Opinion | Pahalgam Massacre: How Pahalgam’s Tragedy Calls for India’s Strategic Overhaul

Pahalgam, a Kashmir Valley gem more commonly referred to as the “Mini Switzerland” due to its stunning Baisaran meadows, is usually synonymous with tranquillity, natural splendour, and thriving tourism. But on a fateful day, its idyllic landscape was ruptured by a heinous act of terrorism that took the lives of 26 innocent civilians, causing shock waves not just across Jammu and Kashmir, but throughout the country.

The attack was not an opportunistic strike. It was a deliberate, vicious attack one orchestrated not just by terrorist elements but, unequivocally, by their backers on the other side of the border. The hand of Pakistan’s military-intelligence establishment, particularly GHQ Rawalpindi, is evident in this massacre. The selection of Pahalgam, a high-profile resort town, was not accidental. It was calculated well designed to hit where it would hurt India’s psyche the hardest: its unity, its economy, and its secular ethos.
In a dark irony, Pakistan’s recent posturing had set the stage. From implicit understandings between Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed, and international jihadist groups like Hamas, to inflammatory rhetoric from the military leadership and officials in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, Islamabad’s objective was evident. The objective was to destabilize a region that is, for the first time in decades, moving towards peace, prosperity, and real integration with the Indian Union.
But if Pakistan was pinning its hopes on breaking the social fabric of Kashmir or stoking separatism, it has calculated wrongly. The Kashmiri response was one of thunderous unanimity and unexpectedness. For the first time in history, people of all sections of society politicians, clerics, businessmen, youth, and elders united in denouncing the massacres. There were spontaneous demonstrations throughout the valley, but they were not in protest against India like it used to be before August 5th, only in condemnation of cross-border terror.
This is the new Kashmir. One in which gallant sons such as Aadil Hussain Shah of Hapatnad Pahalgam, sacrificed their lives to save tourists. One in which villagers threw open their doors, provided refuge, food, and comfort to stranded travellers. One where survivor videos hugging Kashmiri rescuers went viral not as propaganda, but as evidence of a new reality: Kashmiris are not the accomplices of terror; they are victims and, increasingly, its strongest resisters.
The attack has a chilling similarity to the recent one in Ganderbal, where two terrorists fired at a construction site, killing seven, including a doctor and six workers. These attacks are not random. They are a part of a larger, sinister plan to derail development and instil fear in an area that has slowly begun to believe in normalcy.
Pakistan’s persistent denials of involvement are both predictable and implausible. Entities like The Resistance Front (TRF), touted as “indigenous” groups, are well-known surrogates for Lashkar-e-Taiba simply repackaged instruments in an old playbook of cross-border violence.

What Lies Ahead?
Indians overseas are encouraged to register their protest against the recent terror attack in front of embassies. It is important for global organizations and international media to bring attention to these demonstrations, helping to hold the responsible parties accountable and urging the international community to take notice, ensuring such actions do not go unnoticed or unchallenged.
India’s response must be multipronged firm on the ground, focused diplomatically, and emotionally intelligent at home. Even as security agencies are already stepping up operations to neutralize terror networks, the civilian response will be just as pivotal. Local support for overground workers (OGWs) needs to be dismantled brick by brick. Foreign terrorists cannot carry on operations if they do not have these enablers.
There is cause for guarded optimism. Recruitment into terror outfits in Jammu and Kashmir has fallen to a mere 6% an all-time low. It’s a reflection of the valley’s changing mood. Kashmiris are opting for books over bullets, ballots over calls for boycott, and economic development over ideological extremism.
Travelers visiting the valley today are discovering kindness, not chaos. Locals are welcoming them with open arms even after the bloodshed. This is the Kashmir that Pakistan would not like the rest of the world to see a Kashmir standing alongside India, not against.
Students from the Union Territory pursuing studies all over India need to be shielded from backlash. They are as Indian as anyone else and are part of the country’s agony. The real essence of national unity is compassion, not suspicion. The unity among Kashmir with the rest of the country will further weaken the nefarious design of Pakistan.
Let there be no ambiguity, India will take revenge for the Pahalgam massacre, not only through military action, but by strengthening what terrorists abhor most: peace, harmony, and an unshakeable democratic ethos. Kashmir is not Pakistan’s playground. It is, and will remain forever, India’s pride.

Advocate Sajid Yousuf Shah is a Writer based in Srinagar Jammu and Kashmir, He writes on X as @TheSkandar and can be reached at sajidyousufshah@gmail.com