Pahalgam Attack: Why is the Indian Media Not Asking Hard Questions?

[Riaz Haq]

A recent terrorist attack on April 22 in Kashmir has killed 26 Indian tourists. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu Nationalist government took no time to blame Pakistan for the attack and vowed to "punish" the neighbor for it. Indian media, also derisively known as "Godi media", immediately went into overdrive to demand action against Pakistan. New Delhi followed up with suspending the Indus Basin Water treaty from the 1960s which guarantees 80% of the water from the three western rivers (Chenab, Jhelum and Indus rivers) to Pakistan, while India gets the exclusive use of the water from three eastern rivers (Beas, Ravi and Sutlej rivers). India also ordered Pakistani visitors to leave the country and reduced Pakistani diplomatic staff posted in India. Pakistan responded by suspending Simla Agreement and banning overflights of Indian civilian and military aircraft through its airspace. Pakistan warned India that any attempt to block its share of water from the three western rivers will be an "act of war", adding that it was prepared to respond, “with full force across the complete spectrum of national power”. Pakistan is a nuclear-armed country, as is India. Pakistan's nuclear doctrine calls for the use of nuclear weapons if its national existence is threatened by any country. 

Shankaracharya Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati

The Indian mainstream media has amplified the Modi government's propaganda and abandoned its role of asking the hard questions to get at the truth. Among the few who have raised serious doubts about Delhi's  narrative is a Hindu religious leader named Shankaracharya Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati. In a viral video, the holy man has asked the following questions:

1. Shouldn't our "chowkidar"  (Modi has called himself  chowkidar in the past) be held accountable for any attacks on our home? 

2. How did the attackers manage to come in, carry out the attack without any resistance and safely escape?

3. How did you so quickly determine that the attackers came from Pakistan? And if you are so good at reaching this conclusion so quickly, why were you unable to stop the attack in the first place. 

4. Can India really cut off water flow instantly to Pakistan to "punish" it? Experts say it will take at least 20 years if India allocated unlimited funds to make it happen as fast as possible. It will require building dams, water reservoirs and canals to divert the water from Pakistan. 

Pakistani journalist Najam Sethi sees the hand of "Indian deep state" at work in Pahalgam, carried out while the US Vice President JD Vance in India. Sethi recalls what former American Secretary of State Madeleine Albright wrote in her memoirs titled "Mighty Almighty" about the killing of 35 Sikh villagers in Kashmir that India blamed on Pakistan during US President Bill Clinton's India visit in March, 2000. She said Clinton suspected the hand of Hindu extremists in the Chittisinghpura incident. She quoted him saying that if he hadn’t made the trip, the victims would have still been alive. 

Among the Indian journalists, only Bharat Bhushan has raised some questions about his country's government narrative. He thinks India violated the back-channel agreement between Modi's NSA Ajit Doval and Pakistan's then NSA Moeed Yusuf reached after 2019 to spare the civilians on both sides in any proxy attacks. Bhushan points out a warning from Lt General Ahmad Sharif that “the (Jaafar Express) train attack (in Balochistan) has changed the rule of the game”. 

Bhushan's op ed mentions Modi's muscular policy toward people he sees as "terrorists".  Canada, Pakistan and the United States have all accused the Indian government of a campaign of international assassinations. He writes: "Another development has been the targeted killings of terrorists and militants — both Kashmir and Sikhs, that Pakistan alleges have been initiated by Indian intelligence agencies after the Pulwama terrorist strike in 2019 when 40 paramilitary personnel were killed. India was allegedly inspired to undertake extra-judicial killings on foreign soil, from the example of Russia’s KGB, Israel’s Mossad, and the assassination of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi Arabia". 

Bhushan concludes his Op Ed in Deccan Herald as follows: "How will India react now to what it believes to be Pakistan-sponsored terrorism? The bravado about punishing every terrorist act with greater-than-expected force is not going to be easy to put in action. Geopolitical circumstances have changed since 2019.  Public sentiment cannot be the sole basis of military strikes. Thankfully, no crucial election is in the offing where assuaging public emotions becomes an issue. India will also have to provide proof to the world that Pakistan was indeed involved. This would require the arrest and questioning of the terrorists involved. That may take time. Only the tacit approval of the US can ensure that a strike against Pakistan does not spin out of control". 

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[Riaz Haq]

Pakistan has offered to participate in an independent international investigation of the attack.

India should agree to it if it has nothing to hide.

[Riaz Haq]

Excerpts of NY Times story on Pahalgam:

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/27/world/asia/india-pakistan-kashmi...

In the briefings to diplomats at the foreign ministry, Indian officials have described Pakistan’s past patterns of support for terrorist groups targeting India, diplomatic officials said. The Indian officials have said their investigation is continuing, and made brief references to technical intelligence tying the perpetrators of last week’s attack to Pakistan, including facial recognition data.

