- The Pahalgam attack on the unsuspecting tourists, resulting in the innocent killings, has prompted the usual condemnation from the global community led by the United States of America and others following suit. The Union Government, led by the Prime Minister as part of the Cabinet Committee on Security, decided to implement a slew of measures aimed at mounting pressure on Pakistan for its overt and covert support to the cross-border terrorism activity. The dastardly, heinous, and cowardly act of killing innocent tourists belonging to a particular religion smacks of efforts at fomenting trouble in the country. While the need of the hour is to exercise caution, but also necessary to initiate measures to respond suitably to send across the message loud and clear.
PC: PTC News
- The Pakistani deep state is not able to fathom the encouraging overall developments in Jammu and Kashmir ever since the abrogation of the special status in 2019, which is becoming increasingly obvious. Scores of tourists thronging the picturesque region, indicating the altered equations in the once-troubled region, must have only added to the already visible signs of unease among the Pakistani establishment. Rather than look within to quell the growing depths of economic meltdown, the Pakistani establishment chose to embrace the cowardly act of perpetrating cross-border terrorism, further reaffirming the belief that our neighbour will never learn the past lessons. Any acts of violence will not yield anything but misery and sadness.
PC: 99acres.com
- Of course, the Kashmiris have condemned terror in no uncertain terms. The onus is on the rest of India not to target Kashmiris outside J&K. The Pakistani response doesn’t amount to much, given that it has very few cards to play. The statement about keeping all bilateral agreements, including the 1972 Simla accord, in abeyance has little relevance. Pakistan has scarcely respected the accord, as Kargil or multiple ceasefire violations demonstrate. Pakistan’s army has repeatedly violated the sanctity of the LOC. So, if Islamabad is now saying there’s no recognition of an LOC anymore, it hardly makes any material difference to India. True, the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty by New Delhi has limited near-term punitive power. But we must act.
PC: Argus English
- However, suspension of the treaty can potentially be very costly for Pakistan in the long run. That’s not the case with India vis-à-vis anything Pakistan threatened. What’ll happen from here on is impossible to predict. Nonetheless, the Union Government has an urgent job at hand to address the grave situation to soothe the citizens’ frayed nerves. First and foremost, it needs to get to the bottom of the intelligence/security lapses that gave free entry and exit to Pahalgam terrorists. The only thing that can thwart Pahalgam-style attacks is cultivating an intelligence network that feeds credible information to security forces. Kashmiris condemning the attack point out how most wish for the normalization process to take deep rooted effect. Let’s wait for the Indian response.
