Tensions between India and Pakistan have continued to escalate following last week’s car bombing in the disputed Kashmir region that left more than 40 Indian Central Reserve Police Force personnel dead. Following the worst attack in nearly two decades, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi responded with tough words for the groups responsible, and a thinly veiled warning to the Pakistani government: “I want to tell the terror outfits and those aiding and abetting them that they have made a big mistake. They will have to pay a very heavy price for their actions. […] Our neighbour which is already isolated by the global community is in a state of illusion, if it thinks that it can demoralize India with its dastardly acts and nefarious designs. Let me state categorically that it should stop daydreaming to destabilize India. This neighbour of ours which is in a state of economic despair must know that [any] such attempt is destined to fail and will be foiled.” Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan countered calls for retaliation in India with a warning of his own: “All this ‘attack Pakistan’ talk is all keeping elections in mind. But if at all these are serious, please make note of one thing clearly – Pakistan will not think of retaliating, it will retaliate.” Prime Minister Khan added, however, “Pakistan is moving towards stability. Why would we do something like this? If you have any actionable intelligence that a Pakistani is involved, give it to us. I guarantee you, we will take action, not because we are under pressure, but because they are acting as enemies of Pakistan.” The terrorist attack sparked reports of retaliatory harassment of Kashmiri individuals living in other parts of northern India. Demands for how the country should respond, however, have been mixed, including a new argument that the time has come to add China into India’s calculations.
- In an editorial, the liberal Indian Express called for the country to change strategies regarding Pakistan: “India should focus […] on targeting Pakistan’s greatest current vulnerability — a troubled financial condition. […] Delhi can no longer remain silent and must signal its willingness to limit bilateral political and commercial ties with China, if Beijing continues to protect Pakistan on terror-related issues.” The Express warned, however, that the country needed to maintain a united and calm front: “[N]o external strategy can succeed if Delhi lets the internal cracks widen.”
- The Hindustan Times, another liberal newspaper, recalled the ineffectiveness of counter strikes against Pakistan in 2016, and pointed out that this attack was carried out by a local Kashmiri resident who was recruited by terrorists from across the border: “Restraint is not easy when security personnel are killed in such large numbers, but it is important that the Centre draws a fine line. It must definitely use the proverbial stick to go after terrorists. At the same time, it must not forget that politics lies at the heart of the insurgency.”
- The centrist Times of India called for an adoption of “a larger, more comprehensive, hybrid and long-term strategy” to counter the “hybrid warfare Pakistan deploys against India.” Among the policy suggestions, the Times called for “sanctions which designate Pakistan as a terror state” that would force companies and businesses to choose between the two countries. “The same logic should be applied to China as a whole, as the country is Pakistan’s strategic patron and mentor. The ‘Wuhan spirit’ cannot, after all, be exclusively a brown man’s burden – China must do some of the heavy lifting as well,” the Times added. The Times of India also condemned the threatening of and attacks on Kashmiri students outside Kashmir in retaliation for the attack.
- The pro-government Daily Pioneer demanded the government “Hit Pakistan back hard” in its editorial on the attack: “[W]e can no longer be seen as a soft state and notch up a timeline of fidayeen honours; we need to take demonstrable muscular action.”
