Pak Fingerprints Over Killing of Tourists in Pahalgam

The slaying of 25 tourists in the Baisaran region of Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) has all the hallmarks of a Pakistani sponsored terrorist hit. It is the single-biggest terrorist strike in the region since the past many years. Scores of others were injured in the atrocity. Survivors are being treated in local hospitals.

The terrorist strike took place in the area that is popular with tourists and has seen heavy flows in recent years. Those killed came from different parts of the country including Gujarat, Karnataka and Maharashtra among other places.

Within hours, the Indian army and J&K police teams have begun operations to hunt down the terrorists according to J&K Lt Governor Manoj Sinha.
Terrorism in J&K has changed dynamics since 2019 and against that background the terrorist atrocity on Tuesday stands in a different light. Two trends are worth noting.

Since 5th August, 2019, terrorism in the districts of Kashmir Valley has gone down drastically, especially in the terrorist hotbeds of districts in South Kashmir. This insurgency was based on heavy local recruitments among disaffected people of these districts. Over time, this recruitment was stemmed and the theatre of terrorist violence shifted further South to the Jammu division of the Union Territory (UT).

Terrorism in the districts of Jammu division is largely based on foreign terrorists from Pakistan finding shelter in the heavily forested regions of Rajouri, Kishtwar, Doda and other districts of the division. This is has been kept up by Pakistan as it has been unable to keep districts in South Kashmir “on the boil.”

THE PAKISTANI FACTOR

The terrorist atrocity in Pahalgam today must be evaluated against this trend. It is highly unusual for local terrorists to strike at tourists in areas frequented by them. Such events are relatively rare.

What is at work is that the US Vice President J D Vance is on an important visit to India. It is not unusual for Pakistan to roll out its terrorists at such moments. This is part of Pakistan’s repertoire of trying to “internationalise” the “Kashmir issue” in front of the world. It won’t be surprising that what transpired in Pahalgam today is part of that pattern. It is another matter that the world does not consider Pakistan’s claims to J&K credible anymore.

THE INDIAN RESPONSE

It is early days and the first priority for the government is to provide succour to injured tourists even as the country’s security forces hunt down the terrorists.

But at some point, India must sort out Pakistan in an effective manner. Pakistan’s approach is simple: the moment J&K begins to enjoy its hard-won normalcy; it delivers a rude jolt to India. This is not the behaviour of a country that wants to normalize relations with India; it is the behaviour of a country that wants to snatch a part of India’s territory by any means possible even if that goal is impossible, politically and militarily.

India cannot solve the problem by appealing to the better angels of Pakistan’s nature. That “country” is a collection of different provinces yoked together by an army mostly recruited from a single province. The recent events in Balochistan, Sindh, a province up in arms against Pakistani Punjab stealing its water, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa clearly tell their own story: this is a rogue state that is impervious to the norms of behaviour expected from normal nation-states. Those in India who dream of “peace” and repeatedly say that India cannot “escape geography” need to introspect hard. What is more important: peace in J&K or peace with Pakistan? The road to the first objective will be fought tooth and nail by Pakistan, as Pahalgam shows so painfully.

India must not just prepare for tougher options against Pakistan but must exercise them.

Also Read: Prime Minister Narendra Modi vows not to spare Pahalgam attackers

BaisaranIndia-PakistanJammu and KashmirPahalgamterror attack