Dozens of people have been killed in the worst fighting between India and Pakistan in more than two decades. India attacked nine locations in Pakistan and Pakistani-controlled Kashmir early Wednesday, killing at least 26 people, including a child. Pakistan described the attacks as an act of war and responded by shelling areas controlled by India. Tensions have been soaring between the two nuclear-armed states since gunmen massacred 26 tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir in a rampage that India blamed on Pakistan.

Mirza Waheed, a Kashmiri journalist and award-winning novelist, says that as the countries fight, the people of Kashmir get left behind. “When elephants fight, it’s the grass that gets trampled upon,” said Waheed.

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.

AMY GOODMAN: Dozens of people have been killed in the worst fighting between India and Pakistan in more than two decades, following a deadly attack last month on Indian tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir. Early today, India attacked nine locations in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir, killing at least 26 people, including a child. Dozens were wounded. Pakistan called the attacks “an act of war” and responded by shelling areas of Kashmir under Indian control. India says the Pakistani shelling has killed at least 15 people. Pakistan claims to have shot down at least two Indian fighter jets. Tensions have been soaring between the two nuclear-armed nations since April 22nd, when gunmen massacred 26 tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir in a rampage that India blamed on Pakistan.

For now, we go to London, where we’re joined by Mirza Waheed, award-winning Kashmiri journalist and novelist. His books include The Collaborator, The Book of Gold Leaves and, most recently, Tell Her Everything. His recent Guardian piece is headlined “A massacre has reignited the forever war between India and Pakistan — once more, Kashmiri voices are missing.”

Well, they’re not missing here, Mirza Waheed. So, if you can start off by talking about what’s at stake right now, and give us the progression of what took place, first the attack on Indian tourists in Indian-administered Pakistan — in Indian-administered Kashmir, and what that means?

MIRZA WAHEED: Thank you for having me.

Those killings were reprehensible, and it was a massacre of Indian tourists in a pristine, really, idyllic meadow in Pahalgam, where I lived as a child. And it’s a very gorgeous and beautiful place. And those killings were shocking, obviously, and condemnable, reprehensible, and that is the main trigger for this recent escalation now, because soon after the killings, there was obviously outrage in India, in the public, in the media, across the society and the political classes. And we very soon heard big clamors for war, clamor for war, especially in the media, thorough pressure to strike on targets in Pakistan. And it was kind of — we knew it was happening. Obviously, one hoped it shouldn’t happen, it wouldn’t happen, but that’s........

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