A take on India- Pakistan Conflict

On the night of the 22nd of April, during the Pahalgam attack, I spent around 8 hours trying to figure out why it happened. I went through news from both India and Pakistan, from last one month and honestly, it looked like a short-term manufactured conflict. For the past month, Pakistan seemed to be writing the script for the aftermath. Multiple Pakistani politicians suddenly started showing concern and giving speech about the increasing outside population in Kashmir, and so called " demographic invasion and then came Asim Munir’s outrageous speech.

And aftermath of the Pahalgam attack, the exact same narrative was echoed by The Resistance Front, which claimed responsibility for the attack, stating that they did it because around 80,000 mainlanders were living in Kashmir. That’s when I started wondering: what’s the bigger picture here? couldn't figure out then, what could be the reason?

And now, when, we’re at war, right in the middle of the ongoing US-China tariff war and Trump’s worldwide tariff aggression. Western media platforms like CNN, Reuters, Washington Post, Bloomberg, and Business Standard have been constantly pushing the headline: "Pakistan’s Chinese-made jet brought down two Indian fighter aircraft US officials" in their top three stories for the last three days.  Even before just two months ago, US offered India F-16s, which India didn’t agree to.  There is also an important negotiation going on  between India and United State to reduce tariff gaps.

China is also pushing the headlines  "India-Pakistan war has become a study bed for China to observe and test its weapon systems in real time".  Where as Pakistan is dependent on Chinese weaponry and so called US weapon aid to maintain balance of power, on other hand India relies on Russian, French, American and some indigenously developed arms and ammunition.  

If we look at the situation over the past three days, India clearly stated that, Now It doesn't have any reason to escalate further and rest depends on Pakistan. Then suddenly, there’s an IMF bailout of 1 billion dollars for Pakistan,  where US has the highest share of veto power and voting right. It is done right in the middle of an ongoing conflict, where most countries already agreed that Pakistan was responsible for a dirty terrorist attack. 

It reminds me of Trotsky’s quote: “You may not be interested in war, but war is interested in you.”

Look closely and you’ll see. how we become victim of proxy war's.  for them our people are test subjects for arms and ammunition. A region where dominant powers pump currency through arms deals, loan packages, tariffs, and indirectly control our economies to achieve their strategically measured goals. This is how crisis is brought to your houses, even if you don't wish for !

here’s the uncomfortable truth, that we are not as important as we think, in this global capitalist system. We’re not treated as sovereign minds. we’re markets for cheap products, mass-produced food, low-cost labour, and high-cost weaponry, unwanted wars. We are profitable only in our suffering.

So if we continue to fight wars over religion, Pakistan, being Muslim majority versus India being Hindu majority nation, cling to this hatred, what’s the point? In the end, it doesn't matter at all.  It benefits the manufacturer of arms and ammunitions, sponsor's of terrorism,. Give's them purpose to continue their dirty game.

In the end we are South Asia, just the semi-periphery of Immanuel Wallerstein’s world system.

Pahalgam Attack, what we know so far

Some of the news timeline: 

From Kashmir 

1.. 12 April: 

On late Friday night, terrorists attempted to infiltrate into India from Pakistan near the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir. The attempt was foiled by the Indian army, and a junior commissioned officer killed in the line of duty during a counter-infiltration operation. Now, a video released by the Army shows the movement of the terrorists near the LoC. The footage, captured by thermal cameras installed for better patrolling of the highly sensitive border areas, showed three terrorists attempting to cross into India through a dense forest in the Keri-Bhattal area of the Akhnoor sector.

 https://www.ndtv.com/video/on-thermal-camera-terrorists-infiltration-attempt-near-loc-in-j-k-925648

 2. 14 April:

Post of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Pahalgham Development Authority (PDA) lying vacant, illegal constructions are reportedly going on unabated in the picturesque tourist resort of Pahalgham, raising serious concerns over regulatory failure and official inaction.

In what appears to be a deeper malaise, several hotels are said to be operating without proper registration from the Tourism Department.

https://gulistannewstv.com/pda-headless-illegal-constructions-and-unregistered-hotels-operate_gulistan_news_tv/ 

3. April 20:

Jammu and Kashmir president of Janata Dal (United), G M Shaheen has urged the Union Railway Minister to reconsider and halt the proposed railway line extensions from Srinagar to Pahalgam and Srinagar to Sonamarg.

https://risingkashmir.com/jdus-shaheen-urges-goi-to-reconsider-railway-line-extension-to-pahalgam-sonamarg/

4. 17 April:

In the recent administrative reshuffle ordered by the Jammu Kashmir government, IPS officer Amritpal Singh has been appointed as the new Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Anantnag, replacing the earlier officer. His posting comes at a crucial time, with Anantnag remaining one of the most strategically important and sensitive districts in South Kashmir, especially in the run-up to the assembly elections. Singh’s prior experience in handling sensitive law and order situations is expected to aid in maintaining stability in the region.

