
Has the Pahalgam terror attack crossed a red line?
The calculated brutality of the terror attack in Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir appears to have crossed a red line for India-Pakistan ties that were already at an all-time low. Following its diplomatic measures against Pakistan, what appropriate military response can India craft?
Has the Pahalgam attack crossed a red line? Here we discuss the question.
Guests: Sharat Sabharwal, former High Commissioner to Pakistan and author of India's Pakistan Conundrum: Managing a Complex Relationship; Lieutenant General (Retired) Deependra Singh Hooda, former Commander in Chief of the Indian Army's Northern Command and oversaw the surgical strikes across the Line of Control in 2016
Host: Suhasini Haidar
Read the parley article here.
You can now find The Hindu's podcasts on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Stitcher. Search for Parley by The Hindu.
Write to us with comments and feedback at socmed4@thehindu.co.in
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Hindu
3 hours ago
- The Hindu
Economic sanctions against Pakistan via trade, visas, water are the third part of Operation Sindoor: Jay Panda
BJP MP Baijayant Panda, who headed a multi party delegation that visited Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and Algeria as part of a diplomatic outreach post Operation Sindoor said the delegation's remit was not just to put India's case on its right to retaliate against terror acts on its soil, but also to convey the 'new normal' of imposing economic sanctions against Pakistan for the same. Speaking to The Hindu, Mr Panda said that his delegation that visited four countries that are also members of Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), which had issued an objectionable statement post the Pahalgam terror attack, which was condemned by India, had received a positive feedback, even on the question of these economic sanctions. 'I and everybody in my delegation, considered this visit to be extremely successful because of the support we received explicitly. We were explicitly told that they understand India's dilemma. Now, but this is a work in progress. This is it's not a thing that's going to get resolved today,' he said. He said that military hostilities was the first part of Operation Sindoor, the second was the diplomatic outreach by MPs and the last part, which was conveyed via these delegations was the economic sanctions against Pakistan. 'And we discussed that at length, that our economic sanctions, having to do with visas, with water, with shipping, with trade, these are all intended to nudge Pakistan in the right direction. Prime Minister Modi has made it very clear. These are put in abeyance. They are not permanently scrapped,' he said. He added that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's consistent outreach, through the last decade with these countries, many of whom, have awarded him their highest civilian honours helped, apart from their own experiences with terrorism. 'The one comment that used to have tremendous response with all these countries, was how just like how America went into Pakistan and had to take out Osama bin Laden, we also have the right to defend ourselves by hitting a terrorist camps. These countries have been the victims of ISIS, and they were deeply embarrassed by Pakistan's complicity in hiding Osama bin Laden,' he said. On being asked about how these countries explained the negative statement by the OIC, Mr Panda said took a longer view, stating that it emerged out decades of a 'circle the wagons' approach. 'The OIC has a particular stance which has emerged from decades and decades of if you can call it, 'circle the wagons' approach. But we must keep in mind that two of these nations we visited have played a role in United Nations Security Council when it has proscribed some of these terrorist elements in Pakistan as well as participating as members of Financial Action Task Force (FATF) board to put Pakistan put under the task force's gray list,' he said. He admitted that the delegation was asked questions on the treatment of minorities in India and the country's stance on the Palestine issue and relations with Israel. He said that the make up of the delegation, representing different languages, regions, political parties and five different religions was a statement in itself. On Palestine, he said, the delegation spoke of India's consistent support for the two state solution, and the fact that India's budget has provisions of tens of millions of dollars for relief for Gaza and West Bank, for the Palestinian people. 'One of our delegation members was Ghulan Nabi Azad, very senior politician, who has had a particular role to play from the Non Aligned Movement (NAM) days, when he used to interface with people like late Palestininan Liberation Organisation (PLO) chief Yassar Arafat. That carries a huge credibility,' he added. Mr Panda termed as 'bizarre' but not surprising, the appointment of Pakistan as vice chair of the committee on counter terror, announced recently by the United Nations (UN). 'I'm not terribly surprised because the UN has lost its way over the decades. In any case, the institutions that were formed in the 1940s, they represented a post World War II era when the world was a very different place. India is the world's largest democracy that has ever existed in human history and now the fourth largest economy, for that not to be a permanent member of the security council, shows you how outdated the UN is,' he said.

