Kashmir issue .. Washington calls for dialogue and India condemns Pakistani actions

The United States supports direct dialogue between India and Pakistan over the disputed Kashmir region, the State Department spokeswoman said, calling on both countries to remain calm and restrained as the conflict escalates.

While Pakistan's Foreign Ministry has asked India to withdraw its ambassador and told it it would not send the Pakistani ambassador to India, New Delhi declared the Kashmir issue an "internal affair."

The Indian Foreign Ministry in a statement that "the recent events associated with Article 370 (of the Constitution) is an internal affair of India entirely," condemning the "unilateral moves" taken by Pakistan.

Islamabad has decided to reduce the level of relations with India and stop trade with India, after New Delhi canceled the status of autonomy for the disputed Kashmir between the two countries.

Moody ventures
As tension between the two countries escalates, analysts said Indian Prime Minister Narinda Modi's decision to abolish the autonomy of Indian Kashmir posed a major risk that could fuel protests in Kashmir and tension with Pakistan.

The abolition of the special constitutional status of Jammu and Kashmir in the Muslim-majority north of India was the most significant translation of the Hindu nationalist program of the Indian prime minister since his re-election in May.

New Delhi says its decision will bring peace and prosperity to the restive region claimed by Pakistan, which has been plagued by separatist calls for India that have left more than 70,000 people dead, mostly civilians, since 1989.

But the heavy security deployment and complete blackout imposed on Indian Kashmir this week, which has reached an unprecedented scale in this region used to military operations and curfews, underscores India's high risk.

The government adviser for Kashmir and former head of the Indian intelligence "IS Dulat", that being able to contain the violence is essential for the prime minister to declare victory, adding, "But I fear the repercussions and escalation of violence."

Retired General "DS Hooda", who led the Indian troops in Kashmir, expressed concern about "anger, isolation and unrest disturbing civil peace."

After escalating in the 1990s and then declining, the Kashmiris' conflict with India has been on the rise since 2016, and Kashmiris fear that the blockade of people, most of whom are hostile to India's policy, could fuel resentment.

"People will not stand idly by," says Tijja Jawad, daughter of Mahbooba Mufti, the former head of local authority in Jammu and Kashmir, who has been arrested by Indian authorities in recent days.

The two nuclear powers in South Asia fought two wars over Kashmir (1947-1949 and 1965). In February 2019, relations between the two countries saw new tensions following a suicide attack on an Indian paramilitary convoy that left nearly 40 people dead.