https://thekashmiriyat.co.uk/jk-police-major-reshuffle-srinagar-anantnag-get-new-ssps/?amp_markup=1

5. 18 April:

“For the last one and a half to two years, Poonch has been grappling with a fresh wave of militancy,” the IGP said, adding that a coordinated action plan has been put in place with the Army to neutralise the threat.

https://www.siasat.com/jk-seek-destroy-ops-for-hiding-terrorists-in-poonch-enters-5th-day-3209269/

6. April 16: 

Addressing the Overseas Pakistanis Convention in Islamabad on April 16, General Munir spoke about Kashmir and said, "Our stance is absolutely clear, it was our jugular vein, it will be our jugular vein, we will not forget it. We will not leave our Kashmiri brothers in their heroic struggle."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12oFh0dni0E

7. 15 April: 

National Investigation Agency on Tuesday filed a chargesheet against three accused, including a Pakistani handler, in a terror conspiracy case involving seizure of arms and ammunition in the Poonch region of Jammu and Kashmir.

The chargesheet filed before a special NIA court in Jammu has named Abdul Aziz, Munawar Hussain and Nazir Hussain alias Nazir Ahmed alias Shaheen as accused in the case.

https://kashmirobserver.net/2025/04/15/jk-conspiracy-case-nia-files-chargesheet-against-pakistani-handler-2-others/

From Pakistan on Kashmir: 

8.17 April: 

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Vice President Senator Sherry Rehman on Wednesday condemned India’s demographic invasion in held Kashmir.

“There is a deliberate, heinous strategy at play—a demographic invasion sanctioned by the Hindutva-driven Modi government. The revocation of Articles 370 and 35A, the Waqf Amendment Bill 2025, and settlement of non-Kashmiris are all part of this forced assimilation,” she added.

https://www.nation.com.pk/17-Apr-2025/sherry-condemns-india-s-demographic-invasion 

9. 21 April: 

A high-level delegation led by Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Special Envoy for Jammu and Kashmir, Yousef Muhammed Saleh Aldobey, visited Muzaffarabad, Azad Jammu and Kashmir. Expressing solidarity with the people of Kashmir and Palestine, the delegation reaffirmed its commitment to raising its voice against human rights violations in the occupied territories.

 https://arynews.tv/oic-special-envoy-visits-azad-jammu-and-kashmir/

10. April 22:

The highly-visible trucks were rented by the Washington-based World Kashmir Awareness forum (WKAF), an advocacy organization, to mark the 77th anniversary of resolution 47, which was co-sponsored by the United States and the United Kingdom, and adopted unanimously by the UN Security Council on 21 April 1948.

That resolution and other Security Council resolutions, WKAF Secretary-General Ghulam Nabi Fai, said binds both India and Pakistan to respect the outcome of the Kashmiri people’s vote to be conducted under U.N.’s impartial supervision.

https://www.app.com.pk/foreign-correspondent/digital-ad-trucks-flash-kashmir-freedom-messages-in-two-us-cities-on-key-un-resolutions-anniversary/

11. April 20: 

The All Parties Hurriyat Conference has strongly denounced the projection of Hindutva agenda by the India’s ruling BJP-RSS regime in the name of reviving so-called pre-Islamic Hindu civilization in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

APHC spokesman Advocate Abdul Rashid Minhas in a statement issued in Srinagar termed the the settling of non-locals in Kashmir and the selling of Kashmiri properties to outsiders as an attempt to to eradicate the Muslim majority character of the occupied territory.

https://www.app.com.pk/national/aphc-slams-hindutva-agenda-projection-in-iiojk-urges-release-of-detainees/

News From Pahalgam on 22 April:

At least 26 tourists were killed and several others injured in what's been one of the deadliest civilian strikes in recent years in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam. The Resistance Front (TRF), a shadow outfit of the banned Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), has claimed responsibility for the attack, according to central agency sources.

TRF, believed to be backed by Pakistan's intelligence agency ISI, is considered a proxy of LeT founder and 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed. On Tuesday, the group said the "demographic change" in the region was the reason for the attack.

"More than 85,000 domiciles have been issued to non-locals, creating a pathway for demographic change in Indian-occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IIOJK). These non-locals arrive posing as tourists, obtain domiciles, and then begin to act as if they own the land. Consequently, violence will be directed toward those attempting to settle illegally," TRF said.

What Is The Resistance Front?

The Resistance Front (TRF) is a proxy terror outfit of the banned Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), formed in 2019 in the aftermath of the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.

It began as an online entity but quickly evolved into a full-fledged terrorist group by combining elements from existing outfits such as Tehreek-e-Millat Islamia and Ghaznavi Hind.

:https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/pahalgam-terror-attack-let-affiliate-resistance-front-claims-pahalgam-attack-all-about-it-8232840