In 37 years of violence in Kashmir, there has never been such a brutal attack on civilians as the one in Pahalgam on Tuesday, 22 April, when terrorists killed at least 27 people. The massacre is almost comparable to the suicide bombing at the gates of Srinagar’s cantonment in December 1999, although that specifically targeted the Indian Army.
This attack did not really come out of the blue. There have been scores of terrorist attacks in Jammu & Kashmir over the past 11 months, starting with an attack on a bus carrying Hindu pilgrims at the very moment Prime Minister Narendra Modi took the oath of office for his third term last year. Since then, most attacks have targeted armed forces, and have concentrated on areas in the Jammu Division of the Union Territory, rather than the Valley.
These attackers are extremely well-trained and have been able to take down even army officers.
Despite repeated warnings from some of us that this was an extremely dangerous trend, the national security set-up has appeared surprisingly blasé.