In one of the worst terror strikes in the state of Jammu and Kashmir since the Uri attack, around 44 CRPF personnel were killed and several others injured after a terrorist rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into a bus in the state’s Pulwama region. The Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) based in Pakistan claimed responsibility for the attack. The attack raises pertinent concerns about the deteriorating security situation in the Valley, India’s relationship with Pakistan, and the country’s national security framework. In this curated media commentary below, CPR faculty analyse and comment on the Pulwama terror attack.

• Ambassador Shyam Saran writes in Indian Express that ‘the deteriorating security situation in the Kashmir Valley cannot be delinked from the abdication of political responsibility by successive governments in Delhi.’ He underscores the need for political parties to ‘not engage in a high-decibel blame game’ and ‘come together to deal with what is a festering wound, which could spread its toxin in the entire body politic.’ In ‘The Tribune’, Amb. Saran highlights the need for ‘a national security strategy which could guide the State (India) in dealing with crisis situations as well as longer-term challenges.’ Even more important, he writes, ‘is crafting a longer-term strategy which locates the pursuit of national security in the overall national endeavour encompassing domestic, external and military security, economic and ecological security and strategic communications.’
• In ‘Firstpost’, Bharat Karnad lays out ways in which India should deal with terror outfits like JeM. In ‘Bloomberg Quint’, Karnad stresses that India must solve the problem of Pakistan-sourced terrorism by itself. He highlights that ‘the overlapping of US and Chinese interests means Pakistan is immune to any external pressure that Delhi is able to mobilise and, in any case, can continue prosecuting its covert war in Kashmir using terrorist proxies.’
• In the ‘Hindustan Times’, Brahma Chellaney writes about China’s culpability in the Pulwama attacks. He highlights how ‘in keeping with its master plan, Beijing brazenly shields Pakistan’s export of terrorism, including blocking UN action against Pakistan-based terrorists like Masood Azhar.’ He calls for a ‘clear-headed and self-assured foreign policy, particularly for addressing the insidious China challenge.’ In another interview with ‘ET Now’, he discusses various diplomatic and economic ways to pressurise and isolate Pakistan, including downgrading the diplomatic relationship with the country.
• G Parthasarathy, in an interview with ‘NDTV’, talks about how ‘Pakistan is the prime Chinese instrument for low-cost containment of India’. He stresses on the need for clear, long-term policies to deal with Pakistan, including working with Afghanistan and Iran. Parthasarathy also appeared in an interview on ‘DDNews’, where he called for building economic pressure on Pakistan through the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank and the Asian Development Bank.