Current Status of Kashmir
In the past two years, India and Pakistan have been at war as much as ever over Kashmir, despite a cease-fire called in November 2000. The first village elections in 23 years were held in Kashmir in January 2001. There have been accusations that other recent elections were rigged by the Indian government to elect politicians who favor them. Farooq Abdullah, current Cheif Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, has tried to demand autonomy with little success. He is part of the Hindu nationalist party Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which blames Pakistan for the violence. Although it is never certian that there will not be another major battle over Kashmir in the future, it would be extremely risky for both sides, since India and Pakistan both have nuclear weapons. However, there will probably be continuing incidences of cross-border fire and airspace intrusions.
The United States armed the Pakistani people to help keep the Soviets out of Aghanistan and now many of those weapons are being used in Kashmir. This country also sells helicopters and arms to India to help patrol the area.
As of May 14, 2002 there are ongoing battles with casulties in the mountains of Kashmir. As of 10:45 am, the report is not availible on www.npr.org, but there will be more press offerings as the latest conflict developes.
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