Fighting In Kashmir Has Been Active Since 1947
On April 22, 2025, a devastating terrorist attack in the Baisaran Valley near Pahalgam, in Indian-administered Kashmir, claimed the lives of 26 people, mostly Indian tourists, and injured 17 others, marking it the deadliest assault on civilians in the region in over two decades. The attackers, identified by India as members of The Resistance Front (TRF)—a group India links to the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba—targeted Hindu tourists specifically, segregating and executing them at close range while sparing Muslims, as reported by survivors. India swiftly accused Pakistan of orchestrating the attack through its alleged support for cross-border terrorism, a charge Pakistan denies, with Islamabad calling for a neutral investigation and even suggesting the attack might be a “false flag” operation by India to justify escalation.
The aftermath saw a rapid deterioration in India-Pakistan relations, with both nuclear-armed nations engaging in tit-for-tat measures that have heightened fears of military conflict. India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty, a 1960 agreement critical for Pakistan’s agriculture, prompting Islamabad to label the move an “act of war” and threaten a forceful response. Cross-border skirmishes along the Line of Control (LoC) have persisted for days, with both sides exchanging gunfire and Pakistan reporting the downing of an Indian drone on April 29. India’s military conducted missile tests to demonstrate its strike capabilities, while Pakistan’s leaders warned that their nuclear arsenal—over 130 missiles—is targeted at India, raising the specter of a nuclear escalation in a region already scarred by three wars over Kashmir since 1947.
The attack has shattered the fragile calm in Kashmir, a region both nations claim in full but govern in part, and exposed the deep-seated resentment among Kashmiris who feel sidelined by both governments. Local voices, often drowned out in the India-Pakistan binary, express grief over the killings but also fear of being caught in the crossfire of retaliatory actions, with Indian forces detaining over 1,500 young men and demolishing homes linked to suspected militants. The Modi government’s narrative of “normalization” through militarization and tourism—3.5 million visitors in 2024—lies in tatters, while Pakistan’s fragile political state, grappling with internal turmoil since Imran Khan’s 2023 arrest, limits its ability to de-escalate. As global powers like the U.S. urge restraint but offer little mediation, the cycle of violence in Kashmir continues, with its people bearing the heaviest cost—over 70,000 killed and 200,000 displaced since the insurgency began in 1989.
