Avenging Pahalgam: After LoC Surgical Strike & Balakot Airstrike, Will India Aim For PoK?

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Last Updated:April 25, 2025, 14:12 IST

Will India give a befitting reply to Pakistan and LeT, surpassing previous benchmarks and matching Israel's no-holds-barred war on Hamas?

PM Modi on Thursday said that India will identify, track and punish every terrorist and their handlers and backers. (PTI File)

There are clear parallels. On October 7, 2023, Israel saw one of its worst attacks on its innocent unarmed civilians as did India’s Kashmir witness one of its worst attacks in recent years on tourists at Pahalgam. In Israel, terrorists opened fire at the Nova music festival while individuals were enjoying themselves. In Pahalgam, terrorists opened fire on tourists having a good time, riding ponies, or taking selfies. Be it Be’eri, Kfar, or Aza — victims were all non-Muslims. In Pahalgam too, non-Muslims were identified and gunned down.

MODI SO FAR

When the attack happened, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in Jeddah. He called Home Minister Amit Shah and directed him to reach Pahalgam. He himself skipped the official dinner and cut short his visit by 24 hours. Upon landing at New Delhi, instead of waiting, he sought a briefing at the airport itself from National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval, External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar and the Foreign Secretary over the situation in view of the terror attack. On the way back, he received a call from US President Donald Trump who condemned what government sources called “Islamist terror" and offered “all possible support" to bring the perpetrators to justice.

Later in the day, he chaired the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) by when Shah flew back from Kashmir and briefed him on what he had gathered. The meeting went on for a two-and-a-half hours, say government sources. As the CCS meeting was underway, more than 250 suspects were detained in J&K.

#BreakingNews: Video of young police officer assuring tourists, “Don’t be scared, we’re here for you" @Ieshan_W with the details#PahalgamTerroristAttack #Kashmir #Pahalgam pic.twitter.com/xgcRzcN7oB— News18 (@CNNnews18) April 25, 2025

In the cabinet meeting, a host of decisions were taken considering the ‘sentiment’ of the nation, the biggest being keeping the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) in abeyance — something India never touched even during the war. This is non-military warfare, to put it simply. Strict implementation will mean severe water shortages in Pakistan as it gets around 80% of its water from the Indus and its tributaries. Its agriculture will now be at risk, especially wheat, rice and cotton would face massive disruption. Many of Pakistan’s dams such as Tarbela and Mangla depend on Indus water. Lower flows would reduce electricity generation, creating an energy crisis in the country. India has dealt Pakistan a massive blow. But India doesn’t have the immediate infrastructure to stop water flow to Pakistan, which will take some time to build. But a nervous Pakistan, and understandably so, issued a statement to warn any diversion of the IWT will be treated as an ‘Act of War’. But India has shot off a letter to Pakistan, informing it about its decision.

Meanwhile, several measures were announced by India — the Integrated Check Post at Attari to be closed with immediate effect, and Pakistani nationals to not be permitted to travel to India under the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme (SVES). Any Pakistani national currently in India under the SVES visa has 48 hours to leave India, said the Foreign Secretary, although Pakistani Hindus were exempted. In a curt response, the Defence/Military, Naval and Air Advisors in the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi were declared Persona Non Grata and asked to leave India in seven days. India, too, announced it will be withdrawing its own Defence/Military, Naval and Air Advisors from the Indian High Commission. The CCS chaired by Modi also decided to bring down the overall strength of the high commission to 30 from the present 55 through further reductions.

Now, I&B Ministry sources say the movie ‘Abir Gulal‘ starring Pakistani actor Fawad Khan will not be allowed to release in India, putting a ban on Pakistani artists in India.

IS POK ON THE CARDS?

Regardless of the steps taken by the Modi government, public anger is yet to recede. Regardless of the severity of suspending the Indus Water Treaty, the perception is that these are cosmetic steps. India seems to be asking the Modi Sarkar to surpass its benchmarks of 2016 and 2019 of “ghar me ghus ke marenge" when India conducted the surgical strike on Pakistan and hit Pakistan’s Balakot with the Indian Air Force. The 2016 surgical strike in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir, inflicting heavy casualties, was India’s bold response 10 days after the Uri attack that claimed 18 jawans.

Meanwhile, the 2019 Balakot airstrike was an even more audacious effort where it targeted a training camp of the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) group. What made it audacious? It was much deeper — in Pakistan’s north-western Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The airstrike was in response to the Pulwama attack – a suicide attack on February 14 that year, which was claimed by JeM and killed 40 Indian troops.

But a photo of a newly married woman wearing her chooda, sitting next to her murdered husband has not just shocked the nation but made it very angry. What compounded the anger was the intent to kill only non-Muslims where many survivors have narrated how non-Muslims were singled out and fired upon or a Hindu from Assam survived because he could recite the kalma.

Had it been any other political leader, the burden of expectations probably wouldn’t be as heavy. But someone who has made national security non-negotiable from the run-up to his 2014 Lok Sabha election days and whose party’s slogan is ‘Jahan huye balidan Mukherjee, woh Kashmir humara hai’, there’s huge public expectation that the PM may have the unthinkable on the cards this time – Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

Whether to attack bases in PoK, strategic strikes or beyond is anyone’s guess. But if anyone can have the political will to take the risk, it’s Narendra Modi. And if any opportunity arises to take the risk, it is now.

On Thursday, at Bihar’s Madhubani, PM Modi said, “India will identify, track and punish every terrorist and their handlers and their backers. We will pursue them to the end of the world."