Monthly Archives: August 2018

Minister of Jal Shakti CR Paatil to chair the meeting

Aditi Tandon Tribune News Service

A day after India announced suspension of the Indus Water Treaty 1960 in retaliation of the April 22 Pakistan-sponsored terror attack in Pahalgam, the government has called a key meeting this evening to assess challenges in the implementation of this major decision.

The move means halting the flow of waters from the Indus river and its three western tributaries—Indus, Jhelum and Chenab—allocated to Pakistan under the Treaty, while India has full rights over three eastern rivers— the Ravi, Beas and Sutlej.

Minister of Jal Shakti CR Paatil will chair the key meeting to decide how to halt the flow of water from western rivers to Pakistan. Data show 80% of Pakistan’s irrigation needs for agriculture are met through the three western rivers. In economic terms, these waters contribute 21% of the Pakistan GDP and support nearly 45% of its workforce.

Government estimates suggest the suspension of the Treaty could mean blocking the flow of western rivers which make up more than 80% (117 billion cubic metre) of the entire flow of the Indus basin.

But this may not be as easy as it looks.

Experts say there are two ways of halting this water—either storing it or diverting the flow of the rivers, both being challenging.

An ORF (Observer Research Foundation) paper on the feasibility of halting the flow of western river waters to Pakistan says the volume of water these tributaries contribute—117 BCM is enough to inundate the whole of Kashmir Valley to a height of seven metres every year.

”In reservoir volume terms every year we will need 30 storages the size of Tehri to store this entire volume of 117 BCM. For that we will need large land masses for storage and these may not be easy to find,” the assessment says.

On river diversion the ORF paper notes that diverting the flow of just one of the three rivers would involve construction of a man-made river over hundreds of kilometres and would pose enormous challenges in design, construction and maintenance.

”Any such proposal would require investment of lakhs of crores of rupees, acquisition of thousands of hectares of land and would take decades to complete. In either the storage or the diversion proposal, Pakistan will not feel any impact of either for at least next 30 to 50 years. Needles to mention, the environmental impact of either of the above two options would be catastrophic,” it adds.

The 4 pm meeting today will assess these challenges and devise the way forward to implement the suspension of the Indus Water Treaty on the ground.

Clad in brown clothes, faces covered, equipped with GoPro cameras mounted on their heads, the terrorists descended on the picturesque meadow of Baisaran and changed it into a blood-soaked site

“You have created terror here,” a terrorist shouted before continuing to indiscriminately fire at tourists in Jammu and Kashmir’s Baisaran, ignoring pleas to spare their lives, survivors of the massacre recounted at Dombivli near Mumbai on Thursday after returning home.

Three cousins — Sanjay Lele (50), Hemant Joshi (45) and Atul Mone (43) — hailing from Dombivli in Thane district, were among the 26 persons, mostly tourists, killed in the ghastly terror attack at Pahalgam on April 22.

Relatives of the deceased narrated how what began as an idyllic day turned out to be the worst day of their life as terrorists — clad in brown clothes, faces covered, equipped with GoPro cameras mounted on their heads — descended on the picturesque meadow of Baisaran and changed it into a blood-soaked site.”There were at least four of them,” said Harshal Lele, whose father Sanjay and two uncles were killed in the attack.

“I saw two, but from their movements and the sound of footsteps, I could tell there were more. They had beards and wore brown clothes, though I cannot say whether it was a uniform,” he told the media.

Harshal Lele, who travelled with his family to Pahalgam on April 22, recalled the moment his life changed. “My hand was on my father’s head when I suddenly felt something wet. I looked, and it was blood as he had been shot,” he recounted with trembling voice.

The attack unfolded suddenly. “We first thought the firing sound was like a bulb fuse bursting. Then the sound came closer. Locals alerted us, but it was already too late,” he said.

Anushka Mone, wife of the deceased Atul Mone, shared how her husband was murdered while trying to reason with the attackers. “We reached Baisaran Valley around 1-1.30 pm. It was a bright, beautiful day. Suddenly we heard gunfire, but thought it was some adventure activity nearby,” she said.

The gunmen demanded to know who among the group were Hindus or Muslims. “They asked us three to four times. No one answered. My husband stepped forward and said, ‘Why are you shooting us? We have done nothing.’ They shot him,” Anushka Mone said.

