A SINISTER ATTEMPT TO DELAY PROGRESS IN THE VALLEY

Pak army chief's recent speeches indicate a desperate bid to fish in communal waters. But Kashmiris' loud condemnation of the Pahalgam attack signals a change in the valley's air

- ADIL RASHEED

The number of innocent people killed in the Pahalgam terrorist attack, painful as it is for every Indian citizen to bear, cannot fully reflect the severity of the atrocity.

The true measure of the monstrosity lies in the diabolic schema of shock and horror directed at the nation's collective psyche, the cold-blooded cost-benefit calculation of its impact on Jammu and Kashmir's peace and progress, and the no-to-subtle messaging to seed communal discord in Indian society are just some of the disconcerting underlying ramifications.

This level of sophistication does not seem to be the handiwork of an upstart terrorist group—the Resistance Front (TRF), which has taken responsibility for the attack—but likely points to the modus operandi of state-level intelligence agencies.

It is untenable that a small-time, indigenous group would self-sabotage by inflicting harm on the security and livelihood of its own people, that it would target innocent tourists in the best season of the year, and jeopardize the precious restitution of normalcy in the valley after a long time.

Clearly, the spite and venom needed for planning such a terror attack is rooted in hate and envy nurtured outside the country—namely, in Pakistan, which is ravaged by self-radicalised religious militants and is on the verge of imploding under the weight of its own contradictions.