I. CONTEXT & BACKGROUND

• Incident:
  
  
  • Recent terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu & Kashmir.
    
    
  • Claimed lives of civilians and security personnel.
    
    
  • Highlights persistent threat from Pakistan-backed terror infrastructure in Kashmir Valley.
    
    
• Strategic implications:
  
  
  • It is part of Pakistan’s long-term strategy of bleeding India through “a thousand cuts.”
    
    
  • Represents a continuation of hybrid warfare, including terrorism, propaganda, and diplomatic maneuvering.
    
    

🔷 II. PATTERN OF TERRORISM IN KASHMIR

• Hybrid militancy:
  
  
  • Involvement of locals radicalized and used as foot soldiers, often without formal militant training.
    
    
• Use of small arms, hit-and-run tactics:
  
  
  • Attackers blend in and operate with the help of local sympathizers.
    
    
• Shift in focus:
  
  
  • Moving from security installations to soft targets (pilgrims, civilians, tourists) to maximize psychological impact.
    
    

🔷 III. INDIA’S RESPONSE STRATEGY – CRITICAL GAPS

🟠 1. Lack of integrated counterterror strategy

• Responses are often reactive and short-term.
  
  
• Absence of coordinated doctrine between central and state agencies.
  
  
• Condemnation without calibrated follow-up actions has minimal deterrent effect.
  
  

🟠 2. Failure to re-establish deterrence

• India has not imposed clear costs on Pakistan post such attacks.
  
  
• Unlike surgical strikes (2016) and Balakot airstrikes (2019), recent responses have been limited to condemnation.
  
  

🟠 3. Lack of strategic communication

• Failure to build a coherent counter-narrative against Pakistan’s propaganda.
  
  
• India must highlight the global jihadist agenda, and Pakistan’s role in sponsoring it.
  
  

🔷 IV. PAKISTAN’S ROLE AND STRATEGY

• State sponsorship:
  
  
  • Continues to harbor and fund terror groups (e.g., LeT, JeM).
    
    
  • Uses non-state actors as part of asymmetric warfare to avoid direct conflict.
    
    
• Use of denial and disinformation:
  
  
  • Disowns attacks while continuing to train and support terrorist modules.
    
    
• Pakistan’s aim:
  
  
  • To internationalize Kashmir issue, weaken India’s legitimacy, and destabilize J&K.
    
    

🔷 V. STRATEGIC COURSE CORRECTIONS SUGGESTED

✅ 1. Establish Deterrence

• Adopt a doctrine of disproportionate retaliation for every provocation.
  
  
• Responses should not be predictable.
  
  
• Must impose visible costs on sponsors of terror.
  
  

✅ 2. Institutional Reforms

• Set up a Unified Counter-Terror Command for Kashmir.
  
  
• Enhance coordination between intelligence, police, and army.
  
  
• Use predictive intelligence and AI-based tools.
  
  

✅ 3. Revive Counter-Insurgency Grid

• Strengthen local police and intelligence network.
  
  
• Reconnect with the population via civic outreach and trust-building.
  
  

✅ 4. Use Strategic Communication

• Frame terrorism in Kashmir as a global jihadist agenda, not merely a domestic insurgency.
  
  
• Counter Pakistan’s narrative through diplomatic, media, and public platforms.
  
  

✅ 5. Internationalize Pakistan’s Terror Links

• Leverage global platforms (UN, FATF, G20) to isolate Pakistan diplomatically and financially.
  
  
• Push for sanctions and restrictions against state-backed terror networks.

✅ GS Paper II – Polity & International Relations

“Condemnation is not a strategy.” In the context of recurring terror attacks in Jammu & Kashmir, critically evaluate India’s approach towards cross-border terrorism and the need for a credible deterrence framework. (250 words)