Peace, Propaganda, and Provocation: Was Pahalgam the Setting for a False Flag Operation?
In the middle of never-ending anxieties in the land of the IIOJK region, another stream of blood and brutality broke out in recent days. Just about a week ago, on 22nd April, the tragedy took place when armed men opened fire and killed about 26 tourists from different parts of India, with one Nepali tourist being killed. A chilling realization is setting in as the Pahalgam, a valley located in one of the most fortified regions of Earth with about 900,000 troops, has become a home for terrorist operations. The question is how the attackers walked in, killed, and vanished. How did the so-called highly secured region of IIOJK, in which not even birds can fly in unnoticed, open up for such an operation, killing tourists and Indian propaganda at the same time?
Propaganda was the major mainstream of the operation, stated in the Indian’s action of blaming Pakistan without any facts or proof. The propaganda starts with the conduct of operation in the region lying about 250km away from LOC, in such a condition that not even a single police or army officer was present there. About 40 minutes later, when the entire operation was conducted in such a way that each tourist was asked their identity and then shot to death, did the help arrive? The query lies in the logic; where did all the forces go in such a situation?
Another knot to the story: the registration of FIR. According to the facts and figures presented by the Pahalgam police station, an FIR was registered only 10 minutes after the incident, but the police station is about 6km away. Who managed to run away and write the report in such a short time, with such an effect that the registration was done, and help arrived half an hour after that. Just looking at the scenario, the setup becomes quite clear, representing the whole planning of a false flag operation under the guise of a terror attack.
The realization gets even stronger when one studies the ongoing crisis for which the Indian government is striving hard to get international attention and blames Pakistan for removing it from its efforts and getting full access in the IIOJK region. The motives are far bigger than just getting control of IIOJK, as perpetrating Pakistan as a source of transnational terrorism wasn’t the only bird Modi and his government wanted to kill with one stone. The victims hailed from major Indian cities, and the militants were portrayed as Muslims of Pakistan, resulting in spreading anger, communal hatred, and leading to extreme polarization, which Modi thrives on. Modi’s landslide victory of 2019 rode on the back of Pulwama’s false flag, and now again, to grab back the vote bank of the fragmented Hindu vote.
Another motive to be noticed in this case is that of managing India’s International image, which is noticed to be on fire since its involvement in a wide range of terror activities. From Sikh assassination and disinformation networks to complicity with Israel in Palestinian genocide, India has widely destroyed its reputation. Taking advantage of the presence of the US vice president’s JD Vance, India, to repaint its image as a victim and portray Pakistan as a villain in this picture, choreographed the entire storyline.
The story further unfolds with the coverage of Waqf-property cases, which further meddle in the Modi regime and the rule of the Elites of India that is under risk. Petitions are being signed and currently dealt with in the Supreme Court against them for the recovery of donated lands and properties for religious purposes. The building of the Delhi High Court and Mukesh Ambani’s mansion is being built on waqf property, for which the government isn’t ready to listen to public demands. Treating protestors as terrorists and then diverting their attention from a 14 billion $ waqf property case to Pahalgam, can be fairly called a success of India’s false flag terror attack.
While checking the recent timeline, Pahalgam more of feels like a Deja-Vu, repeating the same motives and strategy of India,i.e, using IIOJK as a base of conflict against Pakistan to achieve its objectives by victimizing itself. First, Pulwama was being made a base to end the special status of IIOJK, and now Pahalgam to silence them up for using further force, and finally to bring Pakistan to the table to review the Indus Water Treaty. Several attempts were carried out by India to achieve this goal, but the presence of the World Bank made it hard for them to do so. Seeing the opportunity, they grasped the perfect lapse and slid into suspending it unilaterally. With the suspension, the peace was further disturbed by its ending of trade agreements, the closure of borders, and the exemptions of SAARC visas at the same time. The steps taken without investigation and confirmation are nothing but a consequential part of the plan.
Keeping by all the focused motives and goals, the Indian government has intensified its security evaluations in that particular aspect. The attack marks an example of intelligence failure in the region, with the government being aware of it at a core level. A government carrying out security visits and checks of the entire region regularly, without the presence of the leader of that particular region, and falling into the hands of terrorists is a point to ponder. Justified from the fact that just two days later, an attack on a meeting was being held with home minister Amit Shah, admitting to the security and intelligence failure of Kashmir, but without the presence of IIOJK leaders. Even the locals of India and IIOJK are aware of the security failures and the false flag operations being carried out by it’n government as back in Palawan attack, the governor of Kashmir Satya Pal Malik while giving an interview to Indian journalist Karan Thapar confessed that Modi asked him to stay silent on the security dimensions of the region. The same is the case now, as another Indian journalist, Barkha Dutt, says India’s blame has lost credibility, and the entire Indian, Pakistani, and Kashmiri people are currently questioning the same.
The recent Pahalgam attack does not merely represent an act of violence against IIOJK and the atrocities being carried out by the Modi government. It’s a sequential, deeply orchestrated pattern of violence, propaganda, and false flag operations being carried out to earn motives from time to time. It’s India’s favorite act to spread propaganda and then blame Pakistan, leading to the arousal of hate on both the Kashmiri and International levels. But just like the Pulwama, the truth is now revealed with India’s vicious face being exposed to the entire international community.
This article was written by Abna Yaqub, an intern at YFK and a student of International Relations at IIUI.
