Valley of Tears: Why Pahalgam Was Targeted and What Comes Next
It is clear that the Modi government will give a loud and clear response. The Prime Minister spoke, even before rushing back from Saudi Arabia, saying, “Our resolve to fight terrorism is unshakeable…”. Home Minister Amit Shah, who rushed to Kashmir too, has made the government’s intent clear. “Bharat does not bend to terror,” he said.
What shape will the response take? How will the government punish the “attackers and their masters,” as Defence Minister Rajnath Singh proclaimed?
As a first step, the government announced, after a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security, that it was putting the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyanace, closing down the Attari border and asking all Pakistanis currently in India under the SAARC visa scheme, to leave within 48 hours. But will the government stop here or will there be a military response?
I spoke to two crucial officials who led the Uri surgical strike. Lt Gen (Retd) DS Hooda who headed the Northern Command at the time told The Quint:
Lt Gen Satish Dua, who was the Corps Commander in charge of the Chinar Corps during the Uri attack, predicted “a big response” while speaking to The Quint. He said that when he learnt of Amit Shah rushing to Srinagar, he was reminded of how the then defence minister, Manohar Parrikar, came to his office at a time when he did not want a VIP to distract him from the terror that had unfolded in Uri. Dua did not want to hazard a guess on what shape the Pahalgam response will take but said he was in no doubt that it would be “big” because what happened in the picturesque meadow was a “spectacular attack” that had been deliberately carried out to instil fear and provoke India.
Dua emphasised that the steps relating to the Indus Waters Treaty and the visa cancellations “were only a part of a diplomatic response,” adding, “of course, there will be a military response. The defence minister has said so. It will happen at the time and place of our choosing.”
As the government of India decides on how and when it will respond, it is important to remember that the only commitment between India and Pakistan, that still holds, is the ceasefire agreement along the line of control.
The locals assisted with taking the injured to the hospital, before the security forces could arrive; before helicopters were pressed into action for evacuation. An outreach to the common Kashmiri must, therefore, also be factored into. To conclude, the response must be military, in the case of Pakistan. In the case of an alienated Kashmir, it must also be political.
Postscript: Among the dead was a pony ride operator named Syed Adil Hussain Shah. He was killed trying to shield a tourist. That is Kashmiriyat and that needs to be remembered and honoured too.
(Harinder Baweja is a senior journalist and author. She has been reporting on current affairs, with a particular emphasis on conflict, for the last four decades. She can be reached at @shammybaweja on Instagram and X. This is an opinion piece, and the views expressed are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for them.)