By FARZEEN NADEEM
Before the smoke cleared in Pahalgam, before a single investigator stepped onto the scene, and while the wounded were still being rushed to hospitals— India had already decided who was guilty.
Official Indian accounts started accusing Pakistan of being responsible for the devastating attack in Pahalgam on April 22, just minutes after it occurred. No forensic experts. There are no intelligence briefings. Nothing from satellites. The story was instantly corrected with just a tweet. It poses a risky query: Is timing or truth at play here?
We need to go back decades, not days or months, to see why the finger-pointing is both lazy and deceptive.
The freedom movement in Kashmir is not a recent development. The ISI wasn’t the beginning. There was no “cross-border infiltration” to begin with. This conflict began in the 1990s when Indian troops suppressed peaceful demonstrations in Kashmir, setting off a chain reaction of uprising, persecution, and reprisal. Since the start of the insurgency, more than 100,000 Kashmiris have lost their lives, many at the hands of the Indian military operating under the AFSPA, an act that provides almost complete impunity.
Tragic events occurred in Pahalgam. The lives of innocent people were lost. Families were broken up. However, it is political theater and not justice to use a tragedy as a weapon to support election campaigns, disparage a neighboring nation, and stifle legitimate freedom movements. Additionally, we join the propaganda if we don’t challenge the immediate blame-game, ask the right questions, or look for patterns
All forms of dissent are branded as terrorist. Pakistan is held responsible for every explosion. Every rebellion loses its historical foundation and is reframed as an act of foreign control. History, however, remembers. Furthermore, one press conference won’t change the course of history.
According to India, Pahalgam is heavily guarded. The Indian government had actually positioned more than 7,000 army personnel in and around the region prior to the attack. Seven thousand boots on the ground— let that sink in. Still, a well-planned attack took place at a popular tourist destination that is frequently patrolled. This is either a serious intelligence failure or, worse, a purposeful breach to set up a story.How can a country assert its military might while not protecting one of its most closely watched areas? If no one looked the other way, how can such an attack be successful?
In India, tragedy has previously been used as a political tool. Let’s go back to 2019. Forty Indian soldiers are killed in the Pulwama attack. India launches the Balakot airstrike inside Pakistan in a matter of days. A fever pitch of nationalist fervour is reached. The outcome? Modi secures a resounding majority in the general elections.
This cycle is not a coincidence. It is a playbook. And it’s effective. A national security crisis inevitably arises whenever Modi’s hold is loosened, be it due to economic failure, unemployment, rising inflation, or farmer protests. The bad guys? Pakistan and Muslims are always the same. It isn’t a coincidence anymore. There is a political trend.
Manipur was on fire a few days prior to the Pahalgam attack.Thousands were displaced, hundreds were injured, and more than 200 people died as a result of ethnic clashes. Homes were set on fire. They raped women. There were orphaned children. The country demanded leadership. Where was Prime Minister Modi? Speaking about democracy in the USA.
He didn’t shorten his journey. He didn’t speak to the country. He didn’t go to Manipur. However, he flew back when something occurred in Kashmir.What does that indicate? It indicates that Kashmir has greater stage value. It has nothing to do with lives lost. It has to do with political mileage.
Pakistan is the ideal antagonist for India. This narrative is already being prepared for acceptance by the global media. A narrative in which India is the victim and Pakistan is the constant aggressor has been constructed through decades of public relations, Bollywood propaganda, and Western alliances. The issue is that there isn’t any proof. No communications were intercepted. No evidence of cross-border travel. No fact-based assertion of responsibility.
Despite this, India has continued to escalate tensions, even threatening to renounce the historic 1960 Indus Waters Treaty, which called for the two countries to share river water. This is environmental warfare, not merely aggression. India is not looking for peace. Pakistan is being tried in the court of public opinion without a trial, which is engineering outrage.
India’s double standard in its foreign policy toward Pakistan is what makes its response not only out of proportion but also hypocritical. Pakistan has consistently provided verifiable proof of India’s involvement in destabilizing activities over the past ten years, including financing terror cells in Balochistan, supporting organizations like the BLA, and even the well-publicized capture of Kulbhushan Jadhav, an active Indian naval officer who is now a RAW agent operating inside Pakistan.
Nevertheless, in spite of this overwhelming body of evidence, Pakistan has never unilaterally withdrawn from important agreements like the Indus Waters Treaty or expelled Indian diplomats without following the proper procedures. It hasn’t always obstructed discourse or exploited international forums to spread hatred or jingoism. In order to resolve the Kashmir dispute and promote regional peace, Pakistan has continuously advocated for bilateral communication, mutual accountability, and international mediation.
Pakistan’s commitment to diplomacy and stability is demonstrated by this restraint, even in the face of undeniable provocation. This stands in sharp contrast to India’s rash accusations and blame-shifting strategies.
Additionally, Kashmiris suffer as Modi’s BJP uses violence to consolidate power.Curfews have been reinstated. There are internet blackouts. Raids by the army get more intense. Meanwhile, India controls the lens through which the rest of the world observes.The Line of Control is not the end of the consequences. They have an impact on regional stability, trade, and diplomacy. The entire world is at risk of being burned when nuclear neighbors play with fire.
Tragic events occurred in Pahalgam. The lives of innocent people were lost. Families were broken up. However, it is political theater and not justice to use a tragedy as a weapon to support election campaigns, disparage a neighboring nation, and stifle legitimate freedom movements. Additionally, we join the propaganda if we don’t challenge the immediate blame-game, ask the right questions, or look for patterns.
Because “Who attacked in Pahalgam?” is ultimately not the true question.”Who benefited from the blood?” is the actual query.