Hindustan Times
5 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Rahul Gandhi claims Maharashtra polls were ‘blueprint for rigged democracy', BJP hit back
Rahul Gandhi on Saturday claimed that the Maharashtra assembly election held last year had been 'rigged' and alleged that the same would be repeated in the upcoming Bihar assembly polls. In a post on X, the leader of opposition in Lok Sabha, shared his own article published in a newspaper and said, 'How to steal an election? Maharashtra assembly elections in 2024 were a blueprint for rigging democracy. My article shows how this happened, step by step.' Also Read: Right to freedom of speech does not extend to defamatory statements against Indian Army: HC dismisses Rahul Gandhi's plea He elaborated, 'Step 1: Rig the panel for appointing the Election Commission, Step 2: Add fake voters to the roll, Step 3: Inflate voter turnout, Step 4: Target the bogus voting exactly where BJP needs to win, Step 5: Hide the evidence.' Gandhi added, 'It's not hard to see why the BJP was so desperate in Maharashtra. But rigging is like match-fixing - the side that cheats might win the game, but damages institutions and destroy public faith in the result.' He also urged all concerned Indian citizens to demand answers and judge the situation for themselves while evaluating the evidence. Also Read: What Shashi Tharoor said when asked about Rahul Gandhi's 'Narender-Surrender' remark on PM Modi Gandhi claimed, 'The match-fixing of Maharashtra will come to Bihar next, and then anywhere the BJP is losing. Match-fixed elections are a poison for any democracy.' The 2024 Maharashtra assembly polls witnessed the decisive victory of the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance with 235 seats, while the Congress-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) suffered a major setback. Also Read: 'Naam Narender, kaam surrender': Congress takes fresh jibe at PM Modi The Election Commission of India (ECI) had earlier responded to allegations of a rigged election concerned with voter turnout data. They had also clarified misconceptions regarding the deletion of certain voters from the list. "Rahul Gandhi is back to his disgraceful antics of demonising the country's institutions. These issues have been repeatedly addressed by the EC in absolute detail," said the BJP's Tuhin Sinha in response to the allegations as quoted by NDTV.


Deccan Herald
8 hours ago
- Deccan Herald
Pahalgam attacks: Patrons punished, perpetrators still at large
Even as six weeks have passed after 25 tourists and a local resident were brutally killed at a scenic meadow near Pahalgam in south Kashmir, the terrorists, who carried out the attack, remain at large. India responded to the carnage by launching 'Operation Sindoor' on May 7, targeting terrorist camps in Pakistan and areas under illegal occupation of Pakistan, and sending out a strong message to the 'deep state' of the neighbouring country. A four-day-long cross-border military flare-up followed, which came to its end on May 10. New Delhi also put in abeyance its Indus Water Treaty with Islamabad, apart from other measures. But, despite a massive manhunt by the J&K police and Indian Army, the five terrorists, who went on a killing spree on the meadow that day, appear to have vanished like ghosts into the forests and mountains of south Kashmir. The April 22 massacre, claimed by The Resistance Front (TRF), a shadowy proxy of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba, marked one of the deadliest attacks on civilians in Kashmir in recent years. It also triggered one of the most intense security operations in the Valley since the abrogation of Article 370 in time for political consolidation in J& April 27, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) formally took over the probe. Its teams have been stationed in Srinagar and south Kashmir, working closely with J&K police and military intelligence units, combing through call records, travel data, and seized digital devices. Yet, there has been no arrest or clue leading to the terrorists, who turned the scenic tourist destination into a killing field. This is in sharp contrast to the terrorist attack at Pulwama on February 14, 2019, when, within 10 days after 40 CRPF personnel were killed in a suicide bombing, the security forces tracked down and eliminated the main perpetrators in a village just 12 km from the scene. 'The Pulwama operation showed the strength of the intelligence and response apparatus,' a retired senior police officer told DH. 'This time, the same ecosystem seems slower, fragmented – or perhaps outsmarted.' 'They (terrorists who carried out the April 22 attacks) have either exfiltrated through deep forest or are hiding in plain sight with local support,' he said. 'When we eliminated the terrorists responsible for the Pulwama attack, it restored some public faith. Today, that faith is shaken.' Intelligence agencies suggest that Pahalgam attackers – three Pakistanis and two local residents - were well-trained to operate without digital trails, making them hard to track. 'The terrain is their ally,' another former security official said. 'They can live off the grid for weeks. They're using our mountains and forests the way guerrilla fighters do. That's the real challenge.' In mid-May, six local militants were killed in two operations in Tral and Shopian. But as officials later clarified, none of them were directly linked to the April 22 massacre. The prolonged failure to trace the attackers is raising difficult questions. The public is anxious, especially in tourism-dependent areas. 'It's not just the killings — it's the silence since. That's what's most terrifying,' said a hotelier in Pahalgam. More worryingly, experts believe this could signal a new phase in Kashmir's militancy — one where handlers across the border are deploying mercenaries physically and mentally well-trained and capable of evading security dragnets for a long period. And, as long as the 'Butchers of Baisaran' remain free, the horror they unleashed will loom large over the fragile calm of Kashmir.