By Summaiyya Qureshi
On April 22, a terrorist attack on tourists in the Indian-occupied Kashmir region, Pahalgam, claimed 26 lives. Within hours of the attack, the Narendra Modi administration started pointing fingers at Pakistan, holding it responsible for the attack without any credible evidence. However, the responsibility of this aggression was claimed by The Resistance Front (TRF). Pakistan categorically condemned this violent, inhumane attack and also rejected India’s allegation of Pakistan’s involvement and offered cooperation in a transparent and neutral investigation. But the Indian government dismissed all diplomatic engagements, instead choosing to escalate the tensions and suspend the Indus Water Treaty. This accord was brokered by the World Bank in 1960 between India and Pakistan to administer water bodies. And eventually, on May 7, India launched cowardly missile strikes at midnight on five different cities of Pakistan, targeting mosques and civilian areas, including Muzaffarabad, Bahawalpur, Sialkot, Kotali, and Muridke. But this whole episode has a very striking resemblance and follows a very familiar pattern, as Modi did during the 2019 Pulwama attack. New Delhi appears to be repeating history, i.e. an airstrike-style response allegedly targeting terrorist hideouts in Pakistan. The only difference is that back then, it was the Balakot strike, and now Operation Sindoor.
Now, Pakistan has every right to interpret these strikes as an act of war, as India has deliberately disturbed Pakistan’s territorial sovereignty. It is a flagrant violation of international law.
Indian officials, during a press conference after the missile strikes, defended this as a self-proclaimed “Right to respond” to the Pahalgam attack. Meaning that without any concurrent proof of Pakistan’s involvement, they hold Pakistan responsible for whatever happened in Pahalgam. As per ISPR, Pakistan, in retaliation, successfully downed India’s five fighter jets, including Rafale jets, acquired from France. Other than that, Pakistan downed 1 MiG-29 and 1 Su-30 from J-10C and JF Thunder.
According to DGISPR, Pakistan also targeted India’s Brigade Headquarters and a checkpost at the LOC. The act was to prove Sir Isaac Newton’s third law of motion, “For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction,” implying that any kind of aggression will be met with equal force, if not greater.
Earlier on March 11, when the Jaffar Express hijacking incident happened in Balochistan, Pakistan, by Baloch Liberation Army that resulted in the death of 26 individuals, Pakistan refrained from international blaming, despite whispers.
Back in 2019, around 7 years ago, a strikingly similar chain of events unfolded when the Narendra Modi administration was battling internal and external issues, including economic turmoil, corruption scandals surrounding the Rafale Jet’s deal, and farmer protests. Modi’s party, the BJP, faced massive losses in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh state elections, and then the Pulwama attack happened. It shifted the entire national narrative of India about Modi’s administration. On February 14, 2019, a convoy of the Indian Central Reserve Police Force was targeted on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway by a vehicle-borne suicide bomber in Pulwama, as a result of which 40 personnel died. The attack was carried out by Jaish-e-Mohammad. Suddenly, all of the sins of Narendra Modi were washed out by just one thing, and that was blatantly blaming Pakistan for the Pulwama attack. By blaming Pakistan for whatever happened in Pulwama, Modi managed to gather massive public support by invoking nationalism, as a result of which in the 2019 elections, the BJP got 330 seats up from 284 seats in 2014.
Fast forward to 2025, the same script, same pattern is being followed by Narendra Modi, as Modi’s popularity is hanging under international scrutiny. The killing of Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar on Canadian soil by an Indian agent led to a diplomatic fallout between India and Canada. As per The New York Times report, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused India of planning the brazen killing, stating that “agents of the Government of India have been linked to Mr. Najjar’s killing on Canadian soil.”
Other than that, the Canadian Newspaper, The Globe and Mail, also in its report, stated that Modi was aware of Hardeep Singh Najjar’s killing. The report claimed that the plot to kill Najjar was orchestrated by Indian Home Minister Amit Shah and that Modi and their External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar were all informed about the operation.
Other than that, according to the Washington Post, the FBI foiled a similar plot to kill Sikhs on American soil. And as per the Guardian report, RAW agents faced expulsion from countries like Australia, Germany, and the UK for the extrajudicial killing of Kashmiris and Sikhs, which proves Modi’s terrorist mindset.
Other than that, with upcoming state elections in India, in states including Bihar, Assam, Kerala, Modi is trying to reuse nationalism. This “Pakistan is a terrorist” narrative can’t help in longer run. Moreover, he should know that a manufactured crisis cannot win him elections again and again, as we already saw a drop in Modi’s reputation in recent elections.
On the other hand, India claims that it has only targeted terrorist outlets during the Operation Sindoor that it launched against Pakistan, which mirrors Netanyahu’s worn-out rhetoric as well. But according to eyewitnesses and international media confirmation, most residential areas of Pakistan were hit, where among the casualties were children as well.
But in response, Pakistan forces not only shot down advanced Indian Rafale jet Su-30 and MiG-29, but also it has neutralized 25 Indian Harop drones on 8th May that India launched all across Pakistan, including Punjab, Sindh, KP, Kashmir, etc. Similarly, if we draw a comparison between Pakistan’s response in 2019 and today, Pakistan has given a very mature and restrained response, just like the Abhinandan episode.
Though history is repeating itself, with Modi using the same tactic that he used during the Pulwama attack, Modi cannot change the fact that war hysteria cannot replace diplomacy. And Modi’s electoral desperation should not be the reason for destabilization in South Asia.
Disclaimer: Opinions expressed in the writing are the author’s own and do not represent the policy of Khabar Kada.
