement under the United States` arbitration, there was another gunbattle in Kashmir last seventh which resulted in ten or more deaths, and the tension has built up between the two countries.

The incident took place just after U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage left India, who was visiting Pakistan and then India to settle the war crisis between the two countries.

On the seventh, Armitage reported that, "tensions were a little bit down," but showed his concerns as "it is too soon to rule out the threat of a war over Kashmir." "From the night of the seventh till dawn of the eighth the two countries were engaged in a firefight at the Line of Control, the boundary separating the Indian and Pakistani sectors of disputed Kashmir," said Indian officials, "three Indian civilians were killed and four wounded by the Pakistani army`s shelling."

Also, the Indian officials insisted that "three more Indian soldiers were killed due to the intrusion of the Islamic Separatist troops." Pakistani government said that "the shooting-down of the unmanned Indian spy plane took place near Lahore, the second capital of Pakistan," and blamed the Indian government for "increasing the tension in this area."

Indian Ministry of Defense argued that, "the shot-down Unmanned Air Vehicle (UAV) had disappeared during its ordinary scouting mission," and that "it is normal for the two countries to deploy UAVs near the border."

Jong-Dae Ha orionha@donga.com