Weaponizing Pahalgam Tragedy: India's Domestic and International Campaign Against Pakistan

Weaponizing Pahalgam Tragedy: India's Domestic and International Campaign Against Pakistan

The drums of war were beating in South Asia, with the recent conflagration between two nuclear powers, India and Pakistan. Following the Pahalgam attack, which took the lives of 27 tourists in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, India started pointing fingers across the border, blaming Pakistan for the tragedy. This was coupled with taking stringent punitive measures—such as holding the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance, suspending the visas of many Pakistanis granted under the SAARC, and reducing the staff of the Pakistan High Commission in India.'

By Qirat Mirza


It not only discarded the bid of Pakistan’s Prime Minister for an impartial probe into the tragedy, but also, without providing testimony of Pakistan’s involvement in the tragedy, launched a salvo of missiles on civilian sites in Pakistan, targeting the civilian population as well as air bases. In reprisal, Pakistan shot down five Indian Rafale jets. This was followed by the launch of Operation Bunyan Al Marsoos, a series of more calculated measures targeting six Indian military bases without harming the civilian population. Afterward, a ceasefire was brokered by the US between the two countries and announced through the official X account of President Donald Trump.


While Indian media was highly engaged in promoting war hysteria, purporting alleged Pakistan’s involvement to be casus belli to rationalize its actions, India’s actions constitute a brazen violation of international law while declaring it an irresponsible member of the international community. Additionally, it has been exploiting the current tragedy to accomplish its long-awaited domestic and international agendas. For instance, India had intended to re-negotiate the IWT on demographic and environmental grounds. In 2023, it boycotted the proceedings at The Hague on building hydro-power projects on two western rivers, disputed by Pakistan.


It also conveyed to Pakistan its intention of amending the dispute resolution mechanism provisioned in the Treaty. In 2024, it also issued an ultimatum to Pakistan to suspend the Indus Water Treaty if Pakistan did not ratify it on Indian terms. Hence, India is exploiting India’s security failure to suspend the Indus Water Treaty, as demonstrated by PM Modi’s previous statement that “Blood and Water cannot flow together.”


Even the revocation of Article 370 of the Indian Constitution by India, stripping Jammu and Kashmir of its autonomous status, was also intended to get in a clear position to complete work on the projects diverting the flow of water from the Indus River system. However, these actions constitute blatant violations of Article 26 of the Vienna Convention, demanding states to pursue the treaty in good faith; Article 57, requiring the consent of both states for suspending the treaty; and Article 60, allowing its suspension only when either party is engaged in its violations. Since India’s spurious allegations against Pakistan don’t fall into the category of violations, India’s suspension of the treaty constitutes a conspicuous breach of international law.


Furthermore, Article 54 of Additional Protocol I of International Humanitarian Law prohibits the destruction of objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population, including drinking water installations and supplies. It bars parties to the conflict from using resources as a weapon to starve the civilian population. In a recent move, it stopped the flow of water in the Chenab River, depriving Pakistan of its due water share. Additionally, the hydel projects in Azad Kashmir were also struck by India in a missile attack.


The 1974 UN General Assembly Resolution 3314 defines aggression as “the use of armed force by a State against the sovereignty, territorial integrity or political independence of another State.” Additionally, Article 2(4) of the Charter stipulates those states must refrain from the threat or use of force in their international relations. India’s night attack on Pakistan without any provocation and testimony linking Pakistan with the Pahalgam attack holds it liable for its violation of international law while it is striving to become a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. Even The New York Times reported that India has fallen short of supplying evidence linking Pakistan’s alleged involvement in the Pahalgam tragedy.


Domestically, the Modi government is capitalizing on the current tensions to consolidate its voter bank as elections are drawing near in India. Even he set his foot in Indian politics by exploiting communal violence and anti-Pakistan rhetoric. Therefore, his government is intransigent on not negotiating with Pakistan on various issues.


Internationally, India is exploiting the Pahalgam attack to isolate Pakistan and besmirch its image as a peaceful country when Pakistan is embarked on pursuing geo-economic policies. This is demonstrated by the fact that India had been lobbying against Pakistan’s financial system under the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) following the Mumbai attacks. Additionally, concurrently it also attempted to derail Pakistan’s IMF loan program, concluded with the disbursement of $1 billion. While India is shoring up its rudderless assertions by claiming Pakistan’s past pattern of supporting militant organizations, it needs to realize the fact that Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) and Jamaat-ud-Dawa have been banned in Pakistan, while Hafiz Saeed was arrested in 2019.


Hence, India’s attempt to provoke an escalatory war with Pakistan, rather than exercising restraint, and thereby disrupting regional peace, was effectively countered by Pakistan’s more assertive yet limited response. While Pakistan advocates peace and harmony, it also retains both the capability and the right to respond to any external aggression against its territorial sovereignty. The recent crisis clearly demonstrates that achieving lasting peace between the two nations is no simple task and still requires resolving the long-standing Kashmir dispute in accordance with the wishes of the Kashmiri people.


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The writer is a student of International Relations at International Islamic University, Islamabad and is currently serving as an intern at Kashmir Institute of International Relations.

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