The lack of strong evidence offered so far, analysts and diplomats said, pointed to one of two possibilities: that India needs more time to gather information about the terrorist attack before striking Pakistan, or that — in a time of particular chaos on the world stage — it feels little need to justify to anyone the actions it plans to take.

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The lack of clarity may help explain why India has pointed largely to Pakistan’s past support of terrorism in Kashmir to make its case for a military reprisal now. But that approach, before India has laid out its evidence even in private diplomatic discussions, has raised some eyebrows considering the gravity of the escalation. One diplomat privately wondered: Do you want to go to war with a nuclear-armed neighbor based just on past patterns?

[Riaz Haq]

Fidato
@tequieremos
Barkha I’ll tell you with an example why the world doesn’t take India’s allegations seriously:

After the Samjhauta Express bombing in 2007 which killed 68 people, India immediately blamed ISI without an evidence. However, at the first Indo-Pak meeting of the Joint Terror…

https://x.com/tequieremos/status/1916063639834137023

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barkha dutt
@BDUTT
Am truly shocked by the marginal, virtually non coverage of the Pahalgam Terror attack in the American media , ignorance, insularity and self obsession-hence even tougher to take huffy puffy op-eds on India seriously. They just don’t get us.

https://x.com/BDUTT/status/1915554121752735803

[Riaz Haq]

From The Economist:


India must prove Pakistan’s complicity in the attack in Kashmir

It would then have every right to strike back

https://www.economist.com/leaders/2025/04/29/india-must-prove-pakis...

[Riaz Haq]

Indian government Bans 4PM YouTube News Channel Citing National Security Threat, Founder Calls It Murder of Democracy

https://www.thequint.com/news/india/4pm-youtube-channel-ban-india-n...

YouTube news channel '4 PM,' with 7.3 million subscribers, was banned on Tuesday, April 29, following an order issued by the Indian government citing 'national security or public order.'

A message on the 4PM YouTube page now reads: 'This content is currently unavailable in this country due to an order from the government related to national security or public order.'

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'May be Due to Pahalgam Videos'
Speaking to The Quint, Sharma claimed that while no detailed explanation has been provided by the government yet, he suspects that the recent videos on the channel about the Pahalgam attacks may be the reason.

Since the April 22 attack, several videos on the channel have been critical of the government, with some featuring captions like 'Laal kaaleen par Amit Shah ka swaagat. Mritakon ko shraddhanjali dene gaye the ya tamasha banaane?' (Amit Shah welcomed on a red carpet. Was he there to offer condolences to the dead or to put up a show?) and 'Sindhu samjhauta todne ki hawabzi ko lekar phas gaye Modi, Pakistan ko paani kam nahi, zyada mil raha hai' (PM Modi faffing about the Indus water treaty, Pakistan is getting more water, not less)."

Sharma added that he did not receive any prior notice, and the authorities did not flag any specific video as a 'threat to security.'

"We don't make videos against our country. Our nation is our first priority. The only thing we did was ask questions about the Pahalgam attack. Why was there no security at the time of the attack? Why were tourists allowed in Baisaran Valley? These are reasonable questions and should be asked," Sharma told The Quint.
In a statement posted on X, Sharma had earlier called the move an attack on the freedom of the press.

'Under the pretext of national security, the government is trying to curb a strong voice of democracy,' he wrote. 'Modi is not the country. Questioning the government should not be a crime. In a democracy, we have the right to raise our voices.'"

'----

During the 2022 Uttar Pradesh elections, the channel was briefly taken down for four to five days, but legal proceedings ultimately ruled in its favor, he said.



"As you can see, this is not the first time this has happened. I have always been a target for the government, and they have repeatedly launched investigations against me. My channel is one of the biggest political commentators, and the fact that we run it from Uttar Pradesh is something the government cannot digest."
Sanjay Sharma, Editor-in-Chief of 4PM
When asked if he plans to take any legal action, Sharma said, "I have written an email to both the Ministry and YouTube, asking which video they deemed to be a security threat. I would have taken corrective action had we been informed, but the government decided to proceed arbitrarily without providing any prior notice."

"We have a population of 140 crores. Shouldn't we question the government if we have any security concerns? Isn't it our responsibility to ask why there wasn't any security in Pahalgam? Asking questions is not a national security threat; it's the opposite of that."
Meanwhile, Sharma has said that the channel will continue operating through its regional platforms and has urged people to subscribe to them.

The ban on 4PM marks the second major digital takedown in 48 hours. This comes a day after the Indian government blocked 16 Pakistani YouTube channels, including Dawn and Geo News, for allegedly spreading false narratives about the Pahalgam terror attack and India's military response.

Earlier, the government also issued a notice to BBC India regarding its 'incorrect' terminology that referred to the Pahalgam terrorists as 'militants.'

[Riaz Haq]

Pakistan Air Force showcases advanced Chinese weapons as tensions escalate with India | South China Morning Post

The PAF releases footage highlighting its ‘potent’ PL-15 missiles and a radar system described as a ‘game-changer’

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3308808/pakistan-a...

