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

My Village Has a Pradhan Pati

 

 

 

 

I belong to a rural village in Uttar Pradesh but currently live in Delhi. For passport-related work, I had to go back to my village. After completing the documentation process, the next step was police verification. I got a call from the police station saying that I should have a residence certificate issued by the Gram Panchayat, along with my Aadhaar card.

The Pradhan of my village is a woman from SC category. I asked my mother if she would be available. Mom, being an ASHA worker, stays in contact with her. She replied, "Her husband might not be home right now." I asked, "But the Pradhan will write the address proof, right?" Mom said, "No, he will write it."

I didn’t take my mom very seriously and ran straight to the Pradhan’s house. When I reached there,  Pradhan was present, but her husband was not. She asked me what work I needed. I told her, and she said, "I don’t know what to write." I asked, "There must be some format for this, right?" She responded, "I don’t know."

I said, "Okay, I’ll check the format on the internet. Will that work?" She said, "No." I suggested, "Let your daughter guide you." She again refused. "He (her husband) will write it," she said. I pointed out, "But the signature will be yours, right?" She went silent.

Luckily, the Pradhan Pati arrived just then. He asked me what I needed, so I told him. He himself wrote the letter, stamped it, and signed it. I was shocked—he is not the Pradhan, yet he was the one issuing and signing the document.

From this incident, I recalled almost three to four Five-Year Plans during which she had been elected since my childhood. Her husband has been contesting elections every term using her name because he is a government employee and cannot run for office himself.

While the reservation of seats for women paved the way for greater political participation, in reality, it has not been entirely successful. Practices of Pradhan Pati and Sarpanch Pati are widespread and remain significant issues in local self-governance.

The menace of Pradhan Pati is widespread because there are about 2.63 lakh panchayats, and women make up 46.6% of the 32.29 lakh elected representatives in Panchayati Raj Institutions. In states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana, and Rajasthan, power is usually controlled by male relatives instead of the elected women. Whereas in states like Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Bihar and Himachal Pradesh, have 50% reservation for women, aiming to ensure their actual participation in governance.

while the reservation of seats for women and marginalized groups in Panchayati Raj Institutions was intended to enhance political participation and empowerment, the ground reality often reflects tokenism rather than genuine representation. Tokenism in panchayat elections is not limited to women alone. It also occurs in seats reserved for  general SC population or any category other than the general seat. Upper caste/ruling caste often selects a symbolic puppet to contest the election on their behalf. If their candidate wins, they indirectly control the power. 

Genuine empowerment requires not just electoral representation but also structural and social changes that enable elected women to exercise authority independently, without the shadow of male dominance.