New Delhi, April 24 (NationPress) Just when Kashmir had started to experience a sense of normalcy -- with its beautiful valleys filled with the sounds of tourists, its streets calm and inviting, and international officials arriving for the G-20 summit -- terror once again infiltrated the Valley. In the stunning town of Pahalgam, that delicate peace was disrupted on April 22.

In what is now characterized as one of the most brutal attacks on civilians in recent memory, 26 individuals lost their lives in a cold-blooded ambush targeting a group of Indian tourists. Survivors recounted horrific details. They informed the media that the attackers, calm and methodical, demanded identification, segregating victims based on their religion. Hindus were specifically targeted, lined up, and executed at point-blank range, they reported.

One woman recalled witnessing her husband shot in the head merely for his identity. Instead of fleeing after the initial shots, the assailants remained, firing into the crowd with ruthless precision, ensuring maximum terror and destruction. This was not merely a terror attack -- it was a message, a strategic and ideological offensive.

The intent was unmistakable -- to instill fear, disrupt harmony, and draw global attention to Kashmir once again through a blood-stained lens. And as always, the shadow behind the gunmen was unmistakably that of Pakistan's military establishment, which has long weaponized terrorism as a statecraft tool.

Officials and intelligence agencies have drawn eerie parallels between the Pahalgam massacre and prior terror attacks orchestrated to coincide with significant diplomatic events in India. The timing of this attack was no accident -- it took place during the visit of U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance to India.

This pattern recalls the March 2000 massacre in Chittisinghpura, where 36 Sikhs were killed just before then U.S. President Bill Clinton’s state visit, and the February 1999 killings during former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s Lahore outreach.

This intentional sabotage of peace negotiations and diplomatic progress has become a cruel hallmark of Pakistan's playbook in the region.

The assault in Pahalgam was claimed by The Resistance Front (TRF), an armed proxy group believed to be a shadow organization of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). This group comprised six operatives -- two local Kashmiris who had crossed into Pakistan in 2017 for training and returned with lethal skills. The other four were foreign militants, supported and armed by LeT and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM).

According to Indian intelligence, these attackers were part of the last significant infiltration group and had been hiding in the Pir Panjal Range, a rugged and strategically crucial area separating Jammu and Kashmir. This region remains a hub for highly trained terrorist units with cross-border connections. Currently, around 60 active foreign terrorists operate within the Kashmir Valley -- 35 associated with LeT and TRF, and 25 with JeM and other factions.

The brutal nature of the Pahalgam massacre indicates a changing strategy.

With 90 percent of Pakistan-sponsored terrorists already neutralized in counter-terror operations, the remaining fringe is acting with increased desperation and precision.

As Indian forces push them to the peripheries, Pakistan, through its deep-state operatives, seems to be intensifying its efforts to ignite large-scale violence and instability.

This attack also followed closely after Pakistan Army Chief General Asim Munir delivered a provocative address at the Overseas Pakistani Convention, where he referred to Kashmir as Pakistan’s “jugular vein” and invoked the two-nation theory -- a direct challenge to India's sovereignty.

Intelligence agencies believe this speech wasn’t merely rhetorical. It was a signal. With Pakistan’s economy in freefall, its civil-military balance severely disrupted, and public trust in the army at historic lows, Munir needed to galvanize internal support and restore the military’s image. The outcome -- a gruesome, calculated act of terrorism intended to project power internationally and consolidate authority domestically.

Pakistan’s army, now caught in a shorter popularity cycle of just 5–7 years, increasingly resorts to terror as a means of image management. The Pahalgam attack exemplifies this pattern: orchestrated violence with political and psychological intent.

A united Kashmir denounces terror

In a rare display of unity, Kashmiris throughout the Valley protested on April 23, voicing their opposition to this act of terror. Civil society, local leaders, and ordinary citizens condemned the bloodshed. The protest reaffirmed that the Valley rejects violence and is committed solely to peace.

The message from Kashmiris was clear: this wasn’t merely an assault on tourists -- it was an attack on the progress, stability, and future of the region.

The Pahalgam attack was not an isolated incident of fanaticism. It was a clear and calculated maneuver by the Pakistani deep state, employing terror as a foreign policy instrument. In targeting innocent civilians, Pakistan has once again demonstrated that peace in the region is jeopardized not only by insurgents but by a state that remains addicted to proxy warfare.

India's response -- diplomatic, strategic, and security-driven -- is now under close global scrutiny. However, what is already evident is this: the world cannot afford to look away any longer.