Defeating Pakistan's nefarious design to isolate Kashmiris from the mainstream through the Pahalgam terror attack

Time of India

03-05-2025

Dr. Prashant Prabhakar Deshpande has post-graduated in Economics with a Gold Medal in 1976 and was awarded a Ph.D in Social Sciences from Nagpur University in 2007.
Introduction
Way back in 1995, 6 western tourists and their two guides were presumed to have been killed by a terrorist group, Al Faraan, in the meadows, an open habitat or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non-woody plants of Pahalgam. They were kidnapped in the Lidderwat area of Pahalgam in the Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir on 4th of July 1995 by 40 terrorists from the Kashmiri Islamist militant organisation Harkat-ul-Ansar under the pseudonym of Al-Faran to secure the release of Harkat leader Masood Azhar and other terrorists.
Those killings aimed at:
1. Putting the Kashmir issue on the global map;
2. Destroying tourism, and;
3. Unleashing an atmosphere of unrest.
Although the terrorists succeeded in 2 of the 3 over the years, the armed forces in the valley however ensured that Pakistan's efforts to internationalise the Kashmir issue did not succeed.
Recent Pahalgam attack
30 years later, with Pahalgam and Gulmarg having grown as hubs for tourism, the terrorists struck on April 22, 2025, killing 26 tourists, mostly Hindus. The place and targets were the same, Pahalgam and the tourists. This time, the terrorists aimed to:
1. Put Kashmir back on the boil,
2. Hurt the revival of the state's economy, and;
3. Strike deep fear.
However, this time instead of foreign tourists, they targeted Hindu tourists. This was deliberately done to unleash divisive forces that would spin out of control in a fragile society and eventually whip up a narrative against the united fabric of India.
Tacit motive behind the attack
A higher voting turnout in the recently held elections indicated that Kashmiris, tired of insurgency now want to be a part of the mainstream. Pakistan which has been sponsoring terrorist activity in India thus felt that the ground beneath their feet was slipping away.
Pakistan Chief of the Army Staff General Syed Asim Munir's anti-Hindu speech referring to Kashmir as a jugular vein of Pakistan was seen as a sign of his desperation in whipping up a frenzy, rattling India, and the world. Many believe this to have triggered the launch of the Pahalgam strike by the Lashkar-e-Taiba-linked TRF (The Resistance Front).
Kashmir before the recent dastardly act
In Kashmir, tourism is the biggest industry contributing to its economic growth. The tourism industry is focussed on the Srinagar-Gulmarg axis towards the west of Srinagar and towards the southeast along the Anantnag-Pahalgam axis leading further to Chandanwari and onwards to the Amarnath Cave. In this sector, tourism in Pahalgam and its adjoining areas coupled with the annual Amarnath Yatra are major contributors to the local economy.
Two years ago, Srinagar, Gulmarg and Gurez were buzzing with visitors with the locals expecting tourism to grow. The Dal Lake wore a busy look with eager locals peddling wares and markets looking forward to hosting tourists. The air of confidence was a far cry from the despondency two decades ago, when militancy was a dominant presence in the lives of locals.
Despite challenges, the security forces with the help of locals had created a sense of normalcy. In the last 5-7 years, militancy had been wiped out with overall terror incidents decreasing from 228 in 2018 to 46 in 2023 giving a boost to the tourism industry. 2025 being an overbooked season, the economy in Kashmir thus looked brighter than ever with tourism helping in assimilating the Kashmiri economy into the larger Indian mainstream.
Besides tourism, apple trade in Sopore had seen a rise with a thousand active traders making it the 2nd largest fruit market after Delhi's Azadpur. A promising economy was returning youth to the mainstream, as earning opportunities rose quickly.
A terror strike of this nature however threatens to set back a fledgling economy like Kashmir which is new and not yet developed. This was demonstrated by the fact that within 48 hours of the strike, Kashmir had been vacated.
Impact on the local ecosystem Pakistan wants
Crackdowns on the local backers of the insurgents subsequent to the attack are bound to include elaborate combing and search operations followed by the security forces stepping up the vigil in the area, leading to restrictions on citizens and collateral arrests and detentions.
Clamping down on regular lives in Kashmir owing to indispensable security curbs is a natural outcome of this attack that can wreck the state's return towards normalcy which Pakistan wishes to see.
Pakistan believes that in the event of reduced economic opportunities and restricted conditions of living, the youth, which had been a part of the emerging economic restructuring in the valley, can be lured back into militancy.
Specific Pakistani design
By disowning their part in the attack, the Pakistani army intends to convey that the attack was an outcome of internal dissent in Kashmir. They expect this to fuel the fumes of communal hatred. It intended to convey that Hindus were not welcome in Kashmir, a proposition which however seems to have been rejected by local Kashmiris. The Pakistani ploy thus seems to have backfired with unprecedented protests by locals witnessed in Pahalgam, unlike earlier times.
Epilogue
Through the attack Pakistan desired to whip up a feeling of utter disgust amongst the Hindus towards the valley's Muslims. Pahalgam was meant to exploit the vulnerable social fabric in India and cause a communal divide.
Pakistan by this wanted Indians to generate hatred towards each other and cause social disengagement leading to isolation of the Kashmiris. To thwart the nefarious design of Pakistan, there is a need to provide a healing touch to the Kashmiri youth.
Kashmir has lost two earlier generations to militancy. The healing touch of economic opportunities and social embrace therefore must continue alongside pinning down militant sympathisers, as the absorption of a generation into the mainstream reduces the probability of the subsequent generation picking up arms again, as a youth used to financial independence is less willing to turn to militancy.
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Views expressed above are the author's own.