Foreword
In May 2025, South Asia witnessed yet another India-Pakistan armed conflict. It commenced as India decided to use the April 22, attack on tourists in Pahalgam, IIOJK, as a pretext to launch unjustified and reckless military aggression against Pakistan. Within hours of the Pahalgam attack, India started accusing Pakistan of complicity — without having held any investigation whatsoever and providing even a shred of evidence. Pakistan firmly rejected the baseless Indian allegations.
India followed its accusatory onslaught with a slew of unilateral measures, including: (i) closure of Wagah-Attari border check post; (ii) ban on travel of Pakistan nationals to India on SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme; (iii) expulsion of Pakistan Services Advisors and staff in Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi and withdrawal of India’s Services Advisors and staff from the Indian High Commission in Islamabad; (iv) reduction of overall strength of the two High Commissions from the existing 55 to 30; and (v) holding the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) “in abeyance.” Furthermore, the Indian armed forces were put on high alert. As the political leadership in India clamored for “retribution,” segments of the mainstream Indian media worked overtime to create a war frenzy.
New Delhi expected the world to endorse both its false narrative and its belligerent intentions. The world community, of course, did not oblige. India also rejected Pakistan’s offer for a transparent, credible, and neutral international investigation into the incident. Several in the international community viewed this offer as reasonable and deemed it a prudent way to avoid conflict that could seriously endanger international peace and security, particularly given South Asia’s nuclearized environment. The international media — reporting on the Pahalgam attack and its aftermath — also highlighted that India had not produced any corroborative evidence to establish Pakistan’s alleged involvement. India, however, remained adamant and kept presuming that it did not need to prove its case against Pakistan to the rest of the world. In the event, it got a rude shock. India’s narrative or diplomatic maneuvers found no traction internationally; militarily, it got a bloody nose.
