Hindu lives too matter: US spy chief Tulsi Gabbard

Tulsi Gabbard, United States’ Director of National Intelligence (DNI), on Friday hit out at Islamist terrorists who killed “Hindus” in Pahalgam in Kashmir and offered unconditional support to India for its efforts to hunt down the perpetrators of the heinous attack on April 22 that claimed 28 lives. By doing so, the American spy chief instantly raised the comfort level for New Delhi to pursue its retaliatory goals without having to look over its shoulder as it had to in the past when similar terror strikes had taken place on Indian soil over the past several decades.

Gabbard, the youngest person to serve as DNI and who had become Hindu as a teenager, said on X: “We stand in solidarity with India in the wake of the horrific Islamist terrorist attack, targeting and killing 26 Hindus in Pahalgam. My prayers and deepest sympathies are with those who lost a loved one, PM @narendramodi, and with all the people of India. We are with you and support you as you hunt down those responsible for this heinous attack.”

Her statement acquires great significance because it signals a big departure from the usual American response whenever India had previously come under terror strikes from Pakistan-based terrorists. This includes the carnage in Mumbai for days starting November 26, 2008, and when five members of the terror outfit Harkat-ul-Mujahideen hijacked an Indian Airlines plane to Afghanistan in 1999. Similar was the case when the temple of Indian democracy, the Parliament, came under attack by terrorists in 2001.

Several analysts point out that it is for the first time that the US has accepted that Indian lives matter. They also add that Gabbard categorically states where the terror emanated from and who was targeted. The terrorists who killed male Indian tourists in Kashmir had asked for their identity to confirm they were non-Muslims before they were killed. They say that Gabbard’s position on the Pahalgam massacre gives Prime Minister Modi greater flexibility to act against Pakistan-trained, heavily-armed killers.

An indication of the US’s shift in position was obvious when US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce on April 24 snubbed a Pakistani journalist at a press meeting when she was queried about Indo-Pak border tensions, “I am not going to be remarking on it… I will say nothing more on that situation. The President and the Secretary have made their positions clear,” she said. Bruce also stated that both President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio had “strongly condemned all forms of terrorism” and expressed deep solidarity with India.

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