Pahalgam Massacre
By Dr DK Giri
The cold blooded murder of innocent tourists in Pahalgam has shocked not only India but the whole world. World powers have swiftly reacted to the dastardly attack by the terrorist camouflaged as Indian army personnel. Apparently the spot chosen by the assailants was not patrolled by the army or the paramilitary. No doubt, irrespective of the absence of security personnel, the ambush of unsuspecting tourists indicates the failure of intelligence. There are complaints of other lapses that led to this bloodshed. Those issues can be debated and investigated later. The important question to ask and watch is how the Indian government is reacting to this incident.
At the time of writing the death count is 28 and quite a few others injured and in critical condition among the dead were two defense persons and two foreigners: One from Nepal and another from UAE. It is not the number of casualties but the manner of the cruelty that has shaken the conscience of humanity across the world. The terrorists called out the tourists from their tents ask them to identify their religion if they were to ascertain if they were Hindus, and then they shot the victims point blank. A lady begged to be killed as her husband was shot in her presence. She was spared her life and was advised to report the killing to Prime Minister Modi. A local pony man lunged at a terrorist to save a tourist and paid with his life. Such pathetic, humanistic as well as gory details of the massacre are gradually emerging in the public domain.
The terrorist attack is clearly the handiwork of the Pakistani terror network. Whether the imminent attack was lost on the intelligence of the government is another point of debate. Observers point out that Pakistan’s ruling establishment had blamed India for aiding and abetting Baloch Liberation Army in hijacking of a local train in Balochistan and murder of hundreds of hostages on March 11 this year. India had flatly denied any involvement in that terrorist act. Pakistan had rejected the denial and the Pakistani army had sworn revenge. The other conjecture is about the strategic timing of the attack which coincided with the visit of American Vice President J.D. Vance. Although Vance is on a partly personal visit, he is outspoken on international affairs; therefore it was done during his presence on Indian soil in order to draw international attention.
Third, the choice of the spot for the attack; Pahalgam is a major tourist attraction. It is reported that there were more than two thousand tourists camping in that area on that fateful day of the tragedy. For some reason, there was not a single member of State Armed Forces – Army, Para-Military or even the local police – at the Baisaran meadow which is just five kms from Pahalgam town and a designated tourist spot.
Be that as it may, innocent lives have been lost. The government’s claim of making the valley of Kashmir free of terrorism also got busted. So the government as well as the people are raring to go after the terrorists wherever they may be hiding. The public anger will force the government and the army to take some drastic action to bring the culprits to book.
The larger question is, what should India do to eliminate sporadic, unanticipated and inhuman attacks by the terrorists coming from across the border? The second related question is, how does India destroy the military-cum-militant machine that manufactures thousands of terrorists every year? Indian Army captures or kills some terrorists and more are sent by Pakistan. This ghastly cycle will continue until the terrorist bases in Pakistan are destroyed. It should be like the IDF (Israel) going after Hamas terror network and infrastructure. It may not be an overstatement to say that the killing of 22 April is compared to that of the 7 October attack on innocent Jews of Israel.
The sympathy and support from world powers have been pouring in. Again some observers suggest that America will take the terrorists out of Pakistan. That is at best a wishful thinking. India has to protect its own citizens. Once New Delhi begins to do so, the other friendly countries will support it.
New Delhi has to follow a two-pronged strategy. One, to mobilise diplomatic support for a decisive attack on the terrorist hideouts and bases in Pakistan. New Delhi has initiated certain non-military steps like declaring the Pakistani High Commissioner non-grata, cancelling the Indus Water Treaty that will choke Pakistan without water and openly declaring that it will not stop at anything short of stoppage of supply of terrorists from Pakistan.
India is a democracy. Citizens, military officers, and strategic experts have started debating if an all-out military intervention into Pakistani territory would be a prudent step. That is not for non-military persons who are not at the helm to suggest any concrete action. It is not a calculation whether India will succeed in weeding out terrorists from Pakistan. It is unavoidable for India to go in search of the terrorists. Pakistan should cooperate with India to get them. Given Pakistan’s deceptive behavior, it is too much to expect that Islamabad will transparently extend a hand to India. Remember, Pakistan was sheltering Osama Bin Laden in its full knowledge while the Americans were desperately hunting for him.
Whatever the nature of response, it has to be decisive in the sense that terrorism in Indian soil becomes a thing of the past. It is so worrying that, as a nation, when things tend to become normal people begin to live in relative peace and security. Pakistan throws a spanner in the works by sponsoring terrorist activities like those in Mumbai, Uri, Pathankot, Pulwama and Pahalgam. This is intolerable by any human or political standard. New Delhi has been mobilizing the world relentlessly against terrorism by raising it in any international forum. Yet, the scourge of terrorism does not stop inflicting India. But, not just India, many other countries in the world have been victims of this heinous act of terrorism.
The world should rally together to fight this evil. New Delhi has been advocating against terrorism. Now it is time it should lead in action as well. If the countries, the peace-loving ones, do not support India, the bell may toll for them. It is an international menace. It has to be fought collectively. Let India give this message loud and clear through diplomacy as well as forceful action whenever necessary. The time has come to do that now.—INFA
(The author is Professor of Practice, NIIS Group of Institutions)