She recalled the moment her another relative raised his hand when asked again who among them was Hindu. “They executed him right there,” she said.

“These were tourists, families. What terror had we spread?” she stated while narrating the words of terrorists who told her “you have created terror here” before firing another round into the terrified crowd.

Harshal Lele described how his uncle, Atul Mone, was asked to separate from his wife and relatives. “He refused. He hugged them tightly, and they shot him in the abdomen,” he said.

His other uncle, Hemant Joshi, tried to plead with the attackers. “He said, ‘We have done nothing, let us go,’ and they shot him for that,” Harshal Lele said. He witnessed his father being shot in the head after trying to speak to one of the attackers.

In the chaos that followed, the survivors were guided out by locals and horse service providers. “There was no security at the site. The area was wide open, with more than a hundred tourists maybe even more, we could not see the full area,” Harshal Lele added.

“I carried my mother on my back before we got help from a pony ride operator who offered us to take her down on his horse. We walked for four hours through the mud and hills,” he said.

“My mother had a partially paralysed leg. We reached the hospital at around 6 pm. The firing happened at 2.30. By 7 pm, they told me three people from my family had died,” Harshal Lele stated.

The Lele family took shelter at the home of a family friend who is an IPS officer. Harshal Lele was called for body identification the next morning and later taken to meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.

Responding to a question on expectations of the family, he said, “The terrorists can be anywhere. Do not spare them. Give shoot at sight orders. I don’t know what else to say.” Families of the victims are now demanding accountability and justice.

“The government must act. We were ordinary tourists. We went to see nature, not to become victims of terrorism,” said Anushka Mone.

The family broke down before the media as they narrated the harrowing sequence of events that turned a dream vacation into a blood-soaked nightmare.

Anushka Mone recalled how Hemant Joshi, confused and unaware of the threat, asked the terrorists what they were doing. “They shot him in the head before he could finish his sentence,” she said.

Her daughter Richa Mone, a Class XII student, who was also at the spot, added, “They asked about Sanjay uncle. I was right behind him when they shot him dead.” She recounted how her uncle — Anushka’s Mone’s brother — was spared possibly only because his wife wore green bangles, which the terrorists may have mistakenly associated with Muslim identity.

“There was no chance to run. If we had, they would have fired more bullets and killed more people. So we ducked and sat silently,” she said.

Survivors described a night of fear and confusion. “We were escorted down by military and police personnel after hours. There were choppers, but too few. There should have been better security at such a major tourist spot. On the upper hills, there was nothing,” said Richa Mone.

“We sat at the Pahalgam base till 9.30 pm. Many others were in worse conditions. It was complete chaos,” Anushka Mone recounted

Meanwhile, a search operation to track down a group of three terrorists is ongoing in the Basantgarh belt

The Army, CRPF, BSF, and Jammu and Kashmir Police on Friday paid tributes to paratrooper Jhantu Ali Sheikh, who laid down his life while fighting terrorists in Udhampur district.

Havaldar Sheikh, a trooper of the special forces (6 Para), was killed on Thursday in the encounter that broke out following a search operation in the Dudu-Basantgarh area of the district.

A wreath-laying ceremony for the soldier was held at the 166 Military Hospital in Jammu. Later, his body was dispatched to his native place—Pathar Ghata village in Nadia district, West Bengal, for burial, officials said.

Senior Army, police, Central Reserve Police Force, and Border Security Force officials, led by the Chief of Staff of the White Knight Corps, Major General Shailender Singh, laid wreaths on the body of the trooper and saluted his sacrifice.

Meanwhile, a search operation to track down a group of three terrorists is ongoing in the Basantgarh belt of the district by security forces, they said.

Pahalgam attack is deadliest in Valley since Pulwama attack in 2019, where 40 security personnel were killed

A first photo of a suspected terrorist has surfaced within hours after the deadly Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people were killed.

In a screengrab taken from one of the videos from the site, a man, suspected to be a terrorist, can be seen wearing a kurta and carrying an assault rifle. He is believed to be one of the terrorists involved in the Pahalgam terror attack.

