[Today's Prayer] India "Pakistan is behind the Kashmir gun attack"... Border closure-water sharing suspension

The gun attack that occurred on the 22nd in Kashmir, a territorial dispute between India and Pakistan, is escalating the conflict between the two countries. On the 23rd, India pointed to the Pakistani government as being behind the attack and announced strong measures such as border closure and water sharing suspension. Pakistan denied any connection to the attack, but showed its intention to respond strongly if India continues to respond strongly. Since both countries are "unofficial nuclear powers," France 24 and others diagnosed that this incident will heighten the instability of the international situation.

According to the New York Times (NYT) and others, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a cabinet meeting that day, closed the border checkpoints between the two countries in the northern state of Punjab, and ordered Pakistanis in India to "leave the country within 48 hours." They also designated the defense officials at the Pakistani embassy as persona non grata and ordered them to leave the country within a week.

India also suspended the Indus River Water Use Treaty, which was concluded between the two countries through World Bank mediation in 1960. The core of this treaty is that India shares the water use rights of the Indus River tributaries that run across the two countries with Pakistan. This treaty was maintained even when the two countries engaged in sporadic clashes several times, but the Modi administration, which has a strong Hindu right-wing character, unilaterally suspended the treaty this time.

(Omitted)

Earlier, on the 22nd, armed assailants opened fire in the Baisaran Plains near Pahalgam, a major tourist destination in Indian-administered Kashmir, killing at least 26 people and injuring 17. The dead included 25 Indian tourists and one Nepalese. One survivor told local media, “If they couldn’t recite the Quran (Islamic scripture), they would shoot at anyone they saw.” Immediately after the attack, the local rebel group Resistance Front (TRF), linked to the Pakistani terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), claimed responsibility.

Kashmir, which covers an area of ​​about 220,000 square kilometers, has been a hotbed of intense conflict since the two countries gained independence from British colonial rule in 1947. Most of the population is Muslim, but the ruling class is predominantly Hindu, and both countries have claimed sovereignty over it. It is currently divided into three parts: Indian Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistani Azad Kashmir, and the Aksai Chin Plateau, which is under Chinese control, and there is constant confrontation and conflict everywhere.

Source: Nate News

Truly with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light. Continue to show your lovingkindness to those who know you; grant your righteousness to the upright in heart (Psalm 36:9-10)

The gun attack in Kashmir, a territorial dispute between India and Pakistan, has heightened the conflict between the two countries, and while India has announced that it will take a strong stance against Pakistan, such as closing its borders and suspending water sharing, foreign media outlets have diagnosed that both countries are unofficial nuclear weapons states, which will destabilize the international situation.

We pray that the Lord will fix the history of the two countries, which were divided into India and Pakistan due to religion in 1947 and have not stopped their conflict in Kashmir, where they are still divided between Hindus and Muslims.

May the Lord have mercy on India and Pakistan, which are not free from the power of death, and let the souls of India and Pakistan know that neither Hinduism nor Islam can give salvation.

May the gospel of the cross of Jesus Christ, the source of life, shine upon the souls of India and Pakistan, and may the local churches in India and Pakistan, who know the Lord, follow the Lord’s mercy and comfort those who lost their families in this terrorist incident.

Also, may the local churches in India and Pakistan first forgive each other in the cross and show the love that Jesus showed, so that the help of God, who is righteous, may come to both countries.

May the global church play the role of mediator between India and Pakistan for this work, and may they pray for the gospel of Jesus Christ, who comes as the true light, to be spread quickly, so that the work of life may begin in India and Pakistan.

In this way, may the day come quickly when India and Pakistan send a united army to the nations along the Asian Highway!