India, Pakistan must talk to end LoC violence: Pakistani daily

With China and the US mired in their own issues, India and Pakistan must have a dialogue to de-escalate escalating tensions along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir, a leading Pakistani newspaper said on Wednesday.

"Ultimately, the Pakistan-India conundrum will have to be addressed by the two countries themselves. Dialogue is the only path that the two sides ought to consider," the Dawn said in an editorial.

It said the casualties on the Pakistani side due to Indian firing and shelling "suggest a disproportionate escalation in violence by India".

It quoted Pakistani Director General of Military Operations Maj Gen Sahir Mirza as warning his Indian counterpart that Pakistan could consider choking Indian security forces' supply lines across the Line of Control (LoC).

"The unusual Pakistani warning is likely an attempt to signal to India that it has drifted perilously close to red lines in the range of violence that has become a worrying norm along the LoC this year."

The Dawn accused Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi of looking to blame external factors for the continuing unrest in Jammu and Kashmir.

"The sensible approach would be for high-level political and diplomatic contact between the two countries," it said.

"It is apparent that the overall poor state of the bilateral relationship has allowed security problems to fester.

"A bold political statement between the two countries could go some way towards ending the recent cycle of violence and help put the two sides back on the path to dialogue."

--IANS

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