Pahalgam Massacre a Crime of a Desperate Pakistan Amid Balochistan Uprising and Tahawwur Rana Extradition

By New Age Islam Staff Writer 24 April 2025 Pakistan Army Is Facing Defeat By Baloch Rebels. Main Points: 1. 2. It is drawing flak over killing of Baloch civilians. 2. LeT operative Abu Qatal was killed in March 2025. 3. 4 Mumbai Attacks mastermind Tahawwur Rana was extradited to India in April 2025. 4. Pahalgam massacre seems a desperate revenge for Tahawwur Rana extradition. ----- Jammu & Kashmir, Apr 22 (ANI): People take part in a candle march over the Pahalgam terrorist attack, on Tuesday. (ANI Photo) ----- Pahalgam massacre of 26 tourists in Kashmir is one of the biggest terrorist attacks on civilians in decades and has sent shock waves across the country. The attack on unsuspecting tourists from West Bengal, Karnataka, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Odisha enjoying summer vacation has been condemned all over the world. The Resistance Front, a front organisation of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba involved in 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks has claimed responsibility for the heinous crime giving credibility to the theory of Pakistan's involvement in the massacre. India's foreign ministry has also said that the massacre bore marks of cross border terrorism and has taken a number of harsh steps against Pakistan. India summoned Pakistani High Commission's charge de affairs and handed him a note regarding Pakistani military officials being declared persona non grata. India has closed Wagah-Attari border and all Pakistani nationals have been asked to leave India within 48 hours. According to the foreign ministry, Indians who went to Pakistan on valid documents may return by May 1. The harshest step India has taken against Pakistan is the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty signed in 1960. The treaty had survived 1965, 1971 and 1999 wars. Therefore, the suspension of the treaty by India is seen in Pakistan as a signal to a possible military offensive and therefore Pakistan army has been put on high alert. There may be various reasons behind the possible involvement of Pakistan in the Pahalgam massacre. First, Extradition of Pakistani terrorist Tahawwur Rana was a big blow to Pakistan. Rana was one of the handlers of Mumbai terror attacks and was arrested by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation along with David Coleman Headley in 2011 for his involvement in the Mumbai attacks, Copenhagen attack and for his links with the terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba and was convicted. India had appealed for the extradition of Tahawwur Rana to the US and the US Supreme Court had ordered his extradition. Rana had appealed against his extradition anticipating his death in India but his appeal was rejected by the court and he was extradited to India in the current. Earlier in March, another LeT operative involved in Mumbai attacks and other terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir Abu Qatal was killed by unidentified men in Jhelum of the Punjab province in March this year. This might have caused a sense of desperation in the military and political circles of Pakistan. The Baloch revolution has also caused much damage to the Pakistan army as they have suffered huge casualties in their fight against the Baloch rebels. Hundreds, if not thousands of Pakistani soldiers including some colonels have resigned or have absconded for fear of being killed by the Baloch rebels. The Pakistan army has also drawn flak for killing Baloch women and children with drones. Therefore, Pakistan army and the ISI needed to divert the attention of the people from its misadventures and failures and win the sympathy of the people and the opposition. They needed an issue that divert the people's attention from Pakistan's internal conflict towards India. Pahalgam terror attack. Photo | PTI ----- The foreign secretary said that Pakistan was desperate because of the restoration of normalcy in Kashmir after elections and so it carried out the attack to create disturbance and chaos in the state. The timing of the massacre is also a pointer as the US Vice President J D Vance was in India. Ex-Pentagon official Michael Rubin also pointed out that Pakistan had earlier conducted terror strike in Kashmir during President Clinton's visit to india. On April 16, Pakistan Army chief Asim Munir had said in a conclave of overseas Pakistanis in Islamabad that Kashmir was the jugular vein of Pakistan and that The Muslims were different from Hindus in 'every possible aspect of life' refering to the Two Nation Theory' propounded by Jinnah. Incidentally, the Pahalgam terrorists had asked the names and religion of their victims before shooting them. Pakistan has denied its involvement in the massacre but the world knows that Pakistan has been perpetrating acts of terror in Kashmir and other parts of India for the last forty years as part of its foreign policy. Reacting to the incident, former Pentagon official Michael Rubin said that 'the only reaction the United States should take is a formal designation of Pakistan as a state sponsoring terror and a designation of Asim Munir as a terorist.' He further said that the only difference between Osama bin Laden and Asim Munir was that the former lived in caves while the latter lived in a palace. It is obvious from the circumstances that Pakistan was involved in the massacre. Indian politician Kapil Sibal referred to Asim Munir's statement about Kashmir being Pakistan's jugular vein and guessed that the terrorists might have entered Kashmir through Kishtwar. The Indian government has decided to convene an all party meeting today to decide a future course of action. The loss of innocent lives of the Indians has caused grief and anger among the people of the country and they have urged India to take strong action against the perpetrators. Pakistan has always facilitated terror attacks in India and has conducted big terror attacks in regular intervals. Former Pakistani General Pervez Musharraf had shamelessly admitted that he orchestrated the Mumbai terror attacks. Since Pakistan could not penetrate India's security ring, it targeted innocent civilians in the hills of Pahalgam in the border areas. This terror incident has caused a dangerous escalation of situation between the two countries and this escalation will only make things difficult for Pakistan. 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