Terrorist attack in Kashmir
At least 26 people were killed and 17 others wounded when unidentified gunmen opened fire on a group of tourists in Indian-controlled Kashmir on Tuesday, the worst assault in years targeting civilians in the restive region, which is claimed by both India and Pakistan.
India describes militancy in Kashmir as Pakistan-backed terrorism. Pakistan denies the allegation, and many Kashmiris consider the militants to be part of a home-grown freedom struggle.
It may seem petty of me, in the face of such carnage, to carp about the words used. But words matter in helping to form perceptions. So when “gunmen” fire on tourists it is by definition terrorism, whatever their goals and whatever their complaints.
India’s reaction:
India on Wednesday closed a border crossing, suspended a water-sharing treaty and downgraded diplomatic ties with rival Pakistan, blaming its neighbor for a militant attack the previous day that killed 26 people in the Indian-held portion of Kashmir.
A terrorist attack.
Attacking tourists almost certainly has the goal of hurting the region economically:
New Delhi has vigorously pushed tourism, and the region has drawn millions of visitors to its Himalayan foothills. Indian officials have claimed that as a sign of normalcy returning, despite the presence of ubiquitous security checkpoints, armored vehicles and patrolling soldiers. Until Tuesday, tourists were not targeted.
Attacking tourists is the modus operandi of Islamist jihadi groups in some mideastern countries – such as, for example, the Luxor attack in Egypt in 1997:
In the mid-morning of 17 November, six gunmen killed 58 foreign nationals and four Egyptians. The assailants were armed with knives and automatic firearms and disguised as members of the security forces. … With the tourists trapped inside the temple, the killing went on systematically for 45 minutes, during which many bodies, especially of women, were mutilated with machetes. The body of an elderly Japanese man was also found mutilated. A leaflet was discovered stuffed into his body that read “no to tourists in Egypt” and was signed “Omar Abdul Rahman’s Squadron of Havoc and Destruction—the Gama’a al-Islamiyya, the Group”. …
The tourist industry in Egypt, and particularly in Luxor, was seriously affected by the resultant slump in visitors and remained depressed until sinking even lower with the September 11 attacks in the United States in 2001, the 2005 Sharm El Sheikh bombings, and the 2006 Dahab bombings.
The massacre marked a decisive drop in terrorists’ fortunes in Egypt by turning public opinion overwhelmingly against them
RIP.
Not petty at all, as you say words are important.
Islamist supremacist terrorism, no question. India has ~172 million Muslims. They have freedom of worship and I think marriage law for them is governed by Islamic rules. Nonetheless, there is a constant low-level civil war in the country. (Christians are targeted by both Hindus and Muslims.) It is quite reasonable for Indian authorities to assume that this terrorist attack was funded by Pakistani radicals. Hindus (and Christians) in Pakistan are treated much worse than Muslims in India.
Hat tip sdferr: India has ordered every Pakistani national to leave the country within 48 hours.
Who’s making sure they’re getting “due process”?
Great.
Two more nuclear powers are going toe-to-toe.
Forget about it, Jake. lt’s Islam.
Another for the list would be Mumbai 2008.
With reference to the putative “Palestinian” right of return to Israel, we know personally Indian families who fled from now-Pakistani parts of Punjab and lost everything there. They were fortunate; they didn’t die, as a million or so people did. The Indian-Pakistani troubles have been festering since independence.
@Kate: With reference to the putative “Palestinian” right of return to Israel….
Yes, that’s only a one-way ticket.
Within a few centuries after Muhammad, Muslims had conquered the Middle East, much of Africa, and parts of Europe and Asia.
Which is all and well and good in the eyes of Allah. But no Christians, much less Jews, get to make claims on the lands they once occupied.
Yet in Bin Laden’s first public speech after 9-11 he complained about the vast injustice of Christians kicking the Muslims out of Spain.
Muslims want Spain back. And the rest of the world too. Allah promised them in the Koran.
______________________
The Great Prophecy
[Allah] is the One who sent His messenger with the guidance and the religion of truth, to make [Islam] prevail over all other religions.
–Koran [48:28]
______________________
Islam literally means “Submission to God.” This prophecy informs us that Islam will inevitably dominate the whole world.
Niketas Choniates on April 23, 2025 at 3:23 pm
There has to be some Leftist Judge in middle of the night to stop India from deportations
Two more nuclear powers are going toe-to-toe.
Many years ago they were close to war, and people were bringing up the nuclear option. I thought that that was ridiculous, and even if it came to war that it would never go nuclear. Then, I happen to be watching some foreign news channel (in English) and they were doing some man-on-the-street style interviews – I believe in Karachi. “Are you concerned about the possibility of a nuclear war?”,
I swear it seemed like all of the answers took one of three forms: 1) Bring it on; 2) What’s a nuclear war? and 3) A nuclear war might not be so bad. Look at Japan. They got nuked and now they’re rich.
That changed my thinking as to the likelihood of a nuclear war between India and Pakistan.
Under the British Raj, Kashmir was a beloved vacation spot. Lake Dal, I think it was called – it features in a couple of scenes in the TV series Jewel in the Crown. People could rent houseboats, and spend a lovely summer on the lake, escaping from the awful heat of the down-country summer. M.M. Kaye (the British writer) spent some time there, and used it as a setting for a mystery “Death in Kashmir” – set at a time when the British were about to leave in 1947.
It would be a wonderful vacation destination again, save for what is essentially an ongoing Muslim-Hindu war.
I have that book, Sgt. Mom. The scene of this terrorist attack is something like 50 miles from Srinagar. It sounded beautiful.
This is the main branch of the group involved
https://main.un.org/securitycouncil/en/sanctions/1267/aq_sanctions_list/summaries/entity/lashkar-e-tayyiba
Yes they were involved in mumbai
Wild, wild west
Another for the list would be Mumbai 2008.
When I first saw news of the Mumbai terrorist attack–Thanksgiving 2008– my first reaction was that Pakistan’s ISI was involved. Turned out to be right. ISI will most likely be involved in the 2025 Kashmir attacks, though Pakistan will claim plausible deniability. Did ISI at least partially fund the group involved in the attack? Was ISI aware of plans for the attack? Looks like yes, to me.
While Biden & Co messed up the withdrawal from Afghanistan, a case could be made for withdrawal. Having to send US Army supplies by land through either Russia or Pakistan was not a good deal.