Pahalgam attack shatters India’s Kashmir normalcy claim

The recent attack in Pahalgam has shattered the Indian government’s long-standing claim that normalcy has returned to Indian-administered Kashmir since the 2019 revocation of Article 370, Kamran Khan said in his latest vlog “On My Radar”.

He said the incident has not only reignited tensions between nuclear-armed neighbors India and Pakistan but has also revived global attention on the longstanding Kashmir dispute.

“The Pahalgam incident has crushed the Indian narrative,” Kamran said. “Kashmir has once again become a dangerous flashpoint between two nuclear powers.”

He noted that major international media outlets — including The New York Times, The Washington Post, BBC, Financial Times, The Economist, Al Jazeera, Arab News and China’s Global Times — are extensively covering the situation.

These outlets, he said, are pointing out growing tensions between Islamabad and New Delhi and are re-analyzing the 75-year-old Kashmir conflict.

“The issue of Kashmir and the abrogation of Article 370 is once again in the global spotlight,” he added.

Kamran said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s claim that Kashmir has returned to peace and prosperity since the region’s special status was removed in August 2019 has collapsed.

“It appears that India's claim of normalcy in Jammu and Kashmir has been shattered in just the last 15 days,” he said. “Not a single major international news outlet is ignoring the fact that Kashmir remains a disputed territory and a root cause of conflict despite three wars.”

He pointed out that even Indian outlets such as The Hindu, Indian Express, and Times of India have acknowledged that the Kashmir dispute stems from the region's contested accession in 1947 and remains unresolved.

According to The Washington Post, Kamran said, Kashmir is still at the heart of India and Pakistan’s “bitter rivalry”. The paper highlighted that despite agreements like Tashkent and Simla, the Line of Control remains one of the world’s most volatile borders.

The Economist wrote that Modi’s claim of peace and progress after revoking Article 370 has been undermined by the Pahalgam attack, which lends weight to accusations that systematic human rights abuses are fueling unrest in the region.

Reuters, Kamran said, reported that despite occasional limited conflicts and the threat of open war, the Kashmir dispute remains the central reason behind the hostility between India and Pakistan.

Associated Press described Kashmir as a “wound of partition” that has sparked three wars and countless clashes, while Bloomberg warned that the unresolved dispute poses a major threat to South Asia’s security.

China’s Global Times, in an editorial, described Kashmir as a “dangerous flashpoint” between India and Pakistan. The paper noted that three wars and bloody skirmishes have proven that Kashmir’s unresolved status keeps military tensions alive in the region.

Al Jazeera reported that despite the heavy military presence, many Kashmiris still demand either independence or merger with Pakistan. It said this 78-year-old aspiration continues to fuel unrest and military crackdowns.

“It’s now accepted globally that Kashmir is an unfinished agenda of the Subcontinent’s partition,” Kamran said. “Even Indian media is acknowledging that Kashmir remains an unresolved issue.”

The Hindu, he noted, pointed out that the roots of the dispute go back to 1947 and that despite numerous bilateral agreements like the 1972 Simla Accord, no lasting solution has emerged.

Indian Express said the Kashmir issue has been the focus of three wars, the Kargil conflict, and numerous skirmishes.

Kamran argued that the Indian narrative of calm in Kashmir is collapsing. He said international media is also reporting a rise in anti-Muslim campaigns in India.

The New York Times, he said, analyzed how aggressive Indian troop operations in Pahalgam have raised questions about the so-called return to normalcy. The paper reported that every Muslim in the valley is now being viewed with suspicion and the attack has intensified Islamophobia.

“Indian social media is filled with hate memes, AI-generated videos and fake news portraying Muslims as a threat,” Kamran said.

He said Indian TV anchors like Arnab Goswami are airing Islamophobic commentary, even discussing a “final solution” for Muslims. BJP, RSS, and Shiv Sena supporters have physically attacked Muslims, labelling them as “Pakistanis”.

Kashmiri students in Uttarakhand, Punjab, and Uttar Pradesh are reportedly facing harassment and being forced to leave hostels. The New York Times reported that Muslims were targeted and killed in Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka, but authorities framed the killings as personal disputes.

In some hospitals, doctors refused to treat Muslim patients, allegedly as revenge for the Pahalgam attack. Gujarat police claimed to have arrested 6,500 “suspicious” Muslims, and demolished a Muslim slum without notice. When residents appealed in court, the case was dismissed under the guise of national security.

In Maharashtra, state minister Nitesh Rane reportedly called for an economic boycott of Muslims, urging Hindus to buy only from their own community.

“This is not just troubling — it signals the death of secularism in the world’s largest democracy,” Kamran said. “If the cause of rising anti-Muslim sentiment in India is Kashmir, then the only way forward is to resolve the Kashmir dispute.”

He emphasized that peaceful negotiations are the only solution and reminded viewers that past Indian and Pakistani leaders, including Ayub Khan, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Indira Gandhi, Nawaz Sharif, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Pervez Musharraf, and Manmohan Singh had all sat down for talks.

Kamran said Pakistan has repeatedly offered India a No War Pact and believes that peace in South Asia would be a “win-win” for both nations.

“India may be growing into an economic giant — and we wish it well,” he added. “But it must remember that Pakistan is also a nuclear state and cannot compromise on its red lines or sovereignty.”

He said the Indus Waters Treaty is Pakistan’s lifeline and must be upheld. Kashmir’s resolution should be sought through dialogue as envisaged under the Simla Accord.

Kamran ended his vlog with a quote from former Indian PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee from the Lahore Declaration:

"We can change our friends, but we cannot change our neighbors."