Kashmir in the AfPak Equation

"When Kashmir is discussed in the strategic discourse these days, it is usually in the context of the broader stabilization effort in the region. Reducing tensions between India and Pakistan would improve Pakistani cooperation in Afghanistan and thus advance US interests. But Kashmir itself is curiously absent from many of these discussions — the assumption seems to be that between them Delhi and Islamabad control the Kashmir Valley, and once the governments agree on the high politics, Kashmiris will fall into line.

Lydia Polgreen's Sunday New York Times article and Kashmir's recent history instead clearly show that, for better and worse, Kashmiris have the capacity to surprise everyone, even Indian and Pakistani intelligence agencies. Though violence has substantially dropped since 2003, the last two years have been in many respects the most dramatic since the insurgency began in 1988...."

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