The April 22 attack by gunmen that killed 26 people, mostly Hindu tourists, in the town of Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir state has heightened tensions between India and Pakistan. The Indian authorities say the assailants are allied to a Pakistan-based Islamist group who, according to witnesses, confirmed that the victims were Hindu before shooting them.
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi pledged that the gunmen and those who organized the attack will be punished “bigger than they can imagine.”
However, angry rhetoric by nationalist broadcast networks and social media users is sparking fears of Hindu mob revenge attacks against Muslims, particularly Kashmiris. Some of India’s state governments carried out mass arrests of Muslims to identify irregular migrants. Police in the state of Uttar Pradesh filed criminal charges against two activists for posts criticizing the government’s failure to ensure security in Pahalgam. In Jammu and Kashmir, security forces have imposed summary punishment, blowing up the homes of alleged militants—actions that the Supreme Court has already prohibited after similar abuses elsewhere.
The government’s response is counterproductive. Despite decades of serious human rights violations by Indian security forces in Jammu and Kashmir, Kashmiris came out in large numbers to protest against the attack in Pahalgam. Several survivors said that local Kashmiris had protected and supported them. A Kashmiri tour guide, the only Muslim among those killed, was targeted when he tried to stop the gunmen. Many Kashmiris have expressed anger with the militant groups. “Those who did this claim they did it for us,” Jammu and Kashmir’s Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said. “But did we ask for this? None of us is with this attack.”
The Indian government has accused Pakistan of backing militant groups, particularly because Pakistan’s military chief recently declared support for Kashmir. Pakistan has denied the allegations. But both countries, each of which claims the region, are exchanging fire at the border as tensions escalate.
The Indian authorities have an important opportunity to enforce a rights-respecting response to the Pahalgam attack.
There is concern, however, that the incident will worsen relations between India and Pakistan. Kashmiris have long been caught between the two countries and suffer as a result. They are entitled to better.