In the serene valley of Pahalgam, where the whispers of the Lidder River once symbolized peace and poetry, terror has spoken again—in blood, in fire, and in a resounding reminder that the threat of terrorism, abetted and sponsored across borders, is not a bygone issue. The recent attack on Indian soil, carried out by heavily armed militants, has ripped through the fabric of regional stability, plunging families into grief and rekindling a geopolitical crisis that the world cannot afford to ignore.
Let us be unequivocal: this was not merely a militant strike; this was a calculated act of terrorism emanating from across the border. For decades, Pakistan has perfected the dark art of proxy warfare—using terrorism as statecraft, turning sanctuaries into springboards of jihadist violence. Whether under the guise of “strategic depth” or deniability, the results have always been the same: innocent lives lost, communities destabilized, and peace sabotaged.
According to India’s Ministry of Home Affairs, over 5,500 terror-related incidents were reported in Jammu and Kashmir between 2014 and 2023 alone, with over 1,000 security personnel and civilians killed in these attacks. Of these incidents, a significant majority have been traced back to Pakistan-based terrorist outfits such as Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), and Hizbul Mujahideen.
In its 2022 report, the U.S. State Department reiterated that Pakistan continues to provide safe havens for terrorist groups and does little to dismantle the logistical and financial networks that allow them to flourish. JeM, which claimed responsibility for the Pulwama attack in 2019 that killed 40 Indian paramilitary personnel, continues to operate openly within Pakistan, its leadership shielded from justice.
A 2019 European Foundation for South Asian Studies (EFSAS) report highlighted that more than 40,000 people have died as a result of Pakistan-sponsored terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir over the past three decades.
These are not just numbers. These are stories of fathers who never returned home, children who lost their innocence, and communities scarred beyond repair. The Pahalgam attack is just the latest chapter in this long, tragic narrative.
India has shown tremendous restraint, repeatedly choosing dialogue over escalation. But peace is a two-way street, and terrorism backed by a nuclear-armed neighbor is not just India’s problem—it is the world’s ticking time bomb. If the global community continues to turn a blind eye, treating Pakistan as a “strategic ally” while ignoring its double game, it does so at the peril of regional and international security.
Condemnations are no longer enough. The world must enforce strict financial and diplomatic sanctions, restrict military aid, and ensure that the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) maintains unrelenting pressure until every terror cell is dismantled.
To our neighbors in Pakistan: your silence is complicity. Your denials ring hollow. And your duplicity fuels nothing but destruction. If you truly desire peace, prove it—not in words, but in action.
India will mourn its dead, but it will not kneel. The soil of Pahalgam will heal, but the scars will remain as a testament to the cost of unpunished terror. Let the world remember: peace in South Asia cannot exist as long as Pakistan's soil continues to nurture the seeds of terrorism.