Pahalgam aftermath
The Pahalgam terror attack is an act of sheer desperation that bears the stamp of the usual suspect — Pakistan. A nation itself being lacerated by terrorism is persisting with its nefarious policy of bleeding India with a “thousand cuts” through state and non-state actors. The Resistance Front, a proxy of the banned Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba, has claimed responsibility for the dastardly assault on civilians, mostly tourists. The audacity of it all is a chilling throwback to the Lashkar-plotted carnage that rocked Mumbai — and India — in 2008.
It’s no coincidence that the attack comes in the wake of 26/11 accused Tahawwur Rana’s extradition from the US and Pakistan Army Chief Gen Asim Munir’s anti-India tirade. Gen Munir virtually prepared the ground for the April 22 horror when he described Kashmir as his nation’s “jugular vein” last week. Even as Baloch insurgency is giving him and his military sleepless nights, he chose to rake up the two-nation theory and claimed that Hindus and Muslims had nothing in common. Targeting of non-Muslims – and that too during US Vice-President JD Vance’s India visit – makes it obvious that the terrorists and their handlers have thrown down the gauntlet at the BJP-led government. Notably, Pakistan has condoled the deaths of tourists, but stopped short of condemning the attack.
The terror incidents in Uri (2016) and Pulwama (2019) were followed by a fierce cross-border retaliation from India. Will the Pahalgam massacre trigger a similar enough-is-enough response? The Modi government, which prides itself on its muscularity, is under intense pressure to teach Pakistan a lesson all over again. On the diplomatic front, it’s a big opportunity for New Delhi to name and shame Islamabad in the international arena. Rana’s interrogation is expected to reaffirm India’s consistent stand that Pakistan is an incorrigible epicentre of terrorism. The outcome of the Pahalgam probe will lend even greater weight to Delhi’s argument. But the moot point is when or whether Pakistan will see the error of its destructive ways.
