ISLAMABAD: A senior figure in India’s Congress party has cast serious doubt on the Modi government’s narrative about the April 22 Pahalgam attack, stating that there is no evidence linking the assailants to Pakistan. P Chidambaram, a former Indian minister, questioned the lack of transparency surrounding the investigation and accused the government of concealing facts for political gain.
Indian forces recently claimed to have killed “three foreign terrorists” allegedly connected to the Pahalgam attack during a gunfight near the Amarnath shrine in the Dachigam region of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). While no official identifications were released, a police officer anonymously stated the slain men were foreigners. Meanwhile, two Indian TV channels suggested the men were suspects in the Pahalgam killings.
Pakistan’s state media, citing intelligence sources, countered India’s claims by revealing a covert operation dubbed “Operation Mahadev.” According to a Radio Pakistan report, this campaign involves staged encounters using detained Pakistani citizens, falsely labeling them as terrorists to mask the failure of India’s earlier operation, “Operation Sindoor.” The report claims these actions aim to undermine the Kashmiri independence movement and rehabilitate Modi’s political image after military setbacks.
The Pahalgam attack left 26 tourists dead, and without presenting any solid evidence, India immediately blamed Pakistan. Islamabad strongly rejected the accusation. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif offered full cooperation and called for an independent investigation.
Tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbors escalated in early May. On the night of May 6-7, India launched missile strikes on six Pakistani cities as part of Operation Sindoor. Pakistan retaliated forcefully, downing six Indian warplanes, including three Rafale jets. On May 10, Pakistan initiated Operation Bunyanum Marsoos, targeting 26 Indian military installations. The brief war ended hours later after U.S. President Donald Trump brokered a ceasefire.
In an interview with The Quint, Chidambaram criticized the Indian government for failing to publish the National Investigation Agency’s report on the Pahalgam incident. “Has the agency identified the attackers? Where did they come from? They could be local. Why assume they were from Pakistan?” he asked.
He further alleged that the Indian government was concealing the extent of military losses during the four-day conflict. According to Chidambaram, the Chief of Defence Staff had acknowledged strategic errors, which the government now wants to suppress.
The Radio Pakistan report also pointed to human rights abuses under Operation Mahadev. It cited the extrajudicial killing of two Kashmiris, Muhammad Farooq and Muhammad Deen, on April 24 after they accidentally crossed the border. In addition, Pakistan’s military spokesperson revealed that 723 Pakistanis are currently imprisoned in India without legal justification, with 56 others forcibly disappeared.
There are mounting concerns that these detainees may be used in fabricated operations, forced to record anti-Pakistan statements before being killed and presented as militants. Reports suggest Indian media is being fed staged footage and planted evidence to validate these narratives, echoing previous false flag operations used to justify aggression.
Pakistan has called on the international community, including the United Nations and human rights organizations, to investigate these alleged violations. With the scars of the May conflict still fresh, Islamabad insists that unchecked Indian actions in IIOJK risk dragging the region into renewed instability.
