It is time we buried the mantra of 'peaceful and stable Pakistan is in our interest'.
It is not, simply because Pakistan's existence -- that is synonymous with its army -- means peace has no chance, asserts Colonel Anil A Athale (Retd).
The massacre of 26 tourists in Pahalgam, on April 22, 2025, marks a crossing of a red line by Pakistani and Pakistan-supported terrorists.
All terror incidents generally have a trigger event. But like the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks of 2008, the Pahalgam killings did not have any proximate cause.
If one has to search for one, then the anti-India and anti-Hindu rant by General Asim Munir five days ago fits the bill.
General Munir, the real ruler of Pakistan in all but name, has reiterated the basic aim of Pakistan -- Gazwa E Hind or the conquest of India.
Thus, the Pahalgam attack as well as the Mumbai attacks and numerous other terror incidents in Delhi, Jaipur, Varanasi, Coimbatore etc had no connection to the Kashmir dispute but were a part and parcel of the long term Pakistani aim of destruction and conquest of India. Saying so is not Pak phobia.
In 1947, at the time of independence, the parts of India that became Pakistan were three times more prosperous than the rest of India.
Today, after 77 years, its per capita income is less than India and Pakistan has been reduced to a beggar nation.
India aimed for peace and development while Pakistan's aim has been war and conquest.
In one of his candid moments, the late General Parvez Musharraf had stated that even if the Kashmir issue was resolved to the satisfaction of Pakistan, peace with India was not possible.
The statement of intent by General Munir is in line with the famous statement by the late Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, of waging a thousand-year war with India.
Buoyed by the success of peace initiatives and economic development in Kashmir, there was much loose talk of taking back Pak Occupied Kashmir.
The aim of terrorists and Pakistan in carrying out this attack was to create an atmosphere of fear in Kashmir in order to sabotage the tourism boom.
The calculation is that as tourism gets affected, the Kashmiris will face economic hardships.
The terrorists would then make use of the resultant unrest and turn the clock back in valley and restart the stone-pelting and mayhem.
We should never lose sight of the fact that terrorism in Kashmir is a means to an end. The end objective being Gazwa E Hind.
Many of India's policy, strategy and tactical mistakes stem from the basic lack of understanding of the enemy's aim.
In this otherwise gloomy scenario there is a silver lining. It seems that the ordinary Kashmiri is fed up of violence and yearns for peace.
He/she has tasted the benefits of peace for the last five/six years. It is possible that there is an upsurge of sentiment against the terrorists.
Like it happened in Punjab in 1991, the ire of the people will mean an end to terrorism in Kashmir.
As has been mentioned earlier, this will not mean peace between India and Pakistan. Historically, Indian strategic thinking has been frozen in the Mahabharat's times.
Indians never understood that invaders from outside were intent on 'total war' while we have been conditioned to fighting a limited war.
Is it any wonder that Indian history reads like a chronicle of military disasters? It was only Chhatrapati Shivaji the Great who understood the Indian weakness and brought in strategy and tactics in tune with the times.
He pioneered surprise attacks, movement by night and fighting as a group and not gladiatorial combat like the Rajputs.
It is time we understood that Pakistan's Gazwa E Hind can only be countered with our own Gazwa E Pakistan. Our strategic planning has to work for the destruction of Pakistan.
It is time we buried the mantra of 'peaceful and stable Pakistan is in our interest'.
It is not, simply because Pakistan's existence -- that is synonymous with its army -- means peace has no chance.
That still leaves the question as to what should be our response to the latest outrage.
We have tried surgical strikes in the past but they have obviously failed to deter the Pak army.
We have to find ways and means that hurt the Pakistani army's interest. That could range from activating the border to targeting its leadership.
We should demand that Pakistan hand over Hafeez Saeed and Dawood Ibrahim. Failing this we should try and sentence them in absentia and put a bounty on their heads.
If Pakistan does not comply, which it will not, we should break diplomatic relations with it, deport all Pakistanis visiting India and even stop all movement, including medical visa for treatments.
All contacts need to be broken with the rouge State.
If it was done in the case of racist South Africa, why not Pakistan?
Gazwa E Pakistan is easier said than done. As the only Islamic nuclear power Pakistan has support in the Islamic world.
The US lives in eternal hope that it can manipulate the Pak military elite and keep a foothold there. China sees Pak as a useful proxy to check India in South Asia.
All this is understood, but still, if we clearly understand that Pakistan exists only to destroy India, we have no choice.
Once the national aim is clearly articulated, the jigsaw puzzle of strategy and tactics will fall in place.
A journey of thousand miles begins with the first step, says a Chinese proverb.
And finally, one of the reasons the terrorists succeeded in Pahalgam was because the Indian army's Dhruv helicopter fleet was all grounded (the ban was lifted on Wednesday due to the emergency), It is a shame that the only helicopters one saw were 60-year-old Chetaks and Cheetahs.
If soldiers are expected to work 24x7, why is the chalta hai Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) not working on a war footing? Are we not at war with the terrorists?
Colonel Anil A Athale (retd) is a military historian whose earlier columns can be read here.
Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com