Terrorists opened fire at a popular tourist spot near Kashmir’s Pahalgam town on Tuesday afternoon, killing 26 people, mostly vacationers from other states.

This attack is the deadliest in the Valley since the Pulwama attack in 2019, where 40 security personnel were killed.

Top court was hearing plea of Jayashree, who had raised her stepson Harsha after his biological mother passed away

The Supreme Court has said it will examine whether a stepmother can be considered for family pension under the Indian Air Force rules, saying “mother is a very wide term”.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh questioned the Indian Air Force’s (IAF) decision to deny family pension to a woman, who raised her stepson since the age of six and said the regulations are not constitutional mandates.

“’Mother’ is a very wide term,” the bench said, adding that nowadays, with so many things happening in the world, it is not the biological mother alone who raises the child.

Justice Surya Kant told the counsel for the air force, “Take, for example, if a baby is born and the biological mother passes away and the father marries again… The stepmother, right from the time when the child requires breastfeeding, brings him up, and then he becomes an army officer, air force and navy. If she has really looked after that child, is she not his mother?” The counsel tried to justify the decision of the IAF, saying there are numerous judgments which rule out a stepmother from family pension.

“There are judgments of this court interpreting the word stepmother. There is a well-established criterion under the regulations as to who is eligible for family pension,” the counsel for the air force said.

“Regulations are something which you have decided. Regulations are not something constitutional mandates… We are questioning the logic behind these regulations. How and on what basis can you deprive technically a stepmother of a special pension or family pension,” Justice Surya Kant said.

Failing to get an appropriate response from lawyers both for the petitioner as well as the air force, the bench said it appears both the advocates are not prepared and asked them to go through the judgments of the court as well as high court on the subject.

“There are two judgments of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, including one related to civil services rules, which has dealt with the issue of stepmother and pension. You go through these judgments and come prepared on the next date of hearing,” Justice Surya Kant told the lawyers and posted the matter for hearing on August 7.

The top court was hearing a plea of Jayashree, who had raised her stepson Harsha after his biological mother passed away.

She has challenged the December 10, 2021 decision of the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) denying her family pension after her stepson, who was in the air force, passed away.

On July 19 last year, the top court agreed to hear the plea and issued notice to the Centre and the Air Force.

The bench said, “The question that falls for consideration in this case is whether a stepmother is entitled to special pension and ordinary family pension as per the Army regulations.” The AFT, in its decision of December 10, 2021, upheld the IAF’s decision denying special family pension to the stepmother on the ground that it can only be given to the biological mother.

Was determined to serve country, don uniform, says father

Parveen Arora Tribune News Service

A day after the cremation of Navy officer Lt Vinay Narwal, who was killed in a terror attack at Pahalgam in Kashmir on Tuesday, his family opened up about his aspirations and courage, as well as the pain caused by misleading videos on social media related to Narwal and his wife Himanshi.

Amid the tragedy, the family’s strength stands as a testament to the spirit of those who send their sons and daughters to serve the nation.

Responding to a viral video claiming that Narwal and Himanshi were dancing at Pahalgam, minutes before the attack, his sister, Srishti, clarified that it was not their video.

“Please confirm such things with the family before posting or airing them. Vinay was everything to me, and will remain so. I request everyone not to circulate false information,” she said.

She also appealed to people to give her brother honour, saying that, “It is my humble request and wish that my brother should be given the highest honour he truly deserves.”

His father, Rajesh Narwal, spoke about his son’s ambitions, recalling how he had dreamed of serving the nation since childhood. “Vinay was a brilliant student, a dashing officer, and a gem of a son. Even though he completed engineering, he refused to take up a private job. He was determined to wear the uniform, and he did,” he said.

Vinay initially aspired to become a fighter pilot, but his height became a hurdle. “He tried twice to become a fighter pilot, but could not qualify due to the height requirement. He did not give up and chose the Navy and cleared it in his first attempt,” he said with pride, and pain.

Fighting his emotions, Rajesh said, “The government is doing its job, and I believe they will continue to do what is necessary. This is a national tragedy, and the entire country is standing with us. Only those who suffer such a loss truly understand the pain.”

