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Pak papers warn of trouble in Kashmir

New fighting between India and Pakistan in the Himalayan state of Kashmir could escalate into a more serious conflict, Pakistani newspapers warned on Monday.

In one of the worst confrontations this year, 17 Pakistani and two Indian soldiers were killed late Friday on the Line of Control. However, Islamabad said only two of its soldiers were killed and another five were missing, and blamed the attack on India.

"The shadows of war are lengthening in the wake of the latest violation of the Line of Control by Indian troops," The News said in an editorial. "At this moment a catastrophic confrontation seems a real possibility," the widely-respected newspaper said.

Rows over Kashmir have sparked two wars between the neighbours since they won independence from Britain in 1947.

Nearly every day brings shelling across the border, and last year the two sides came close to a third war in 10 weeks of heavy fighting around Kargil in Kashmir.

Tensions between the two countries represent even more of a threat since both tested nuclear weapons in 1998.

"The presence of nuclear weapons warrants prudence and restraint as this factor has changed altogether the degree and dimension of the danger the LoC represents," The News said.

Another major newspaper, The Nation, said Pakistan's military ruler General Pervez Musharraf, who led the army during the Kargil clashes and then seized power in an October coup, had a major challenge on his hands.

"The fact that India has refused to de-escalate tension with Pakistan, despite repeated US advice to do so, is a danger signal that Pakistan can ill afford to overlook," The Nation said.

The paper warned that the Pakistan Army may be distracted from military defence by the business of running the country.

"Even if its attention is not being divided to a degree that would detract from its fighting capacity, it still remains a distraction that one should try to do without," the paper said.

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