JK News Today News Analysis
The Pahalgam terror attack of April 22 has become a centerpiece of India’s narrative against terrorism at international gatherings. More recently, it was articulated by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar at SCO foreign ministers meeting at Tianjin, China, on Tuesday, when he noted that SCO should adopt an uncompromising stand on terrorism, and his reference point was Pahalgam.
Jaishankar put on table the three founding principles of combating terrorism, separatism and extremism. That terrorism is in no one’s interest, he noted as a message for the whole world to listen and act upon. But in China, it was more for the host country that, while ignoring the foundational principles of SCO had sided with Pakistan, an epicenter of terrorism, and responsible for the Pahalgam attack.
India doesn’t have to borrow terms to list the dangers that terrorism poses to the world , because it has been the victim of this menace , nor does it have to learn from the world, especially the superpowers , how to punish the perpetrators and backers of cross-border terrorism. It has established a new norm of deterrence against terrorism by what it did in the wake of Pahalgam attack in which 26 civilians were killed; launched military action against terrorists and their infrastructure across the border – Pakistan- under operation named “Operation Sindoor.”
Two points should be taken note of: Pakistan backed terrorists unleashed a mayhem killing tourists, after ascertaining their religious identity, in the beautiful valley of Pahalgam in Kashmir on April 22. Second, it took swift action against the terrorists and their backers in two phases – suspending the Indus Waters Treaty and downgrading the diplomatic ties on April 23rd and launch of decisive military action against terror bases in Pakistan.
India has been re-invoking dangers of terrorism since April 22 and its impact on the country and the bilateral relations with the country that sent the terrorists and executed a plan to hurt Kashmir’s economy and jolting nation as a whole as acts of terror affect nation and the nation. The Indians were particularly hurt because of the religion-specific tragedy and attempts to undo positive changes in Kashmir in the past five-six years. – the period after the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019. That was a momentous moment when the Narendra Modi government took an extraordinarily bold decision to scrap the concept and context of two systems in the country. Until then Jammu and Kashmir was secluded from the mainstream in constitutional and psychological terms as the governments were finding it unthinkable to do away with the constitutional provisions feeding separatism. Generations had grown with these feelings of being different – a feeling of being sovereign within a sovereign country had been ingrained in them. The sovereignty of one state was in competition with the national sovereignty Why what Jaishankar said in China is significant? This question has easy answer. The Indian minister said so after meeting President Xi Jinxing of China who is reckoned as one of the most influential leaders in the world. Therefore, this message on Chinese soil holds greater significance as also because of the role that China played during Operation Sindoor, backing Pakistan against India in all respects from narrative to military support.
Jaishankar reminded the SCO members, including China and Pakistan, that the founding principles of the grouping were to combat terrorism, separatism and extremism, and noted that “not surprisingly, they often occur together.”
Then he went on to remind the audience: “Recently, we in India witnessed a graphic example in the terrorist attack in Pahalgam on 22 April 2025. It was deliberately conducted to undermine the tourism economy of Jammu and Kashmir, while sowing a religious divide.”
He referred to the UN Security Council statement that not only condemned the attack in stringent terms but also “underlined the need to hold the perpetrators, organizers, financers and sponsors of the reprehensible act of terrorism accountable and bring them to justice’.
India, he said, did exactly that and will continue to doing so. The reference was to Operation Sindoor. The idea of this operation, he underscored, as one can read between the lines, is a template for punishing terrorists and their bosses, whether in the government and otherwise.
And then, the Indian EAM delivered the punch line: “It is imperative that the SCO, to remain true to its founding objectives, take an uncompromising position on this challenge.”
It established in clear terms that India will never forget Pahalgam , because it inflicted numerous wounds on its soul and the pursuit of resolving internal issues which some in the international community had made controversial and contentious . The response to the terror attack, under Operation Sindoor, is the only answer to such attacks. No compromises and no concessions. It was a wider message to the world from the SCO CFM.