He acknowledged the swift response of the Jammu and Kashmir administration when he reached Pahalgam to bring his son’s mortal remains. “Everyone, from local officials to Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, acted promptly. The PM even cut short his foreign visit. The government is handling everything with gravity.”

Refraining from commenting on Pakistan or any possible retaliation, he said, “That is a matter for my country and my government. I have full faith that they will do what is right.”

Reflecting on how quickly the situation changed from celebration to mourning, he said, “Time is powerful. Just two days ago, the tent from the celebrations had not even been fully removed, and now this deep sorrow has fallen upon us. This grief is not mine alone—the entire nation stands with me. But for me and my family, this is an irreparable loss. Only God can give us the strength to endure it.

It is not clear how seriously the Indian security establishment took ChaudHaryana’s media briefing, but great attention has been paid in India to Pakistan army chief Gen Asim Munir’s statement to the overseas Pakistanis on April 16.

Vivek Katju

The nation has been deeply angered and outraged by the dastardly terrorist attack on innocent tourists at Baisaran, Pahalgam, on April 22, which claimed at least 26 innocent lives of tourists belonging to different parts of India. It has been condemned by the country’s entire political class, though some opposition parties are also seeking that responsibility be fixed on those concerned with the maintenance of security in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The international community has also denounced the attack and leaders of important countries have said that they stand with India in its fight against terrorism.

However, such support notwithstanding and behind-the-scene appeals that will inevitably be made to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to exercise restraint, the fact is that this attack presents the Modi government with a very grave security and public relations challenge. Unlike Pulwama or Galwan, where defence personnel died, at Baisaran, the terrorists mercilessly targeted specific civilians.

It would, therefore, be no exaggeration to state that the nation’s eyes will be on Modi. It will expect that he will give a full and befitting response to the perpetrators of Baisaran and those who aided and sponsored them, especially after the claims of normalcy having returned to J&K after 2019.

The attack has been claimed to have been undertaken by the Resistance Front, which is believed to be affiliated with the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). Those who have had long experience in studying Pakistani terrorism against India would instinctively know that an attack of this nature can never be undertaken without the specific orders of the Pakistani generals.

Hence, the first assessment has to be the reason which led the Pakistani generals to order the attack. They have been unhappy at the progress in India’s relations with the Afghan Taliban, though that has largely been under the radar. They also hold India responsible for assisting the Tehreek-e-Taliban-e-Pakistan and the Baloch Resistance Groups. All this fed into their intense anger with India for the Baloch Liberation Army’s attack on the Jaffar Express on March 11. The Pakistan army held India directly responsible for that attack. Pakistan’s political authorities and its Foreign Ministry were more circumspect.

After studying all aspects of what had transpired in Pakistan after the Jaffar Express attack, this writer wrote an article in Firstpost, on March 21. Its concluding paragraphs are relevant to the Baisaran attack and are quoted below:

“Soon after the BLA attack, the Pakistani army said that, with it, the ‘rules of the game had changed’. Chaudhry (Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, Director-General, Inter-Services Public Relations) was asked to clarify these words in the press conference. It is now that he said words that Indian analysts and policymakers should pay close attention to. He said that BLA and (terrorist groups) would be dealt with the way they ‘deserve’ and the same would apply to their facilitators and abettors whether inside or outside Pakistan.

“The Pakistani army follows the tradition of ‘badal‘ (badal in Pashto means revenge) for perceived grievances. It has done so against India even though, in the process, it has beggared the country. It knows no way other than that of confrontation. This is part of its ethos and each army chief has to show that he is up to giving a ‘fitting’ response, especially to an attack on the institution he leads, perceives or rather misperceives has come from India. As such, it is possible that the Pakistan army will attempt to sponsor a terrorist event in India within the foreseeable future,” I wrote.

In the wake of the Baisaran attack, it is clear that Indian policy-makers must respond decisively. They should make it clear to all the major powers, especially those with influence over Pakistan, that public sentiment in India — including in Jammu & Kashmir, which has witnessed unprecedented anger against the attack — will demand an appropriate retaliation to the massacre of innocent civilians in Pahalgam. Moreover, India should have no hesitation in stating that the dangers associated with escalation will not be India’s responsibility.

Second, these powers should be clearly told that they cannot interfere any more in attempting to resolve the long-standing differences between the two countries; and they should, indeed, let this be known to Pakistan as well.

