“The employment of innovative means by Hamas while attacking Israel on October 7, 2023, has raised alarm among security agencies across the world,” an Indian Army spokesperson told Newsweek.

“Requisite measures have been instituted along the Line of Control and International Border Sectors to thwart any such malafide attempts from across the Western Border,” the spokesperson added.

Linia de control este o graniță întinsă, de aproape 500 de mile, care împarte rivalii cu arme nucleare India și Pakistanul în Kashmir. Așa cum este cazul barierei mult mai mici de 40 de mile care separă Israelul și Fâșia Gaza, ținută de Hamas, Linia de control a fost scena unor activități frecvente insurgenților, precum și a unui număr de ciocniri de mare profil și războaie totale. .

But with Hamas’ shock October assault sparking the deadliest-ever flare-up of Israeli-Palestinian violence that remains ongoing to this day, the spokesperson outlined some of the steps that have been taken to address emergent threats in the stretch Kashmir it administers, officially known as Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), as growing unrest in the Middle East threatens to spill over into South Asia.

“The Indian Army has established robust Counter Infiltration and Terror Grids in J&K in synchronization with other stakeholders,” the Indian Army spokesperson explained.

“Adequate troops are deployed in the grid along with niche technology equipment with the capability to dynamically readjust based on emerging operational situation,” the spokesperson continued. “Technological infusion has been undertaken to counter emerging drone/quadcopter threats, in concert with other stakeholders.”

Security measures in India-administered Kashmir were drastically increased after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision to revoke the region’s semi-autonomous status in August 2019. The move, along with an ensuing crackdown designed to stamp out a decades-long insurgency waged by separatist groups, sparked international controversy, as well as outrage from Pakistan, which saw the move as a unilateral violation of attempts to settle Kashmir’s political status.

Cu toate acestea, New Delhi a acuzat de multă vreme Islamabad că sponsorizează diverse miliții cu agende islamiste și separatiste peste Linia de Control și acum consideră cu suspiciune eforturile oficialilor pakistanezi de a stabili legături între luptele pentru independență din Kashmir și cele palestiniene.

“Pakistan continues to innovate and adapt its proxy war in J&K to keep the pot boiling and present a disturbed situation in J&K,” the Indian Army spokesperson said. “While so far, there have been no major attempts to link the two issues, the same cannot be ruled out in an attempt by Pakistan to highlight the Kashmir issue in the international fora.”

The two issues do, in fact, share some common roots. The bloody partition that gave birth to the rivalry between the modern nations of India and Pakistan and the territorial dispute that sparked the Israeli-Palestinian conflict both followed the United Kingdom’s withdrawals from colonial holdings in 1947 and 1948, respectively.

În timp ce New Delhi și-a exprimat istoric simpatia pentru cauza palestiniană și a devenit prima națiune non-arabă care a recunoscut Organizația de Eliberare a Palestinei în 1974, India și-a consolidat legăturile politice, economice și chiar de securitate cu Israel de la stabilirea relațiilor oficiale în 1992. Pakistan, pe mâna, nu a recunoscut niciodată Israelul, iar sprijinul său pentru palestinieni a fost întărit de aspectele comune cu problema Kashmirului.

In a recent interview with Newsweek, Pakistani Permanent Representative to the United Nations Munir Akram asserted that “the Palestinian cause and Kashmir cause have been intertwined historically, but also because they depend on the same central principle of self-determination.”

The senior Pakistani diplomat argued that “the application of the principle of self-determination, if it succeeds in Palestine, will be a great boost to the application of the principle for Jammu and Kashmir.”

Akram rebuffed India’s accusations that his nation was behind militant activity in Kashmir and instead accused New Delhi of waging its own “hybrid war” through conventional means as well as the backing of non-state actors such as the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan [TTP], also known as the Pakistani Taliban, and Balochi separatists.

Acuzațiile de duel vin pe fondul tensiunilor în creștere aprinse de o creștere a activității militante în regiune.

Iran and Pakistan, in particular, have suffered a series of deadly attacks by groups pushing ethnic separatist and Islamist agendas, including the Islamic State militant group (ISIS), in recent years, especially since the Afghan Taliban’s takeover over neighbouring Afghanistan.

Deși Teheranul și Islamabad au căutat din punct de vedere istoric să coopereze în această problemă, frustrările au fiert luna trecută, când Iranul a efectuat atacuri cu rachete împotriva presupuselor poziții ale grupului militant Jaish al-Adl pe teritoriul pakistanez, iar forțele pakistaneze au ripostat cu lovituri împotriva presupuselor site-uri rebele baluchi în Iranul. Cele două națiuni au încercat de atunci să-și repare legăturile rupte, dar atacurile militanților continuă să submineze securitatea regională.

At a time when the war in Gaza was also prompting violent ripple effects, with non-state actors aligned with Iran’s “Axis of Resistance” in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria and Yemen opening new fronts, Indian and Pakistani officials have expressed concerns over the potential second-order effects for their own region.

“The security situation in the Middle East has a bearing on overall security situation in the region including India,” the Indian Army spokesperson said.

“The Indian Army remains cognizant of developments in the international security arena including the Middle East and adequate safeguards are put in place,” the spokesperson added, “along with a whole-of-government approach, to meet the emerging challenges.”