The ceasefire deals between India and Pakistan remain in place. Tensions have eased in both countries since last week’s bombings in response to the 22 April terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Indian Kashmir, which claimed the lives of 26 Indian tourists. In the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, as well as in towns along the border between the two countries, the situation is calm. Schools have reopened, but some airports remain closed. Last week’s clashes with India left 51 people dead in Pakistan, including 40 civilians and 11 military personnel. A further 121 civilians and 78 military personnel were wounded. India reports five fatalities. With terrible scenarios looming, the two nuclear powers were stopped in their tracks by an intervention involving the United States and “some friendly countries”, including “Italy, China, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Iran”, said the Pakistani ambassador to Italy Ali Javed, speaking on the sidelines of a meeting on “Unilateralism versus multilateralism: a threat to the legality and legitimacy of the rules-based order” held on 13 May at the Pakistani embassy in Rome. During his first Angelus prayer last Sunday, Pope Leo XIV welcomed the announcement of the India-Pakistan ceasefire, expressing hope that “through the upcoming negotiations, a lasting agreement can soon be reached.”
The Pakistani Ambassador to Italy: “a referendum on Kashmir.” “The situation could flare up again at some point in the future, as it has in the past,” he remarked. “It is vital to comply with and implement the United Nations resolutions regarding this matter.” The resolutions in question, dated 1948 and 1950, called for a referendum on Kashmir’s right to self-determination, but were never implemented due to India’s opposition. Javed thus called for “the local population to be allowed to decide their own future” via “a local referendum. Whatever the outcome, what matters is that both sides respect it.” Ambassador Javed called on the President of the United States “to play his role alongside world leaders in ensuring that UN resolutions are respected — it is a global responsibility.” Likewise, he called on “Europe, our Western friends and others to bring the two countries to engage in dialogue and establish an international order by complying with the requests of the United Nations. I repeat: you are asking us to engage in dialogue, but one of the two parties is refusing to talk. So where does that leave us? Nowhere. That is the current situation.” “I hope that dialogue will prevail in the future,” he concluded, expressing his hope that “we will finally be able to resolve the longest-standing issue on the United Nations Security Council agenda.”
The voice of a missionary who served in Pakistan for 34 years. The meeting in Rome was marked by the notable presence of Father Robert McCulloch, an Australian member of the Missionary Society of St. Columban. He served as a missionary in Pakistan from 1979 to 2011 and has since maintained contact with the Pakistani Bishops’ Conference, Pakistani institutions, and diplomatic missions in Italy. He has also been awarded a prestigious distinction by the Pakistani government in recognition of his extensive work in healthcare, education and interfaith harmony. “What happened last week was an overreaction on the part of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had to find a way to save face and appease a fiery public opinion that was pressuring the Indian army”, he told SIR. Conversely, however, he said that “the Pakistani government had shown remarkable maturity and moderation. This was the case even when Indian missiles were fired at four Pakistani cities and accusations against Pakistan of fomenting and encouraging terrorism in India continued. A series of symbolic gunshots were fired, followed by an agreed resolution, but many people have been killed. They realised that war in this region is not an option.”
The Indus River’s water control. In his opinion, the most pressing issue right now concerns the Indus River, which originates in India and flows through Pakistan. “The Indians have the ability to control it. Water control has sparked conflicts throughout the world and in many places, so it will be a critical factor,” the missionary observed. In his view, the ongoing hostility stemming from the tragedy of August and September 1947 — when the division between India and Pakistan caused immense displacement, violence and a high death toll — can only cease if each country honestly says: “We ask for and grant forgiveness.” Unfortunately, I am not optimistic that this will happen anytime soon; it is a chronic disease. It will only be resolved with God’s grace.” According to Father McCullough,
“The people of Kashmir must be allowed to decide for themselves.”
“The people of Punjab, Pakistan and India are culturally and ethnically similar, much like the right and left hands,” he pointed out. While they have their differences, they should be united.”
Creating a new global order. At the meeting, Marco Di Liddo, Director of the Centre for International Studies (CESI), a think tank specialising in geopolitical analysis, emphasised the importance of finding solutions through multilateralism rather than unilateralism — the latter involving breaking the rules and disrupting the global order to pursue individual states’ interests. He observed that the unilateralism at play in ongoing wars “has caused a sort of domino effect, with other countries feeling emboldened to emulate this approach. At the same time, we must acknowledge our mistakes and recognise the responsibilities of the Western world. It’s hard for us to accept that the world is no longer governed by the rules set in 1945. We cannot risk returning to Cold War–style blocs.
We must accept that the world has changed and establish a new order.
Otherwise, sovereignty, extremism, the thirst for revenge and violent means, including terrorism, risk gaining the upper hand and new players on the scene will feel entitled to flout the rules.”