It is not clear how seriously the Indian security establishment took ChaudHaryana’s media briefing at the time, but great attention has been paid in India to Pakistan army chief Gen Asim Munir’s statement to the overseas Pakistanis on April 16.

Referring to the ‘two-nation theory’ which is Pakistan’s ideological frontier which its army is sworn to defend, Munir said explicitly what the army and most Pakistanis believe privately but do not articulate publicly: Hindus and Muslims constitute two irreconcilable nations. He expressed his ire against the Balochi terrorists but asserted that they could not impair Pakistan’s unity.

Munir’s comment that J&K is Pakistan’s ‘jugular vein’ is also old hat. Munir’s animus against India may have been illustrated in this address, but for seeking a reason for the present terrorist attack, it is essential to go back to ChaudHaryana’s fulminations.

In charting a course for a response to the Baisaran attack, Modi will be acutely aware that for the Indian public, the mowing down of innocent civilians hailing from all corners of the country falls in the category of ‘unacceptable’. The attacks in Uri and Pulwama, in contrast, were against Indian soldiers. This time around in Pahalgam, the Pakistani terrorists crossed a line.

It follows that a response to such an attack, must necessarily be kinetic. Obviously, it cannot be knee-jerk or even immediate, but it must satisfy Indian public opinion.

It is inevitable that the great powers will be drawn in to defuse India-Pakistan tensions. The Pakistani generals will urge that the involvement of these powers is needed to go into the root causes of bilateral problems, ie J&K. They may seek to invoke the UNSC or Donald Trump, but India should clearly state that India-Pakistan issues have to be dealt with bilaterally.

Late this evening, the first blow has been struck via the diplomatic route — the 1960 Indus Waters treaty, which has survived two wars, will be immediately suspended, and the already small strength of the diplomatic missions in both countries will be halved.

The country knows that this is only the first step, a warning to Pakistan as well as the world that India means business.

The next few weeks are going to be tension-filled for the country and the leadership will have to think strategically. The India-Pakistan relationship is at a crossroads. Pahalgam is a clear marker.

Vivek Katju is former Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs.

Pahalgam attack marks a calculated escalation in the ongoing proxy war

Lt Gen Dushyant Singh retd

The shocking massacre in Pahalgam that claimed 26 lives — including visitors from the UAE and Nepal — is not merely another tragic incident; it marks a calculated escalation in Pakistan’s ongoing proxy war against India, explicitly incited by that nation’s military leadership.

Executed by four heavily armed terrorists, including three operatives identified as Pakistani nationals, the assault was meticulously orchestrated to maximise casualties and attract global attention. The attackers employed advanced weaponry such as M4 carbines and AK-47 rifles, chillingly segregating victims on the basis of religious identity. Disturbingly, they documented their brutality using helmet-mounted body cameras, emphasising their intent to amplify terror and spread propaganda globally.

This attack notably follows provocative statements by Pakistan Army Chief Gen Asim Munir. Addressing a gathering at the Overseas Pakistanis Convention last week, Gen Munir reiterated Pakistan’s claim over Kashmir, invoking Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s controversial two-nation theory. His inflammatory rhetoric, explicitly designed to fuel religious animosity and incite extremist elements, served as a dog whistle, directly contributing to the heinous violence witnessed in Pahalgam.

Pakistan’s swift denial, delivered by Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, labelling the attack as merely “local resistance,” starkly contrasts with intelligence data meticulously gathered by Indian security agencies. The incontrovertible evidence identifies the attackers as members of The Resistance Front (TRF), a terrorist outfit established in 2019 by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). TRF was created to evade international scrutiny, particularly from bodies like the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), by masquerading as a secular, indigenous resistance group in contrast to overt religious groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).

Such strategic rebranding is not unprecedented. Throughout my tenure commanding critical counter-terror operations in Kashmir, I have witnessed Pakistan’s consistent deployment of proxy organisations to escape international accountability. From the LeT’s involvement in the 2008 Mumbai attacks to Jaish-e-Mohammad’s devastating strike in Pulwama, Pakistan repeatedly leverages terror groups to destabilise Jammu and Kashmir, aiming to internationalise the conflict and distract from its domestic crises. The 2016 terror attack on the Pathankot airbase, for instance, revealed how these groups, prepared and trained by the ISI and the Pakistan Army, operated and conducted their operations. There is nothing grey about Pak-sponsored attacks — it is all dark black.

