How real is the threat of another war over Kashmir?

Sandwiched between India and Pakistan, Kashmir has been a flashpoint between the two nuclear powers since 1947.

Both New Delhi and Islamabad claim all of the region – each now controls parts of it after three wars in the past 70 years. A ceasefire agreement was reached sixteen years ago, but it has been regularly violated.

Last week there were fears India and Pakistan were on the brink of a new war. India carried out air attack in retaliation for a suicide bombing that killed at least 40 Indian troops in Indian-administered Kashmir.

Pakistan responded, shooting down a fighter jet and detaining its pilot, who was then returned to India as a gesture of goodwill.

But Indian and Pakistani forces have also exchanged heavy gunfire along the borders of Kashmir, killing at least seven people.

With recurrent clashes, is peace in this disputed Himalayan region even possible?

Presenter: Hashem Ahelbarra

Guests:

Prem Shankar Jha – Journalist and author of the book Kashmir 1947: The Origins of a Dispute

Victoria Schofield – Historian and specialist on Kashmir

Ahmed Rashid – Central Asia Security Analyst