17/05/2025
Title: Pahalgam Attack and the Shifting Narratives: A Critical Analysis
The terrorist attack in Pahalgam on April 22, 2025, which resulted in the deaths of 26 civilians, once again brought India-Pakistan relations into sharp focus. Immediately, thereafter, India blamed Pakistan while Pakistan offered independent investigation. India failed to adduce even a single iota of evidence regarding involvement of Pakistan. India launched unprovoked *Operation Sindoor* on 6–7 May 2025, striking targets not only across the Line of Control (LoC) but deep inside Pakistan’s Punjab province, including cities like Bahawalpur and Muridke etc.
India was shocked and surprised when Pakistan Air Force reacted swiftly and robustly and shot down India’s 6 fighter jets including two advanced Rafael jets. DGISPR of Pakistan declared that India had committed crime by killing civilians and violated Pakistan’s sovereignty. He also told that Pakistan will retaliate on time, place and manner of its own choice.
*Pakistan’s Swift Retaliation: A Strategic Surprise*
Thereafter, India started drone attacks inside Pakistan sending hundreds of drones loaded with weapons and resultantly many civilians lost their lives. Even India launched missile attack during midnight of 10th May 2025 targeting different cities and Air Bases inside Pakistan
Contrary to Indian expectations, Pakistan responded with unprecedented speed and precision. On 10 May 2025, Pakistan launched *Operation Bunyan-un-Marsoos*, targeting Indian military installations while avoiding civilian areas destroying, inter alia, India’s S-400 Anti-Missile battery and stockpile of Barhamose missiles inside India through swift, strong and fierce by surface to surface and air to surface missiles . The Indian Air Force suffered significant losses, including the downing of advanced Rafale jets—a fact confirmed by French intelligence and satellite imagery of wreckage near Bathinda, India
Statements from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar inadvertently acknowledged Pakistan’s robust response. Modi’s vague claims of “unimaginable damage” contrasted sharply with India’s abrupt acceptance of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire, revealing strategic miscalculations.
*India’s False Narrative: “Terrorist Camps” vs. Civilian Casualties*
India claimed its strikes targeted “terrorist infrastructure,” but evidence from ground reports and satellite imagery revealed a starkly different reality. Pakistan reported *31 civilian deaths, including women and children, and extensive damage to mosques, schools, and residential areas . Independent analysts, including those from *The Guardian and BBC Verify, corroborated that strikes hit urban centers with no verifiable militant presence. For instance, the Masjid-e-Markaz Taiba religious school in Muridke was destroyed, further undermining India’s claims.
Pakistan’s military spokesperson labeled India’s narrative a “phantom defence,” emphasizing that no terrorist camps existed in the targeted areas. Despite India’s insistence, it failed to provide credible evidence linking the Pahalgam attack to Pakistani soil, exposing the operation as a politically motivated escalation
Following this, Indian Foreign Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar reportedly claimed that India had informed Pakistan in advance of its intentions. He further implied that Pakistan’s retaliation was unnecessary and escalatory.
These statements have been widely echoed by Indian political circles and surprisingly, even by some Pakistani vloggers, who suggest that Pakistan’s response was hesitant and driven mainly by public pressure. Such an interpretation is both misleading and unjust.
*The Role of Misinformation: YouTubers and Propaganda*
A disturbing trend emerged during the conflict: pro-India social media influencers, particularly YouTubers, propagated false narratives to justify India’s aggression. These actors falsely claimed:
1. India had “warned” Pakistan about the strikes in advance—a claim unsupported by diplomatic records.
2. Pakistan hesitated to retaliate due to “weakness,” ignoring Islamabad’s clear warnings of swift retaliation.
Such content, designed for monetization and clickbait, dangerously distorted realities and inflamed public sentiment. Pakistan’s DGISPR had aptly dismissed these claims, stating, “When Pakistan strikes, the world will know” .
The Real Picture
Pakistan has been actively fighting terrorism within its borders for more than a decade. The state has successfully dismantled and eradicated terrorist groups such as Jaish-e-Muhammad and Lashkar-e-Taiba, and continues to wage an intensive and ongoing war against the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). The Pakistani military and intelligence community have conducted thousands of operations under Zarb-e-Azb, Radd-ul-Fasaad, and other frameworks, resulting in a sharp decline in domestic terrorism and the elimination of hundreds of high-profile militants.
To insinuate that Pakistan harbors such groups is a disservice to the sacrifices made by thousands of Pakistani soldiers and civilians who laid down their lives in the fight against extremism.
Strategic Response, Not Hesitation
Pakistan’s response to India's strikes post-Pahalgam was not an emotional or impulsive reaction to public pressure. It was a carefully calibrated response to preserve sovereignty and deliver a message of deterrence. The swift and proportionate military action demonstrated the resolve and preparedness of the Pakistani armed forces.
India, it seems, had not anticipated this level of assertiveness. The prevailing expectation was of a symbolic or restrained response, but Pakistan's firm reaction forced Indian policymakers to reassess their calculus.
Narratives for Political Consumption
Indian politicians have continued to shape narratives aimed at domestic audiences, presenting Pakistan’s response as overblown and portraying India’s actions as legitimate counter-terrorism. These narratives, however, conveniently ignore Pakistan’s own struggles and victories against terrorism and serve electoral rather than factual interests.
Conclusion
It is crucial to distinguish fact from rhetoric. Pakistan is a sovereign state committed to combating terrorism in all its forms—whether internal or external. The events post-Pahalgam should be viewed not through the prism of manipulated narratives but through an understanding of regional dynamics, security imperatives, and strategic balance. Kashmir dispute is the core issue between India and Pakistan and it must be resolved according to the wishes of the people of Kashmir as recognized and promised by the UNSC in its resolutions. Simplistic portrayals serve no one and undermine the complex realities that define Indo-Pak relations.
Rai Yasin, Advocate High Court.
