The Next Jihad?
Despite a crackdown against extremists in Pakistan, Kashmir remains the most likely location for a new holy war
By MEENAKSHI GANGULY
Kashmir, for decades a flashpoint between nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan, will become the next battleground for the defeated mujahedin now streaming out of Afghanistan into Pakistan.
Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan’s President, has started cracking down on Islamic extremists within his country, arresting almost 2,000, but he can’t survive politically if he abandons the Kashmiri cause. The Pakistanis and other jihadists regard Kashmir as Islamic land held by infidels — in this case, Hindus — because it is the only province in India with a Muslim majority.
The predominantly Muslim state was governed by a Hindu king who chose to remain with India when Pakistan, a separate nation for Muslims, was carved out by the departing British rulers in 1947. Ever since, the two countries have been enemies, fighting three wars over Kashmir, and now their armies are ranged at the border once again.
If Musharraf does make a genuine attempt to rein in the terrorists in Pakistan, local Kashmiris will be left to carry on the struggle themselves. But historically the Kashmiris have been less than enthusiastic fighters, which is why the war was taken up by Pakistanis and Afghans trained in al-Qaeda camps in the mid-1990s. India is anxious to find a political solution. Kashmiris, however, resent India’s rule, and many of them support secession.
New Delhi is now trying desperately to win public support by negotiating peace deals with rebel leaders and backing a more popular government in the troubled valley. Those efforts have not met with much success, and New Delhi will continue to blame Pakistan for inciting the rebellion.
On second thought ... The U.S. might decide that a resolution — or at least stability — in Kashmir is vital to its ongoing antiterrorism campaign. With the right combination of pressure and incentives from Washington, Kashmir might finally see an end to violence that has claimed more than 30,000 lives.
Israel — Little Chance for peace
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