The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) has released footage showing it has armed its combat aircraft with long-range Chinese missiles.

The footage, published online on Tuesday comes amid spiralling tensions with India following a terrorist attack in Kashmir last month that killed 26 people. New Delhi has blamed Pakistan for the incident, but Islamabad has denied any links to the attackers.
The three-minute video showed warplanes, including the JF-17 fighter, armed with Chinese-made PL-15 missiles and described them as the “PAF’s potent punch”.

The PL-15, originally developed for the fifth-generation J-20 stealth fighter, is China’s most advanced fighter-to-fighter missile and is reported to have an engagement range of 200km to 300km (125-185 miles).

Although other weapons that featured in the video were labelled as being the export version, the PAF did not say



However, military analysts also said Pakistan’s biggest advantage was likely to lie in the Chinese-made active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar system fitted to the JF-17.

Jointly developed by Pakistan and China, the JF-17 is a lightweight, fourth-generation multirole fighter. The planes have featured in previous clashes between the Indian and Pakistani militaries and are confirmed to have shot down an Indian MiG-21 in 2019.

Retired Taiwanese major general Li Cheng-chieh told the Taiwanese broadcaster CTi on Tuesday that the Chinese-made KLJ-7A radar was the “real game-changer” for the JF-17, adding that “situational awareness is the first priority in modern warfare”.



The KLJ-7A can detect fighter-sized targets at 170km and track them at 120km. It can simultaneously monitor 15 targets and engage four.

India’s air force is equipped with Russian MiGs and French Rafale jets, but the Doppler radar fitted to the latter has a lock-on range of 60km and is no match for the system used by the PAF, according to Li.
“The KLJ-7A offers 360-degree coverage and can lock on to threats at more than twice the range of the Rafale’s radar,” Li said.

Fu Qianshao, a Chinese military aviation expert, also said radar and air-to-air missiles were the key elements in modern aerial warfare and said: “This shift allows lightweight platforms like Pakistan’s JF-17 to challenge India’s heavier jets.”

Fu said Pakistan’s advanced Chinese-made equipment could create a clear asymmetric advantage. “If tensions escalate, the side that sees first and fires first may well reshape the balance of power in South Asia’s skies.”

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According to Chinese state news agency Xinhua, which cited an unnamed Pakistani military official, four Indian Rafale fighter jets were detected over the disputed region and later retreated after Pakistan scrambled its own warplanes.

The PAF video also featured an array of other Chinese made weapons, including surface-to-air missiles, early warning aircraft and the J-10CE, another fourth-plus generation multirole fighter.



Data released by the Aviation Industry Corporation of China in 2022 suggested the J-10CE matched the PLA’s J-10C, with a top speed of Mach 1.8, a service ceiling of 18,000 metres (59,000 feet), and a combat radius of 1,240km – extendable to 2,600km with refuelling.



The J-10CE reportedly features 1,200 transmit-receive radar modules – about 50 per cent more than the Rafale – giving it an edge in beyond-visual-range combat.

Retired Air Commodore Khalid Farooq told Pakistan’s Public News channel on Saturday that the J-10CE surpassed the Rafale in key combat areas. “India has just bought Rafale … a good aircraft, but we are ahead in first-look and first-shot capability,” he said.

[Riaz Haq]

Pravin Sawhney ( Indian Defense Analyst, Retired Indian Army Officer)
@PravinSawhney
Chinese senior analyst Victor Gao has said what I have been saying since August 2019 when the Modi government mindlessly revoked 370 - without any thought to its security implications.
It is no longer binary about India & Pakistan. It is instead triangular matrix of India, China & Pakistan where China & PLA will openly support & help secure Pakistan's sovereignty & standing in the world. Explained further:
1. India cannot win a conventional war with Pakistan since it will have PLA support
2. India nuclear triad will be rendered useless as PLA has enough capabilities to wreck it before use.
These are facts. Indian nationalism & jingoism cannot change the ground realities. My saying this does not make me anti-national but makes the Indian veterans who thump their chests in TV studios, sound stupid to the world - which has changed!

https://x.com/PravinSawhney/status/1918324103850967205

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𝘊𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘦
@OopsGuess
CNN India tried to provoke Dr. Victor Gao, ex-translator of Deng Xiaoping, on China’s support for Pakistan.
The response? Calm, firm—and devastatingly clear:

🇨🇳“Never underestimate China’s commitment to Pakistan’s sovereignty.”
🇵🇰“China-Pakistan are all-weather strategic allies. China always stands with Pakistan”

When India demanded Pakistan investigate terror groups, China supported the call.
Now China demands India do the same—with no double standards.
And yes, Beijing knows who’s been stirring the fire behind the scenes. 👀

This is not neutrality.
This is strategic alignment—with Pakistan.

https://x.com/OopsGuess/status/1918276044442005836