Three days have passed since the savage terrorist attack at Pahalgam resulting in the death of 26 people, mostly tourists. The communal tenor of the massacre shocked the Indian people. There was unequivocal demand from the people supported by all sections of the political parties that the Narendra Modi government must take strong action against the backers of the terror gang Pakistan. India announced the retaliatory actions against Pakistan including the suspension of the Indus Water Treaty. Pakistan followed this on Thursday by announcing that if India implements it, it will be considered as an act of war. Further, Pakistan threatened suspension of Simla Agreement.
What next? Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his public meeting in Bihar on Thursday vowed to track the terrorist and their backers to the end of the earth. The communal nature of the killings has given a big boost to the Sangh Parivar and their fringe elements in launching all out campaign against the Muslims and the Kashmiris without taking note how a Muslim money owner fought with one terrorist to save his Hindu rider and got killed. The entire Pahalgam population rose in one voice against the killings followed by the spontaneous bandh against the terrorist killings.
But the Kashmiri students in different parts of the country are being attacked. The number of students from Kashmir who went to different parts of the country to build their career in India, are feeling unwanted. Every time, any such terror attack takes place in Kashmir, these students and other Kashmiris of minority community feel India is not the country to which they belong. The Pahalgam massacre has derailed once the again the process which was going on for building a Naya Kashmir.
The main issue is the cross border terrorism and the assistance given to them by the Pakistani agencies, especially the ISI which has a record of giving training to these cross border terrorist who operate both from Pakistan and from Indian side of Jammu & Kashmir. In 2002 also in May/June, India was virtually in a mood to start military action against Pakistan as a retaliatory action against the dastardly attacks on Parliament building in December 2021. The full mobilization of army and naval vessels was made. India’s naval armada was kept ready at North Arabian Sea. Pakistan was equally ready. Most of the Delhi embassies sent notes to their headquarters that India-Pakistan war was imminent.
But eventually, consistent backdoor efforts by the US senior official Richard Armitage and foreign secretary Colin Powell persuaded the then Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee to desist from taking military action after Powell secured a commitment from the Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf to dismantle the terror camps and infra under a time frame. Additionally, India got some high tech arms supplies which the U.S. was earlier refusing to agree.
Right now in 2025, India is far more comfortable position to get the terror camps in Pakistan destroyed and get its demands for ending cross border terror with Trump’s help. Pakistan in 2002 under Musharraf was more stable with positive relationship with both China and USA. But right now, the Shehbaz Sharif government is politically weak, economically in decline and not in best of terms with both USA and China. China may not like India emerging as more powerful in South Asia by weakening Pakistan, but if the U.S. takes any initiative to stop cross border terrorism and force Pakistan to do this, China may agree.
Indian Prime Minister is in a commanding position now after announcing his retaliatory measures and getting all out support from most of the countries for the Indian position. PM Modi with his personal ties with Trump and the U.S. Intel chief Tulsi Gabbard can move fast in putting pressure on the Pakistan Prime Minister to take the necessary actions. Gabbard as the head of CIA has got all the details of the terror camps and the Links of the Pakistan army chief Asim Munir with the terrorists. Asim Munir is already under attack in the U.S. congress for some of his earlier actions. The U.S. can take advantage of this Pahalgam to shunt out Munir from his position. If the U.S. is really serious in helping India and Modi, Gabbard can get the Indian demands on cross border terrorism conceded in a short time by Shehbaz Sharif who is in back foot now
Pakistan has a population of 24 crore. The country may be a bit unstable now, but the entire Pakistani people will be united if India strikes militarily. There will be no clear winner. Modi is not Indira Gandhi of 1971. U.S. was against India in 1971 but Indira Gandhi won the war. In 2025, the U.S. is with India, Our Prime Minister has the big opportunity of achieving his prime objective if he plays his cards well with the assistance of Tulsi Gabbard. What Richard Armitage could get done in 2002, Tulsi can achieve much more by putting Damocles’ Sword on the Pakistani Prime Minister.
But for ensuring total U.S. support, Prime Minister has to organize two major things immediately. Pakistan has challenged India to present proof of Pahalgam’s killers links with Pakistan. This is a must. The foreign governments have condemned terrorist attacks but they have not endorsed any view that Pakistan has links. Pakistan is also meeting the envoys and they are claiming that Pakistan suffered more deaths in 2024 due to terrorist attacks. So in the propaganda war, without proof of links, Indian can not win the perception war.
Another immediate issue is for the Prime Minister to ensure the safety of the Kashmiri students and the Kashmiri Muslims in general in different parts of the country. He and his party have to ensure that the Pahalgam massacre does not lead to hate campaigns against the Muslims by the Sangh Parivar outfits. The Pahalgam tragedy should not be used for narrow political ends. Much depends on the Prime Minister Narendra Modi at this moment of crisis. It is hoped that he will act like a real statesmen and visionary political leader. (IPA Service)
