BREAKING NEWS- India has launched strikes on Pakistan

[BucketFacer]

More war 😪

@SquashedMallow

“People like me.” 😅

I love my country, but I also fully own what it’s done. Both things can be true at the same time. Patriotism doesn’t mean denial.

I'm so fucking sick to death of war mongering men.

Me too. It feels like they're encouraging each other now. They see what's going on elsewhere and think "everyone else is bombing the shit out of each other, why shouldn't we have a go?". And they probably think the rest of the world will be too distracted to do anything about it. I'm weary of it.

Cannot agree more!!!!

Have a look at recent decade's events and our bowing down to self flagellate and self punish and kneeling on the floor to be "educated" . It's gone really well hasn't it ? We've had loads of respect and we're all skipping holding hands and respecting each other aren't we ?

So when for example people are no longer (and thank god) overtly racist and treat people like second class citizens with unequal rights. In come the "micro aggressions" such as admiring a person who's hair is different to yours.... It'll never stop. The more you "go educate yourself" the worse it gets. We're all living it.

We need BALANCE. To say "yes we need equality and I'll help you fight for it " (to whatever group that may be for ) but "hang on, no I'll stop you there. To accuse one of being homophobic for not accepting men can be in a women's rape crisis centre is tipping the balance . No"

All this "everything is our fault from decades ago and I'll keep slagging of 'us stupid brits' " is so counterproductive for a fair and good society. Madness. Stop it !

A bit bothersome this, what with massive armies on both sides, nuclear weapons and all.

It was inevitable though. I’m no fan of Modi’s brand of nationalist politics but Pakistan has been destabilising the region for many years. The ISI is notorious.

I was listening to a radio 4 programme, the briefing room, last week about Kashmir, they seemed to suggest there could be further conflict at any time. It was quite interesting in terms of the history of the situation and the current concerns.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002bj77?partner=uk.co.bbc&origin=share-mobile

This is true. Pakistan has also been a strong, though covert, supporter of Afghan extremists.

India's a bit of a mess, too. I'm not setting up a good guy / bad guy scenario here. Just cautioning against seeing either side as unfairly victimised. This is awful. Alarmingly likely to have wide repercussions if it escalates.

Agree.

Delusion and deflection. The terrorist attack on hindu tourists follows a pattern of many other attacks on Indian soil on Indian and foreign civilians (Mumbai saw an attack on a Chabad House,and other foreign tourists staying at the Taj Hotel were taken hostage). UK origin terrorists like Omar Saeed Sheikh - the murderer of Daniel Pearl- again point to the radical elements in the pakistani diaspora.Omar hijacked an Indian civilian plane and kidnapped western tourists in 1994 in India - this is something that has been going on for a long time. There will be denial and lies - but what is new?

Pakistan has an unstable government, at any time they can be taken over by the army or worse terrorists. It funds terrorism within their own country. They made no gestures to help track down the perpetrators of the Pahalgam atrocity..India had to retaliate, I just hope this doesn't lead to war

Oh crikey, I have been out all evening, had no idea.

MNers with family there, I hope they are safe.

"How Pakistan attacks critics living in the UK" https://www.declassifieduk.org/how-pakistan-attacks-critics-living-in-the-uk/

The British government are in a pickle.

I could be wrong, but I don't think it will lead to all out war. These strikes have happened before. The bombs on both sides will be deterrents.

Whatever the iniquities of Pakistan, is this not a case of Modi spoiling for a fight?

@Pudmyboy

"Does Pakistan not have any army or weaponry?"

Yes it does but not on the same scale as its much larger neighbour India .

I think after the terrorist attack on April 22nd, retaliation was inevitable

I’m not sure if you’re not aware of what’s been going or not.

Unclear at this stage. The language India has used this evening, about justice having now been served, suggests they see this as a sort of “one and done” act of retaliation for the terrorist attack, and not necessarily a precursor for a broader conflict. Modi clearly felt unable to let the attack pass with no military response - too much loss of face - but doesn’t necessarily want a full-scale war at this stage.

But of course, it all comes down to how Pakistan responds. They will have to respond in some way - not to would be humiliating for Pakistani nationalists. They could opt for low-level strikes that avoid major military targets to save face without escalating, and if so, India may feel able to move on without a further military response - but if the Pakistani response is more serious, India is unlikely to let it slide, and then we move into an escalatory cycle.

Their military and capabilities are not as powerful as the Indian military hence why they previously resorted to behind the scenes sponsorship of terrorist attacks. I mean Bin Laden was found in Pakistan, I can assure that someone somewhere in power was getting paid to keep quiet.

Both India and Pakistan have nuclear weapons which is what makes this conflict a serious issue. I don’t think it will descend to nukes but it’s a risk. This conflict is long running and they have had skirmishes and attacks on security agents over the years but this is the first time they have attacked civilians. Having said that I don’t know at this point if Pakistan was responsible for funding the attack on the tourists or not but unfortunately Pakistan’s reputation makes it hard for India to accept that they were not involved.

You’ve got to be kidding.

Just stop, it’s so patronising to the history of these areas.

Why is it ok for every other country in the world to defend itself against terrorists- Israel, the US, the UK- but not India? No defender of nut job Modi, but this isn't about Modi. It's about years and years of horrific terrorist attacks on civilians.
I am baffled by the posts earlier in the thread which seem to suggest that the Indian government is lying about the attacks in Kashmir on tourists. Who yes, were targeted by religion.
Did the Modi government also shelter Osama Bin Laden, kill Daniel Pearl, and carry out numerous attacks across the world?

Breaking news Pakistan is now claiming that they shot down 2 Indian jets, escalation. Also remains to be seen if it is confirmed or not.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/pakistans-air-force-shot-down-212649056.html

Weirdly using a year old photo to show the jet on fire

Well, the UK could try doing a trade deal with Pakistan instead. Oh wait, the deal is about selling whiskey, cars and salmon to the 4th biggest economy in the world. Never mind.

For years I’d have agreed with you wholeheartedly. People wouldn’t be that stupid.

But then, many years ago I thought Israel and Gaza were close to peace and it was clear a working two state solution was the answer.

I thought Brexit would never happen, growing up I thought closer ties were inevitable, when that became obvious it wasn’t happening, at least that we would never be so daft as to leave.

I thought Trump would never get elected (the first time, called it the second)

I didn’t think Russia would full-on invade Ukraine.

The worlds a very different place to the one I thought it would be growing up in the nineties.

I wouldn't say I’ve lost my faith in humanity, I don’t think I ever will - but I’m seeing it much more as a spark, as opposed to a burning light.