The recent assault on tourists in Pahalgam, a scenic region but the world’s most militarized, has significantly raised several questions. The attack framed by Indian authorities and media as a brutal act of violence, deserves a neutral and accountable investigation which may expose a pro-Indian narrative that undermines Pakistan’s sovereignty and portrays only Muslims as terrorists, especially Pakistani Muslims.
The time and place of an incident also have similar patterns, as followed by the old Indian narrative building. As always, India has systematically propagated terror attacks during high-profile visits to capture global attention over the Kashmir issue, depicting India as a victim of cross-border terrorism and Muslims as perpetrators.
Without providing concrete evidence, Indian media, just a few minutes after, directly pointed fingers at Pakistan for conducting a terror attack in the so-called mini-Switzerland of Indian-Occupied Kashmir. Even in the presence of 800,000 Indian soldiers, surveillance infrastructure including drones, biometric checkpoints, and electronic monitoring, the state of India has failed to provide a single biometric evidence or CCTV footage that may allegedly link to Pakistan. The lack of independent and non-concrete evidence that would link the alleged attackers to Pakistan-sponsored groups further exposes India-sponsored propaganda against Pakistan. The portrayal of Pakistan as the inherent aggressor and perpetrator of terrorism serves both global and domestic purposes.
Globally, India covers the sins with accusations by externalizing internal issues with a perpetual blame game. By framing terror attacks as foreign-sponsored terror, silences the questions about local grievances, genocide in Indian-Occupied Kashmir, and illegal occupation of Jammu and Kashmir by the Indian Army. This is not an isolated incident, a multidimensional strategy followed by a cycle of false flag operations including the Mumbai Attacks in 2008, the Pulwama Attacks, and the Balakot airstrikes. In the 2000s Chattisinghpora massacre, initially blamed on Pakistani militants, later yielded concrete evidence suggesting the involvement of Indian security forces, confirmed through a CBI investigation and reported by The Hindu (2003).
However, domestically, it has been the time-tested formula for India to polarize Indian people in the name of Pakistan and Muslims that successfully serve their political campaigns for maximum vote bank. India’s most popular political party BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) functions on the notion of Akhand Bharat (Greater India), viewing Muslims as foreign invaders leads to tense relationships between Muslims and Hindus of India and state-sponsored violence on Indian Muslims as well. Attacks like Pahalgam are often leveraged to frame an antagonist narrative about Pakistan and gain domestic Hindu nationalist sentiments. But these baseless allegations along with media amplification, despite operating neutrally, function as psychological monitoring to accept punitive measures including military, economic, and diplomatic against Pakistan.
Nevertheless, the fabricated, sensationalized, and engineered narrative by Indian state-owned media channels has faced mounting criticism from within India itself, exposing the cracks in the country’s propaganda machinery. Several videos have been circulating where Indian citizens have exposed Indian propaganda machinery that moulds these attacks into cross-border terrorism rather than prompting a re-evaluation of domestic security and intelligence failures.
Pakistan always errs by placing itself in a defensive position, and instead of merely rebutting, it should strongly highlight grave human rights violations and crackdowns in Indian-occupied Kashmir, where civilians remain at perpetual risk. To counter these false narratives imposed by India, the Pakistani media landscape must evolve from defensive rebuttals to proactive truth-telling rather than countering Indian false accusations. Pakistani journalists must collaborate with global and international investigators and journalists to highlight human rights violations in Indian-Occupied Kashmir.
In contrast to India’s theatrics, Pakistan’s response has been characterized by restraint and strategic clarity, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and opposition leaders have categorically condemned the tragic incident while rejecting baseless allegations. Addressing a passing-out parade at Pakistan Military Academy Kakul, the PM said, “Pakistan is open to participating in any neutral, transparent, and credible investigation”.
The premier criticized India for continuing with a “pattern of exploitation”, leveling baseless allegations and false accusations without credible investigation or verifiable evidence. Whereas former Foreign Minister of Pakistan Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari called for a UN-mediated investigation and multilateral dialogue between India and Pakistan further illustrates Pakistan’s commitment to more legal, diplomatic, and justified avenues, a stark counterpoint to India’s belligerent moves.
Notably, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has urged both Pakistan and India to exercise maximum restraint, and to ensure that the situation and developments do not deteriorate further. Far from promoting peace, India is fanning the flames through sensationalized and distorted narratives and acts of war. While Pakistan seeks more legal and diplomatic measures to respond to India’s disturbing moves that may end in regional instability. Continuous building of false narratives and accusations of cross-border terrorism without evidence would further exacerbate the conflict.
Pakistan always errs by placing itself in a defensive position, and instead of merely rebutting, it should strongly highlight grave human rights violations and crackdowns in Indian-occupied Kashmir, where civilians remain at perpetual risk. To counter these false narratives imposed by India, the Pakistani media landscape must evolve from defensive rebuttals to proactive truth-telling rather than countering Indian false accusations. Pakistani journalists must collaborate with global and international investigators and journalists to highlight human rights violations in Indian-Occupied Kashmir.
