Steps Needed in India, Pakistan,
and the World to Avoid Destruction
World BEYOND War

(May 7, 2025) — Following years of tension, India has now bombed Pakistan in response to a “terrorist” action in Kashmir, and Pakistan has threatened to respond in kind. On April 22, militants killed 26 tourists at a popular tourist destination near Pahalgam.

We decry all loss of life and wish to stress that additional killing will not “undo” what was done, or bring back the dead. What is needed now is restraint, and the generally-ineffective global community, in the form of the United Nations and other, related organizations, to assure that international law is followed. In this particular circumstance, this includes the following:

• An end to all bombing by either India or Pakistan.
• A plebiscite to be held in Kashmir to enable the Kashmiris to determine their own future.
• International aid to the victims of the bombings to provide medical attention as required, and the rebuilding of damaged and destroyed infrastructure.
• The holding accountable of those responsible for the killing in Pahalgam, and the subsequent bombing.
• The end of weapons sales by the United States, China, Russia, France, Israel, the Netherlands, and all parties to India and Pakistan.
• The joining of Pakistan and India to, and compliance by its current members with, the treaty on the nonproliferation of nuclear weapons.

We continue to see the clear evidence that war is not the answer to international disputes; rather, it prolongs them and causes the untold suffering of innocent, vulnerable people.

As India seems to be anxious to model the violent oppression that Israel perpetrates on the people of Palestine as it deals with the “problem” of Kashmir, we once again point out the clear lessons from history, that diplomacy, sometimes coupled with sanctions and civil disobedience, is far superior to resolving conflicts than are bombs, tanks, and soldiers.

It is long past time for world leaders to learn these lessons.