Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi accused Pakistan of waging a proxy war in Kashmir yesterday, as he became the first Indian leader to visit the town of Kargil in the disputed region since more than 1,000 died in a battle fought between the two Asian powers there 15 years ago.
Modi landed in the remote Himalayan town a day after India and rival Pakistan traded accusations of ceasefire violations on their disputed border.
He is the first Indian prime minister to visit the highly sensitive area since a 1999 Pakistani Army incursion triggered a conflict between the two countries.
Since then, India has maintained a heavy military presence in Muslim-majority Kargil, in the remote mountainous region of Ladakh, but a reporter at the scene said there were few soldiers in evidence as the town readied for the arrival of Modi, who was due to address troops and open a new hydropower project there.
Kargil, which has a population of just 20,000 and is often cut off in winter, was decked out with flags from Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party and about 5,000 locals gathered to listen to the prime minister speak.
Speaking earlier yesterday to soldiers in Leh, the capital of the Ladakh region in Jammu and Kashmir State, Modi condemned what he called a “proxy war by Pakistan” and said troops were “suffering more casualties from terrorism than from war,” according to the Indian Press Information Bureau.
Modi, a hardline Hindu nationalist, also pledged to build new roads and develop tourism in the restive Muslim-majority autonomous state, where poverty and underdevelopment have exacerbated anti-government sentiment.
“There was a time when prime ministers never visited the state. I have come here two times already,” said Modi, who was decked out in a traditional Ladakhi gold robe and hat. “We want to make jobs available for the youth. We want educational institutions for the youth... The government is committed to developing tourism in this region.”
Ajai Sahni, executive director at the Institute of Conflict Management think tank, said Modi’s visit was an “important first step towards bringing these areas back to the center of national and strategic consciousness.”
“This government’s initiative in the region will gradually shift the power equation in favor of India over Pakistan as people in the region become more integrated [with India] with development and progress,” he said.
During his visit, Modi is to visit the Siachen glacier, dubbed the world’s highest battlefield due to the long-running territorial dispute.
An estimated 8,000 troops have died there since 1984, almost all of them from avalanches, landslides, frostbite, altitude sickness or heart failure rather than combat.
The visit comes a day after Pakistan summoned a senior Indian diplomat over a cross-border firing incident near the eastern city of Sialkot, which the foreign ministry said left at least one civilian dead.
The Pakistani authorities accused New Delhi of a “ceasefire violation” and have registered a formal protest.
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