Tensions have been high since Indian aircraft crossed into Pakistan last week, carrying out what India called a pre-emptive strike against militants blamed for a Feb. 14 suicide bombing in Indian-controlled Kashmir
Pakistan retaliated, shooting down two Indian planes and capturing a pilot, who was later returned to India in a peace gesture. The two countries have also resumed bus and train services that were stopped following the escalation of tensions, the most serious in the long-simmering conflict since 1999, when Pakistan’s military sent a ground force into Indian-controlled Kashmir.
Pakistan on Wednesday continued a crackdown on seminaries, mosques and hospitals belonging to outlawed groups, saying the actions were part of its efforts to fight terrorism, extremism and militancy. In Islamabad, authorities also took control of a mosque and dispensary run by Jamaat-ud-Dawa, a charity run by an anti-India cleric, Hafiz Saeed, that is widely believed to serve as a front for Lashkar-e-Taiba, the militant group blamed for attacks in Mumbai in 2008 that killed 166 people.
“We appreciate the role of the United States in de-escalating the situation,” he told reporters in the capital, Islamabad.However, border tensions continued. Tens of thousands of people live in rugged, mountainous and lush green-forested areas along the frontier on both sides of divided Kashmir despite a climate of constant fear. Each year cycles of border violence break out between the two countries. Hundreds of civilians have died in the skirmishes, which have also killed livestock and damaged property.
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