A befitting response to Pahalgam: India must now act with resolve, not restraint

The brutal terror attack in Pahalgam has left the nation shattered. Innocent tourists, the very lifeblood of Kashmir’s local economy and symbols of India’s pluralistic vibrance, were mercilessly slaughtered by terrorists backed, trained, and funded by Pakistan’s deep state. This was not merely an attack on civilians—it was a deliberate strike at India's unity, its sovereignty, and its will.

India has long shown strategic patience. But Pahalgam has changed the equation. This moment demands a calibrated yet resolute response—one that is multi-dimensional, far-reaching, and uncompromising. The goal must be the to raise the cost for Pakistan’s deep state — diplomatically, economically, and militarily — without triggering full-scale war.

The Case for Kinetic Action

India must consider a range of kinetic military options. A Balakot-style air strike, targeting terror camps across the Line of Control, would send an unambiguous message—not just to the handlers of terror, but also to the international community that India will act when provoked. Such action must be based on solid intelligence, with zero collateral damage, to retain global support.

Beyond air power, India can escalate artillery domination along the LoC. Pakistan Army posts that facilitate infiltration and provide logistical support to terror outfits must be neutralized. India’s armed forces are more than capable of executing high-impact, low-escalation strikes that bleed Pakistan’s terror infrastructure without tipping into open conflict.

Equally critical is the use of covert assets. The masterminds of this massacre—like Saifullah Kasuri of Lashkar-e-Taiba—must be tracked and eliminated, wherever they may hide. India must invest in long-term counter-terror operations, modeled on the Mossad doctrine: justice delayed is not justice denied.

Diplomatic Deterrence: Time to Tighten the Screws

India must also launch an aggressive diplomatic campaign. The Indus Waters Treaty, long seen as a symbol of goodwill, now deserves a hard look. While India cannot—and should not—unilaterally abrogate the treaty, it has full rights under the agreement to accelerate infrastructure on western rivers, halt data sharing, and explore legal mechanisms to challenge Pakistan’s misuse of its provisions. Water is a weapon, and India must wield it as leverage.

Simultaneously, India should press for Pakistan’s re-blacklisting at the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). With mounting evidence of continued terror financing, Pakistan's grey-listing was merely cosmetic. New Delhi must expose how Islamabad still shelters the likes of Hafiz Saeed and Masood Azhar under various pretexts.

India must also downgrade diplomatic engagement. High commissioners can be recalled. Visa issuance can be frozen. And most importantly, the world must be made to see the farce of Pakistan’s claims of victimhood, juxtaposed against its sponsorship of cross-border terrorism.

Modern War: The Cyber and Narrative Frontlines

The 21st century battlefield includes cyberspace. India should explore cyber offensives that target Pakistan’s digital infrastructure, disrupt financial systems, and expose state secrets. Just as Pakistan wages asymmetric warfare through terror proxies, India can respond with asymmetric tools of its own—with precision, stealth, and plausible deniability.

Parallelly, India must wage a narrative war. Global media needs to see not just the bloodstained streets of Pahalgam, but the broader picture of Pakistani perfidy. India must publish dossiers, videos, survivor accounts, intercepted communications, and more to show the world exactly who orchestrated this carnage.

It’s time to call out the ISI not as a rogue agency, but as the central nervous system of a state-sustained jihadist enterprise.

Strategic Alignments: Use Global Momentum

India’s growing alignment with the Gulf, especially with Saudi Arabia and the UAE, opens a new flank. These nations—long considered allies of Pakistan—are now forging deeper ties with India on trade, defense, and counter-terrorism. India must quietly but firmly urge them to pressure Islamabad through economic and diplomatic levers.

At multilateral forums like the UN, BRICS, G20, and SCO, India must raise the Pahalgam attack as evidence of Pakistan's continued violation of international norms. It must demand accountability, sanctions, and isolation.

Internal Readiness: Strengthening the Home Front

Back home, India must tighten its grip on Overground Workers (OGWs)—the civilian facilitators of terror in Kashmir. It must deploy NIA and ED to choke the financial arteries of separatism, while expanding the smart surveillance infrastructure along LoC and IB.

Moreover, India should step up its support for human rights in Balochistan and Gilgit-Baltistan, exposing Pakistan’s atrocities and hypocrisy. If Pakistan can exploit Kashmir as a narrative, India must do the same—with facts, not propaganda.

This Time, We Must Not Blink

The Pahalgam attack is not just another act of terror—it is a knife plunged into the heart of India’s idea of Kashmir, of tourism, of peace. But what Pakistan forgets is this: India bleeds, but it never bows. The world is watching. And so are our martyrs.

Now is not the time for restraint. Now is the time for resolve. Every tool in India’s arsenal—military, diplomatic, economic, narrative—must be sharpened and used with precision. Not for revenge, but for justice. For deterrence. For the safety of the next tourist, the next family, the next Kashmiri child.