Operating under direct command from ISI handlers in Rawalpindi and Muzaffarabad, TRF’s operational structure demonstrates the sophistication and extensive resources of Pakistan’s intelligence apparatus. TRF militants undergo rigorous training in guerrilla warfare, evasion tactics and psychological operations. The use of helmet-mounted cameras during the Pahalgam massacre exposes ISI’s calculated strategy to magnify psychological terror and propagate their extremist narrative digitally.

However, the attack has severely undermined Pakistan’s false narrative of indigenous resistance. Kashmiris across religious and social lines unitedly condemned this savage act. Spontaneous protests, candlelight vigils and unequivocal denunciations from loudspeakers at mosques in Doda and neighbouring areas clearly indicate widespread rejection of Pakistan’s claims. This local outcry unequivocally demonstrates that genuine resistance movements neither involve foreign militants nor target innocent civilians.

Strategically, Pakistan continues supporting terror proxies like TRF to maintain pressure on India in Kashmir, internationalise the issue and divert attention from internal turmoil, including economic collapse and insurgencies in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Gen Munir’s incendiary remarks further bolster this dangerous strategy, exacerbating regional instability and deepening Pakistan’s international isolation.

The global community, increasingly alert to Islamabad’s deceit, must urgently confront the tangible threat posed by Pakistan’s unabated state-sponsored terrorism. India’s diplomatic strategy should be assertive and multifaceted. On the international stage, India must present comprehensive evidence at forums like the FATF and the UN Security Council, directly implicating Pakistan’s ISI and military leadership, notably Gen Munir, in orchestrating and financing terror operations, thereby pushing for stringent sanctions and renewed FATF oversight.

Moreover, strengthening intelligence-sharing partnerships with strategic allies, including the US, UAE, Israel and the European Union, is imperative. Implementing technologically advanced surveillance systems, AI-driven monitoring, drone interception and fortified border security measures will significantly disrupt infiltration routes and weapon-smuggling networks.

Economically, India and its strategic partners should intensify efforts to isolate Pakistan. Rerouting regional commerce through alternative trade routes, such as Iran’s Chabahar port, reduces Pakistan’s geopolitical leverage. Concurrently, aggressive countermeasures against narcotics trafficking networks funding Pakistan’s terror infrastructure will severely constrain their operational capabilities.

Unchecked, Pakistan’s terror proxies threaten regional and global stability, risking broader conflicts and empowering extremist forces throughout South Asia, including Afghanistan. The Pahalgam tragedy serves as an urgent clarion call. Collective resolve and decisive international actions are critical to dismantling this cycle of terror. The stakes — for regional stability and global security — have never been higher. In sum, the response this time round has to be multi-domain and decisive to comprehensively discredit the Pakistan Army that runs the country by proxy under Gen Munir.

Lt Gen Dushyant Singh (retd) is Director General, Centre for Land Warfare Studies.

The decision to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty the first time in 65 years should convey India’s serious concern to the international community.

Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain Retd

As condemnation of the dastardly Pahalgam terrorist attack pours in from home and abroad, it is increasingly clear that the target of the planners in Pakistan was to revive the relevance of Pakistan in J&K, which has been progressively lost since the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019.

Pahalgam was not just another tragic incident — it marked a strategic pivot in the terror calculus across Jammu and Kashmir.

The move from the south of Pir Panjal back to the heart of the Kashmir Valley raises serious questions about the motives behind this renewed aggression and how India must respond. This needs a full explanation and analysis.

Fortunately, the early return of the Prime Minister from Saudi Arabia and the convening of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) with its clear and perceptive message has set the ball rolling as far as the response is concerned; and to respond we have to, it’s a national need.

Based upon the emerging normalcy in Kashmir since 2019, made possible by control on terrorist infiltration, neutralisation of fresh recruitment, paralysis of overground worker networks and dismantling of financial conduits, it has become increasingly more difficult for Pakistan to conduct effective sponsored terrorist strikes in the Valley. These were reduced to the targeting of some migrant labourers, off-duty police personnel or Territorial Army personnel, with an aim of making news to remain relevant.

