Opinion After Pahalgam, the next steps

On April 22, terrorists with links to Pakistan’s military-intelligence establishment sought to destabilise a hard-won peace in Jammu and Kashmir, derail political and economic revival in the Union Territory, and grievously wound India’s body politic. This country is still processing the grief and anger from the death of 26 people — all of them tourists, except one — in Pahalgam. At this moment, the response in Srinagar and New Delhi has been reassuring. The Union government’s diplomatic strike has been firm while leaving room, if and when needed, for a calibrated escalation. Be it cutting the staff at the Indian High Commission in Pakistan by half, or expelling Pakistani diplomats and closing the border at Attari-Wagah, or suspension of the Indus Water Treaty — these steps, the strongest since 2019, frame a resolute purpose. Second, the political class has displayed a much-needed unity after the tragedy. There appears to be welcome unanimity, across the political-ideological spectrum, over giving the government the space and support it needs to frame a soberly thought-out response that is firm and effective.

The political parties of J&K — the leader of the ruling alliance, the National Conference, the People’s Democratic Party and others — and the national Opposition parties have spoken in one voice in affirming their solidarity with the government. For instance, former Home Minister and senior Congress leader P Chidambaram said, “It is for the government to weigh their options and choose the most effective one. The Congress will support the government’s decision.” Prime Minister Narendra Modi articulated the national sentiment in his speech in Madhubani in Bihar when he said that “India’s spirit will never be broken by terrorism … Every effort will be made to ensure that justice is done. The entire nation is firm in this resolve. Everyone who believes in humanity is with us.” The government has also done well to call an all-party meeting. It must continue to take the lead in ensuring that when it comes to national security, politics stops at the water’s edge.

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The diplomatic challenge for Delhi is to pierce the veil of deniability that the Pakistan military-intelligence establishment has hidden behind as it unleashes its terror proxies. This cannot be done through the crude jingoism of prime-time TV warriors or the divisive rhetoric that ripples across swathes of social media. Delhi must work in concerted and sophisticated ways to deepen Islamabad-Rawalpindi’s diplomatic isolation. Pakistan’s nearly-defunct economy is heavily reliant on bailouts from international financial institutions like the IMF, and an all-clear from bodies like the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). These are diplomatic pressure points that must be used. Today, India has several more options — overt and covert, economic, military and diplomatic — than it did in the late 1980s when militancy began in J&K. Delhi must now use all these tools at its disposal to craft a long-term and consistent response that can credibly act as a deterrent to Pakistan’s deep state.