By Bishaldeep Kakati
A heart wrenching incident shook the nation, when on April 22, a terror attack in the Pahalgam region led to the death of 26 people, till date, including Indian nationals and foreign tourists and left at least 20 others injured. The other shocking aspect of it was the action of the terrorists to check the ID cards of the tourists and it won’t be wrong to comment that the majority of those killed were Hindus, thus making the denizens relate terrorism with religion. However, going beyond narratives and common notions, the nation needs to critically scrutinize and analyse this terror attack and even take stringent steps to prevent such attacks in the near future. The Pahalgam terror attack brings with it many important aspects to be critically analysed which encompasses within itself the internal peace of the nation, the process of retaliation, the scrutiny of the security forces and the proper use of relations with other countries.
After the terror attack of Mumbai 2008, the Pahalgam terror attack can be considered as the deadliest one till date, in relation to deaths caused to civilians and tourists. The major question that lies here is: Is Pakistan responsible for this attack? The Pakistan defence Minister has stated that Pakistan is not responsible for the same, rather he stated, “ There are revolutions in so-called Indian states, from Nagaland to Kashmir in Chhattisgarh, Manipur and the south,” thereby hinting at internal reasons being the cause for the same. But the needle of suspicion goes towards Pakistan for having harboured and trained terror outfits.
This brings into relevance the concept of FATF. The FATF maintains a list of countries under increased monitoring, often referred to as the “grey list,” to address concerns about money laundering and terrorist financing and Pakistan was placed on the grey list of it in June 2018, which destroyed the prestige of Pakistan in the international community. It was on October 21, 2022 that Pakistan was removed from the grey list of FATF, otherwise the country was almost on the verge of being declared a terror country. As such after abrogation of Article 370 from Kashmir and removal of the name of Pakistan from the grey list, it can be opined that Pakistan might have adopted this policy of blaming the locals for terror attacks, so that the reputation of Pakistan is not harmed again. Therefore, the statement of the Defence Minister of Pakistan is dubious. Moreover, it has been circulating that The Resistance Front (TRF), a militant group linked to Pakistani terrorist Hafiz Saeed’s Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), has claimed responsibility for the terror attack. Hence, in this regard, it cannot be denied that Pakistan is just trying to save the reputation of the country by giving out statements without any credible evidence.
The international community has also come in support of India with regards to this brutal attack as the US President has stated, “Deeply disturbing news out of Kashmir. The United States stands strong with India against terrorism. We pray for the souls of those lost, and for the recovery of the injured. Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi, and the incredible people of India, have our full support and deepest sympathies. Our hearts are with you all!”. Additionally the President of Russia has stated, “This brutal crime has no justification whatsoever. We expect that its organisers and perpetrators will face a deserved punishment,”.
On pen and per it seems that two major powers are in favour of India, when the talk is about eradicating terrorism. However, India’s bigger aim should not be limited to a military retaliation destroying the culprits or their base camps but it should look forward to striking a major jolt against the terrorists directly and indirectly against Pakistan. If India can somehow show the involvement of Pakistan in this heinous attack, then it can directly pressurise Pakistan with the help of the international community to hand over to them all the suspected terrorists of Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish and others. If that can be achieved then that shall be a major jolt on the very basis of cross border terrorism or terror attacks like in Pahalgam.
However before going an all out attack on terrorism or the terrorists, India has to be also very careful about its internal condition. News has already surfaced that the majority of the people who were killed by the terrorists were Hindus. As such the government has to be careful to keep the country united while dealing with terrorism, otherwise an internal Hindu-Muslim conflict might even worsen the situation, something which the terrorists or the country in suspicion might have wanted.
Furthermore, India also has to keep an eye on the fact that terror attacks have also occurred when an important personality from another nation had visited the country, which definitely affects the pride and prestige of the nation. Back in 2000, when the then US President Bill Clinton visited India, the nation witnessed one of the most chilling terror attacks known as the 2000 Chittisinghpura Massacre. In fact, now when the Vice President of US, J D Vance visited India, the nation witnessed the spine-chilling Pahalgam terror. If this kind of untoward incidents are repeated then it is surely going to shake India’s growing international ties, and the government should also keep an eye on this aspect.
Hence India’s plan of action for the Pahalgam terror cannot just be limited to identifying the terrorists and destroying their hide-outs. Rather, India’s retaliation for the Pahalgam terror should be based on a long term vision of putting a full stop to terrorism or cross border terrorism, enhancing and strengthening security, as many have also opined that there was a lapse in that regard. Further, the nation should also focus on maintaining internal peace and harmony, while uniting the nation as whole to stand against terrorism irrespective of gender or religion.
(The writer is a practising advocate)