With some probing in the Pir Panjal South (Poonch-Rajouri-Jammu belt), Pakistan discovered the voids in security forces’ deployment due to the vacation of some areas by the army for the deployment of troops in Ladakh. That is how, in 2023-24, the focus of operations suddenly shifted to this area, with a series of terror strikes by well-trained and suspected regular elements of the Pakistan army mixed with terrorists.

The strike on the bus carrying pilgrims to the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine on May 9, 2024 and the Machedi attack on the 22 Garhwal convoy on July 9, 2024 indicated the shift to the Reasi and Jammu sector. Of late, the focus of operations had shifted to Kathua to keep the proverbial relevance active.

The terror strike at Pahalgam was probably planned, considering the sudden rush of tourists to the Valley and the availability of the well-trained and experienced terrorist group in the Pir Panjal area. No infiltration of special terrorists was needed; all it required was the movement of this group through the transit routes available in the Warwan Valley to reach Kishtwar North.

One cannot be sure whether this was timed with General Asim Munir’s disgraceful speech to the Pakistani diaspora, but the visit of US Vice-President JD Vance, which too came at short notice, was almost god-sent for the Pakistani deep state. In proxy terror operations by a nation, it always looks for such moments which can disturb the good times in the target nation. It’s also an opportunity to use the headlines of that visit alongside the headlines of a big terror attack to message the world on the capability to disrupt and remain relevant to the area that is being targeted.

The Kashmir Valley’s symbolism and strategic optics hold greater international visibility and emotional resonance for Pakistan than any other location. Attacks in iconic locations like Pahalgam grab more media traction — domestic and international. Tourism in Kashmir was showing record growth — a peaceful Valley undercuts Pakistan’s propaganda. Attacks aim to instill fear and reverse economic momentum. To any common understanding, the dilution of economic parameters in Kashmir should be negatively viewed by the Kashmiri population; and it does happen that way.

However, it has always been Pakistan’s mistaken belief that the people of Kashmir will tolerate all this for the love of Islam and the affinity with Pakistan. From 1948 to 1989, in every conflict, Pakistan’s strategy alluded to this belief. In fact, in 1965, during Operation Gibraltar, the concept was an eventual uprising by the Kashmiri population in support of the ‘Razakars‘ who had been infiltrated. It never happened. A miniscule minority, further dwindling, may have supported the separatist cause and remained misled for some years after 1989, but it is all coming back to a fondness for India, with Pakistan an anathema.

There is a public demand for retribution for the blood of innocent Indians. There are three things that are important for us as a nation.

First, we cannot allow ourselves to be impacted by Pakistan’s proxy actions which intended targeting normalcy and unity of India. The aim and intent of this act has been crystal clear. Hence, unity among all segments of India must remain unaffected and special efforts towards that are a must.

Second, the security forces must endeavour to restore the faith of the nation in their ability to secure J&K, just like they have all these years. We cannot allow the Amarnath yatra to get affected by the inherent fear that may have been planted in the hearts of prospective yatris.

Third, and very important, is the fact that the CCS met immediately after the Prime Minister’s return and took stock. The decisions taken are absolutely in line with anyone who has an idea of conflict management. There is nothing even remotely knee-jerk in the decisions.

The decision to suspend or hold in abeyance the Indus Waters Treaty the first time in 65 years should convey India’s serious concern to the international community. The effect may yet take time, but Pakistan, a water-challenged country, cannot afford to have its waters cut off.

The other measures, such as the reduction of High Commission staff and recall of defence attaches are classic diplomatic measures. The revocation of any travel at all through the Attari border will affect the common man no doubt, but at times, the population too must be pressured to put reverse pressure on its government.

The most important aspect of the decisions of the CCS is the elongated window of opportunity which has been created. That should help keep the Pakistani state on tenterhooks. Already, some reserve formations would have been deployed from Mangla. Let them remain mobilised forever, awaiting the inevitable hard response, which will come sooner than later.

Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd) is former GOC Kashmir based  15 Corps & Chancellor, Central University of Kashmir.

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