The barbarous terror attack by Pakistan-backed militants in Pahalgam killing 26 civilians is a change in tactic from previous such strikes in Jammu & Kashmir. Both Pathankot in the state of Punjab in 2016 and Pulwama in 2019 targeted the military. This time, civilians were brutally murdered for the first such mass casualty event since 2000. The nature of countering terrorism is an unforgiving exercise. That there was a sense of normalcy in the Kashmir Valley over the years is a testament to the fact that Indian security agencies thwart multiple such plans on a regular basis, operations that rightfully do not make the headlines. However, lapses that lead to outcomes such as Pahalgam should be inculcated for institutional and doctrinal upgrades considering terrorism does not work around any rules or regulations. Despite the India-Pakistan geography arguably being the most militarised real estate on the planet, the conventional view of utilising paramilitary and the Army at the forefront of counterterrorism may need a reset.
What Pahalgam says about counter terrorism realities (Kabir Taneja – Observer Research Foundation)
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