For the first time since a fresh spell of the border skirmishes began in October 2012, lower- and middle- ranking officers of the Indian and Pakistani Armies on Tuesday held flag meetings and exchanged greetings, and sweets at the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir on the occasion of Eid-e-Milad-un-Nabi, the birth anniversary of Prophet Muhammad.
Defence sources said ahead of a possible meeting between the Directors General of the Military Operations of the two countries “in near future”, officers of the ranks company commanders held a flag meeting somewhere along the LoC in Kargil sector. Later, an official release from the Army said: “A flag meeting between Indian and Pakistan soldiers was held in the Kargil sector today. The meeting was organised by the Indian side on the occasion of Milad-un-Nabi to extend best wishes and greetings to the Pakistan Army soldiers. The meeting was conducted in a cordial manner with pleasantries and gifts being exchanged by the two sides.”
2 comments:
What we also need to watch is whether Nawaz Sharif makes progress in belling the ISI/Army cat, by gradually making progress in asserting civilian authority over the hawkish military. If he can do this, then it will help to diminish a very destabilizing force in Indo-Pak relations.
I highly doubt it. Democracy and civilian rule usually brings out the most rabid obscurantists to the top in Islamist countries. The Paki military is at least a known quantity and probably the least evil of all choices, although that might sound counter-intuitive. Our best bet is to encourage non-Islamist officers with a modern outlook. India has very limited options here.
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