Pahalgam Terror Attack: Liberation of Balochistan and Sindh must top the agenda

Terrorism and insurgency in J&K had subsided when India demolished East Pakistan -- for the simple reason that Pakistan understands power.

We need to follow Chanakya's dictum of Saam, Daam, Dand, Bhed for strategising against Pakistan, asserts Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (Retd).

IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi chairs a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security in New Delhi on Wednesday, April 23, 2025. It was attended by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar and others officials. Photograph: ANI Photo

The dastardly terrorist attack in Pahalgam on April 22 was a direct signal to the Modi government living in the illusion that the situation in J&K is normalised.

The despicable accounts of Hindus being singled out, after asking them to recite the kalma, and women asked to go ask Modi to save them, are heart wrenching.

At least 26 tourists were killed and many injured by four terrorists -- two Pakistanis of TRF@LeT and two Kashminiris. The executions were ISIS-style.

The attack was obviously planned well in advance with the area kept under surveillance; perhaps since Pakistan army chief Asim Munir called J&K Pakistan's 'jugular vein' and ranted about the two-nation theory.

Does the government have a counter-terrorist strategy beyond hopping from one incident to another -- Gurdaspur, Pathankot, Uri, Pulwama (the list is endless) and now Pahalgam? More importantly, where is the spine?

Since 2014, the government has undertaken two cross-border actions against Pakistan: the 'surgical strike' in response to 19 killed in terrorist attack at Uri, and the Balakot standoff air strike after suffering 40 killed in a terrorist car bombing at Pulwama.

Both these were reactive actions. Pakistani terrorists have also inflicted multiple beheadings through BAT actions along the LoC and inside J&K.

NSA Ajit Doval has been going around announcing his New India doctrine -- that India will take the battle to where the threat originates.

Is this what we are doing?

To add to this is PM Modi's cliche, "Ghar Mein Ghus Kar Maarenge" -- which Pakistan is practising, not India.

IMAGE: Security forces patrol the site of the attack on tourists in Baisaran near Pahalgam, April 24, 2025. Photograph: Adnan Abidi/Reuters

The Pahalgam terror attack has shown the mirror to India "once again"; that there is no counter-terror policy and the government is spineless beyond hollow rhetoric to appease the public at home.

The CI grid in J&K was weakened by relocating troops to eastern Ladakh when the PLA crossed the LAC; concurrent to the mainstream media playing the script of J&K fully normalised, with the '3-Bags Full Brigade' dancing and clapping to His Master's Voice.

How can one be so damn stupid in a state bordering Pakistan and the LoC running over difficult terrain?

A three-star veteran described the recent prolonged operations in Kathua area as the last vestiges of terrorism in J&K, comparing it with Hamas.

To top this, the overall strength of the Indian Army was reduced by over one lakh and the military's manpower hollowed by stopping army recruitment for full three years and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh saying in Parliament that 158 organisations were consulted before thrusting the 'Agniveer' concept on the military; can he explain which 58 organisations were these -- Pakistani, Chinese or both combined?

We have a formidable strength of Army Special Forces whose primary role is cross-border, but the government is happy making the firefighting within J&K, instead of CPOs.

IMAGE: People pay their last respects to the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack, in Mumbai. Photograph: ANI Photo

The accent continues: global sympathies (is anyone prepared to blame Pakistan?); perpetrators will not be spared (Pakistan has an unending supply); this is an act of frustration (b******); diplomatic offensive will finish Pakistan (by itself?); PoK wants to join India; Pakistan is scared of India's military response, so on and so forth.

Interestingly, reports of the 66-vehicle convoy of Amit Shah to Pahalgam has attracted attention, as did reports of audio of families of victims being muted as soon as they began asking questions and accountability from Amit Shah. Then there is the CCS meeting -- to which no service chief or CDS was invited.

The media quotes intel sources as saying 42 terror launch pads are active in PoK and 115 Pakistani terrorists are active in J&K, although the South Asia Terrorism Portal gives a figure of 3,235 terrorists in J&K.

While fresh encounters have broken out in Kulgam and Udhampur's Dudu-Basantgarh areas, India's diplomatic response, termed "massive", mainly comprises: suspension of Indus Water Treaty; Pakistan high commission reduced to 30-strong; Pak military personnel declared persona non-grata, Attari border closed; visas cancelled; and Pakistanis asked to leave within 48 hours.

IMAGE: Indian Navy personnel carry the coffin of Lieutenant Vinay Narwal, outside his residence in Karnal, Haryana. Photograph: Bhawika Chhabra/Reuters

The Indus Water Treaty is for the waters Indus, Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas and Sutlej.

Means what?

Stopping the water flow implies diverting the waters to canals, and in the absence of canals, till the reservoirs(s) are full.

The Indus, Jhelum and Chenab rivers have no canals so the waters will continue to flow into Pakistan -- so who are we fooling?

We abandoned our embassy in Kabul despite Taliban assurances, so why is the Pakistan high commission reduced to 30 -- to protect foreign postings of our babus in Pakistan?

Why not reduce the strength to three or kick out all Pakistanis, leaving the high commission to Indian employees?

The ground truth is that unless we are prepared to acknowledge our shortcomings, including massive intelligence failures, punish those responsible and take corrective actions, we will continue in the same vein.

A military response by the government, if at all, would likely be another 'surgical strike', which has led to a veteran's wife saying, "The Baloch Liberation Army is perhaps better off than us".

A veteran close to the establishment writes, "Who is bothered -- politicians are busy drawing political mileage and the babudom is busy working out the next cash flow."

IMAGE: The mortal remains of Yatish Parmar, a victim of Pahalgam terror attack, is consigned to the flames. Photograph: Amit Dave/Reuters

Terrorism and insurgency in J&K had subsided when India demolished East Pakistan -- for the simple reason that Pakistan understands power.

We need to follow Chanakya's dictum of Saam, Daam, Dand, Bhed for strategising against Pakistan, transporting the proxy war back into PoK/Pakistan, and liberation of Balochistan and Sindh must top the agenda.

The China-Pakistan-Bangladesh anti-India nexus is expanding, and Amit Shah expressing inability to fence 450-km of the India-Bangladesh border and talking of installing electronic surveillance system along our border with Pakistan in the next three years and then instal the same along the border with Bangladesh, indicates we are not serious at all about border security.

How many more terror attacks are required for the government to wake up?

Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (retd), PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, SC is a former Special Forces officer.
He is a third generation army officer and participated in the 1971 India-Pakistan War and in Operation Bluestar.
He commanded a Special Forces Battalion in Sri Lanka, a Brigade on the Siachen Glacier, a Division in Ladakh and a Strike Corps in the South Western Theatre.