‘Dastardly act’: India accuses Pakistan of ‘supporting’ deadliest attack in Kashmir in 25 years

Reminder of our top story at this hour. Pakistan closing its airspace in retaliation to Indian uh uh to uh to closing its airspace to Indian carriers after New Delhi’s suspension of a critical water sharing treaty. Uh this in the wake of Tuesday’s terror attack in Indian administered Kashmir. 26 tourists killed uh by militants uh uh uh in uh sparking the worst diplomatic crisis in years between those rival neighbors. Well uh for more on this story uh we can uh go to uh uh uh Harana state in India to Gurugram Manoj Kumar Chanan is a columnist and retired colonel from the Indian army. Thank you for speaking with us here on France 24. Good evening, Fran Picard. It’s a pleasure for me to join you this evening on this important uh news broadcast that you’re doing and I’m happy to be speaking to the environment through your channel. Uh the um 5 years ago, the last time uh there was killing of this magnitude uh in Indian administered Kashmir, there were tit fortat air strikes on militant groups across borders. uh but war was avoided. What is how is it looking today after the Palwama blast that happened in which we lost 40 paramilitary central armed police forces soldiers. uh this killing of 26 personnel tourists in Pahelgam is a very drastly act and this is uh messaging that has been done by the perpetuators which are supported by the Pakistan establishment reflects the shifting geopolitical dynamics which concides with India’s raising global stature and Pakistan’s internal fragility and at the same time as you’re aware Pakistan intelligence agencies are facing a nightmare in the Baluchasthan and Pakuna uh area and also the fact that with all these problems that they have internal they were losing a grip on Kashmir which has seen a phenomenal rise in its economy and with this attack they have sort of ensured that the tourist exotus takes place the local Kashmiri people who depend on tourism for their bread and butter are the ones who will suffer and I think there are no words to condemn such kind of an act. So we we earlier were speaking with our correspondents in Islamabad. People there very surprised the this this group that claims responsibility hither too unknown to people in Islamabad. You say supported by the establishment. What what what what do you have as elements to back that up? So at the moment as you’re aware the investigation going on but whatever is the electronic signature as what we are reading in the press and hearing from government sources is that the resistance front which is the which is an offshoot of the Lashkar Taiba is the one which has reportedly carried out this attack and there are reportedly about 30 such foreign trained militants operating in the Kashmir valley as we speak and these folks are not using themselves at most times directly involving themselves in the attacks, but they’re using the locals uh who are uh pro their thought process and ideology to carry out one-off attacks. As you may be aware that out of these six uh terrorists that sort of attacked these tourists, four were foreign terrorists and two were probably local terrorists who had actually guided and aided and abetted this massacre. We’re going to have to leave it there unfortunately because we have to cross to Washington. I want to thank you so much for for joining us there from uh uh Guram, India. Uh I want to thank uh Manoj Kumar Chaan for being with

Tensions between nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan have sharply escalated following a deadly April 22 attack in Kashmir that killed 26 Indian tourists—marking the deadliest civilian assault in the region in 25 years. New Delhi blames Islamabad, which denies involvement, as fears of military escalation grow. For in-depth analysis and a broader perspective, FRANCE 24’s François Picard is pleased to welcome Lt Col Manoj Kumar Channan, a retired senior military officer and independent defense consultant.
#Kashmir #India #Pakistan

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37 comments

  2. If someone steal a toy from child india will blame pakistan and may get votes from nation but never provided solid proof in any attacks which india blames on Pakistan…
    illegally indian administrative Kashmir is still disputed land in papers by U.N resolution.

  3. It's quite strange to see that the channel which called Russian attack on Ukraine as a "War against the entire West" is calling a terr0rist attack as 'militant attack'.

    I wont be surprised if 10 years down the line Bin Laden will be hailed in europe as a Muslim rights activist.

  7. Modi wants to see some blood to survive domestically. And Pakistan is not doing enough against terrorism.

  8. India should stop talking to other countries. Just act and be done with it. Whatever the consequences. The more you talk and try to convince….the weaker and indecisive you look.

  12. There are no words to condemn western media. S. Jaishankar said "according to Europe the Europe is garden and other are jungle. "

  14. Terrorists not militants!! UN designated terrorists are happily living in Pakistan…but western countries don't seem to be bothered!!

  18. Pakistan only last option to stop the mighty Indian strongest armed forces is to handover the army chief Asim munir the master mind of hindu tourists killing in kashmir. By sending terrorists, across the border in a cowardly manner. Jai hind!

  20. Western media outlets are trying to frame current Indo-Pak tensions as a "kashmir issue". This is misleading and dangerously reductive. The real trigger for the present crisis is not a territorial dispute, but an act of mass murder carried out by terrorists who were trained, protected, and deployed by Pakistan. Conflating terrorism with territorial concerns only legitimizes violence and distracts from the real culprits.
    If war erupts in 2025, it will not be because of Kashmir—it will be because terrorism has crossed the line, again and again. India cannot be expected to tolerate the slaughter of its citizens while the world remains silent. The reality is clear: Pakistan’s deep state has turned terrorism into statecraft, and India is left to deal with the human cost.
    This moment demands clarity, not excuses. The lives lost in Pahalgam are a grim reminder that terrorism, if left unchecked, becomes a global cancer. The West must stop legitimizing terror havens under the guise of neutrality. The people of India deserve justice, and the international community must recognize the true source of escalation: Pakistan’s state-backed export of terror.

  25. The western media do not have balls to even use the term islamic terrorists even they are 100 percent islamic terrorists. Western world will sure use the term islamic terrorists once they face these terror attacks on their soil killing innocent civilians.

    Osama bin laden recognized that pakistan is the safest country for him to hide . Just understand how much a rogue country is pakistan.

  27. "It's disheartening to see some Western media seemingly prioritize views by sensationalizing stories that hurt the sentiments of Indian people. Let's not give them the attention they seek through such tactics. We Indians are resilient and capable. Instead of being affected by external narratives or blaming each other, let's unite and have faith in our government and armed forces to handle our affairs. We don't need unsolicited sympathy or condemnation. Please share this message in comment sections where you see Western media engaging in this kind of exploitation for views. May truth prevail and God bless all of humanity."

  29. The intl. media can’t comprehend the on ground sentiment in india; labelling it “27 people lost their life in the disputed region” (just like it happens daily showing no empathy towards families) by whom? Who trained them? Who supported the group historically? Where were those people from? I mean just history. It shows highly biased inputs from their correspondents with no historic sense.

  37. Islamic republic of france , offcourse they will not use word terrorists for terrorism just like aljeera and bbc

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