Need to end Pakistan's duplicity on terrorism

Pahalgam, like Pulwama, will not be forgotten, nor will those behind it be left unpunished. Our nation is still in deep mourning. We are outraged. And the world watches in disbelief.

- Syed Zafar Islam

As images of chaos, grief, and bloodshed flooded news channels and social media, one thing became starkly evident, that this was not just another terrorist attack in Kashmir's long-troubled history. It was a statement, an escalation and a deliberate attempt to provoke. It was not an ambush on a convoy or a strategic hit on infrastructure. No ideology, no grievance, no so-called cause justifies such barbarity. India, rightly, has responded with grief, grit, and fury. And I hope there's more to come.

Pahalgam has added another grim chapter to a long list of wounds. From the 1989 uprising in Kashmir to the 26/11 Mumbai carnage of 2008, or Pulwama in 2019, India has borne the brunt of Pakistan-sponsored terrorism, responding during the Congress years often with diplomatic notes and dossiers while the perpetrators were celebrated across the border. Let's not forget how 10 Pakistani terrorists held Mumbai hostage for three days in 2008, turning railway stations, luxury hotels, and cafés into war zones.

That the then-government chose 'restraint' was a decision that haunted us for years. But a new India emerged after Pulwama. The Modi government responded with an airstrike deep inside Balakot. The message was clear: India's pain will have consequences. The Pahalgam attack now tests that very doctrine.