RADAR

CONFLICTS IN ASIA: CATHOLIC COMMUNITIES FOR RECONCILIATION

Amidst high- and low-intensity conflicts that continue to cause death and suffering across the Indian subcontinent to Southeast Asia, Catholic communities are calling for reconciliation and fraternity.

BY PAOLO AFFATATO

A standoff between Pakistan and Afghanistan

A DANGEROUS low-intensity crisis between Pakistan and Afghanistan risks escalation, following explosions in Kabul, which the Taliban (who returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021), blamed on Pakistan. A military offensive on the border followed, to which Islamabad responded with air strikes. According to the UN, at least 50 civilians were killed and approximately 450 injured. Islamabad accuses Afghanistan of harbouring terrorist groups from the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), who continue to attack Pakistani military garrisons. Although Kabul denies all charges, the growing instability could escalate into regional conflict. “The Pakistani population feels betrayed by the Afghans whom we welcomed for many years, when they were fleeing war and persecution,” explained Mario Angelo Rodrigues, priest and principal of St. Patrick’s Catholic High School in Karachi. “Today,” the priest observes, “we need to re-establish a climate of trust and embark on a path of peace. The two governments should collaborate in the fight against terrorism, a common enemy.” He recalls that “Pakistani Christians support paths of brotherhood, for authentic peace.”

Kashmir

Even on the opposite border with India, Pakistan finds itself embroiled in the dispute over Kashmir. In April 2025, a bloody terrorist attack in Pahalgam rocked this disputed region between India and Pakistan, which once again became a scene of violence. Fire fights increased along the “Line of Control,” the border dividing the territories controlled by India and Pakistan. As the nearly 80-year-old conflict escalated, Catholic communities on both sides of the border called for “a definitive peace agreement, important not only for India and Pakistan but for the entire world.”

Internal conflict in the state of Manipur

India is also reeling from new internal conflict in the state of Manipur, in the northeast of the country, an area particularly troubled by rebellions, insurgencies and ethnic tensions. The violence between the Kuki and Meitei ethnic groups that began in 2023 led to 67,000 internally displaced people. The Catholic Church has worked tirelessly to assist those affected by the violence who have lost homes and property, trying to keep hope alive.

Myanmar, a nation without peace

Further east, Myanmar, is a nation ravaged by fierce civil conflict that has raged since 2021, when a military junta seized power in a coup, interrupting the stability of a young democracy. Since then, a resistance movement developed, first through nonviolent means, but later through armed struggle, joining forces with the armies of the ethnic minorities present in the peripheral areas of Burma. Bishops and priests have denounced the multi- facet crisis affecting the nation; fully dedicating themselves to healing the wounds of war, materially, but also psychologically and spiritually.

Thailand and Cambodia, territorial claims

Southeast Asia has also recently been shaken by the resumption of open conflict between Thailand and Cambodia, sparked by territorial claims, which led to the closure of borders and the displacement of 300,000 people. Despite the truce signed in August last year, tensions remain high, and the disarmament plan negotiated in the following months was abandoned. “Our aim is to rebuild mutual trust and stability along the border,” says the Cambodian Church, which, through Caritas, cares for approximately 100,000 internally displaced persons.

What is never lacking, in various contexts, is the fervent offer of prayers to God for peace and reconciliation by Catholics, a small minority community.

Source: Popoli e Missione