I feel like India and Pakistan have been on the brink of war my entire life. It has long been referred to as one of the world’s most dangerous conflicts, something like a modern day Balkan powder keg. Tensions between the two countries is compounded by the fact that each nation has nuclear weapons.
The conflict has escalated in recent days with India claiming it carried out a surgical strike against terrorists in Pakistan. And now, India is threatening to “review” a decades old treaty regarding water rights in the Indus basin. Pakistan has stated that if India were to revoke the 56 year old Indus Water Treaty, they would consider it an act of war. Foreign Policy published this great piece analyzing the situation and why this recent escalation is so dangerous.