Nuclear war threat over Kashmir crisis

Straw mission over 'very real' chance of India-Pakistan conflict

BRITAIN gave warning of the “very real and very disturbing” possibility of nuclear war between India and Pakistan last night as the Government prepared an emergency mission to Delhi and Islamabad.
Jack Straw is to fly to the capitals next week to try to avert “the most serious conflict in the world in terms of potential casualties and the use of nuclear weapons”.

In a chilling assessment of the escalating tensions in the sub-continent, the Foreign Secretary told journalists: “The international community is watching events with mounting concern. This is a crisis the world cannot ignore.”

Ministers believe the situation is now so tense that just one provocation could trigger catastrophe, and the murder of a prominent Muslim leader yesterday plunged the region even deeper into trouble. A million soldiers are assembled along the India-Pakistan border, most of them concentrated in the disputed region of Kashmir, where fresh clashes were reported yesterday.