Recent backchannel signals between India and Pakistan have stirred cautious hope that bilateral engagement might be regaining some momentum. Informal talks in Colombo and elsewhere suggest both sides recognise the costs of fresh confrontation after the May 2025 exchanges. Yet one question towers above all: who will show the wisdom to break the cycle of deception, and who can guarantee on Pakistan’s behalf that it will help build peace even as it claims readiness? The signals are welcome but must be weighed against decades of bitter experience.
Pakistan’s record leaves little doubt. For over three decades it has used proxy terrorism against India, with Jammu and Kashmir as the main theatre. The 1999 Kargil intrusion betrayed the Lahore Declaration, while the 26/11 Mumbai attacks were planned and directed from Pakistani soil by Lashkar-e-Taiba. Repeated denials on Jaish-e-Mohammed followed the same script. The April 2025 Pahalgam massacre in Anantnag district, killing 26 in Baisaran Valley, showed the infrastructure still functions. India’s Operation Sindoor response imposed real costs. Pakistani leaders have themselves admitted to nurturing these groups strategically for decades. Ordinary Kashmiris bore the brunt through years of violence, displacement and lost opportunities.
Terrorism remains the core obstacle. No one inside or outside Pakistan can credibly guarantee that its establishment will abandon this doctrine. Safe havens, financing and launch pads persist. Wisdom demands we insist on verifiable dismantling of this machinery before any substantive talks. The human cost in lives lost and families destroyed across the Valley cannot be forgotten without accountability.
Lasting peace cannot be built on Pakistani assurances. It must rest on India’s own strength. Our military has demonstrated both modern capability and restraint. Economic self-reliance and diplomatic pressure on terror networks are changing realities. Most powerfully, Jammu and Kashmir’s post-2019 transformation – democratic revival, sharp fall in militancy, tourism resurgence and return of normal life – proves what sovereignty and development achieve. The contrast with the fear and disrupted festivals of past decades is stark and hopeful for every family in the Valley. This is not about dominance but about creating conditions where peace becomes the only rational choice.
Pakistan knows the steps required if it is serious: close terror camps, act against attack planners, stop infiltration and end propaganda. India is open to engagement on these conditions. Until deeds match words, however, our unity, vigilance and growing national power remain the only dependable guarantee. History’s lessons are unambiguous. The people of Jammu and Kashmir have waited long enough for a peace that is real and lasting. We must now apply these lessons with resolve.
