Pahalgam: Geography of terror and strategic faultlines...by KBS Sidhu

India must respond—not in haste, not to appease public sentiment for vengeance—but with a cold, calculated, and deeply disruptive strike at the roots of terror inside Pakistan.

On April 22, 2025, a group of heavily armed terrorists carried out a targeted massacre in Pahalgam’s Baisaran Valley, killing at least 28 unarmed tourists, many of them children and women.

Survivors recall the assailants using helmet-mounted cameras, conducting religion checks, and selecting victims in a cold-blooded display of fanaticism and hate.This was not an isolated act of violence—it was a premeditated assault intended to instill fear, derail normalcy, and signal the enduring presence of Pakistan-backed terror infrastructure.

Condemning Pakistan’s Role in Sponsoring Terror

It is imperative to unequivocally condemn Pakistan’s complicity in enabling such atrocities.

Despite routine denials from Islamabad, overwhelming evidence links the attack to Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), a terrorist outfit headquartered in Pakistan and operating with the active patronage of the ISI. This group has long used Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) as a launchpad for cross-border terrorism against India.This act was not only a security failure but a moral inflection point, revealing how Pakistan’s proxy war strategy continues to undermine peace in the region.

The brutality of the Pahalgam attack reflects a doctrine of strategic depth that uses civilian blood to redraw geopolitical boundaries.

Geographical and Strategic Analysis of Pahalgam in Relation to the Line of Control

Pahalgam’s Terrain: Beauty Cloaked in Danger

Nestled in the Lidder Valley of Anantnag district, Pahalgam sits at the confluence of natural grandeur and strategic vulnerability.

Its elevation ranges between 2,082–3,909 meters, making it a high-altitude terrain riddled with glacial valleys, meadows like Baisaran, and deep forests which inadvertently provide natural cover to infiltrators. The Kolahoi Glacier, which sustains the Lidder River, is both a lifeline for the region and a corridor that connects the valley to higher altitudes and, potentially, to LoC pathways.

Proximity to the Line of Control (LoC): A Strategic Flashpoint

Though not immediately adjacent to the LoC, Pahalgam lies only 50–70 km southeast of it, placing it within tactical range of infiltration corridors from PoK via the Pir Panjal range. Nearby LoC sectors like Uri and Tangdhar have long been on the radar of military planners, but what makes Pahalgam vulnerable is the eastward infiltration drift, aided by seasonal trails and topographical obscurity.

Pathways of Infiltration and Tactical Access

1. Lidder Valley and Kolahoi Axis

This glacial corridor offers stealth routes for small groups to ascend and descend through rugged terrain. Enhanced forest cover and ravines in Betaab and Baisaran Valleys act as natural camouflage.

2. Margan Top and Sinthan Pass

These high-altitude passes link southern Kashmir to Kishtwar and Doda, regions that have seen increased radicalization and sleeper cell activity. These mountain passes are prone to avalanches but offer seasonal access for trained militants.

3. Tourism as a Double-Edged Sword

With over 2.9 million tourists in 2024, Pahalgam's booming hospitality sector becomes an easy target for symbolic violence—as evidenced by the April 2025 attack. Militants exploit tourist footfall as camouflage while aiming to cripple the local economy and morale.

Assessing the Claim: “Is This Place Anywhere Close to Pakistan (PoK)?”

Technically

No, Pahalgam is not directly on the Line of Control, nor is it located on the international border with Pakistan. It lies in Indian-administered Kashmir, surrounded by natural buffers like the Pir Panjal range, the Kishanganga Gorge, and the Himalayan ridgelines.

Strategically

Yes, Pahalgam is close enough to be vulnerable to infiltration-based attacks and serves as a rear operational base for militants who cross over from PoK. Its topography facilitates tactical movement, especially for small terror cells carrying out hit-and-fade operations.

The Pakistan-occupied territories across the LoC are not geographically adjacent, but logistically connected through infiltration channels—not roads or official trails, but through unpatrolled forest belts, glacial gaps, and mountain passes.

The Aftermath: Intelligence and Tactical Implications

The infiltration attempt at Uri, within hours of the Baisaran massacre, was not coincidental—it demonstrated a coordinated pincer strategy: sow terror in civilian areas while probing military vulnerabilities along the LoC.

Despite aerial surveillance and intelligence networks, Pakistan’s asymmetric warfare strategy and the presence of proxy outfits ensure that the geography continues to work against India’s conventional security doctrine.

Persistent Cross-Border Threats: A Pattern of Vulnerability

The tragedy at Pahalgam is not an aberration—it is part of a decades-long pattern of terror attacks launched from Pakistani soil. From the Kargil War in 1999 to the Pulwama bombing in 2019, and now the 2025 Pahalgam massacre, India has endured an unbroken series of offensives orchestrated by state-supported terror groups.

• Kargil War (1999): Pakistan-backed infiltrators occupied strategic heights in Kargil, triggering a war that claimed 527 Indian soldiers and an estimated 400 to 4,000 Pakistani casualties.
• Pathankot Airbase Attack (2016): Four Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists killed 7 security personnel and 1 civilian in Punjab after breaching the perimeter of the Pathankot Air Force Station.
• Uri Attack (2016): Four militants attacked an army base, killing 19 Indian soldiers and injuring over 30 in a pre-dawn strike.
• Pulwama Bombing (2019): A suicide bomber targeted a CRPF convoy, killing 40 personnel—the deadliest terror attack on Indian forces in decades.

Each of these attacks exposed not just tactical vulnerabilities, but the persistent operational freedom enjoyed by terrorist outfits in PoK. Despite military modernization and surgical responses, these groups exploit terrain, weather, and surprise—always with impunity and often with impunity provided by the Pakistani deep state.

Summing Up: A Case for Strategic Clarity and Escalatory Calibration

Pahalgam is not on the LoC, nor is it located on the international border with Pakistan, but it sits at the converging edge of beauty, vulnerability, and strategic consequence. It is not its distance but its topological structure and geopolitical location—close to the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) frontier—that make it a target. The recent massacre underscores that even a few dozen kilometers of buffer cannot prevent terrorism as long as Pakistan’s military-intelligence complex continues to nurture and export jihadist proxies across the border.

This latest horror is not a stand-alone tragedy—it is part of a calculated, ideological war waged by a state that thrives on religious radicalism, proxy conflict, and nuclear blackmail. The world must stop treating Pakistan as a misunderstood neighbour and begin calling it out for what it is: a habitual offender, a rogue state masquerading as a victim.

Final Thoughts: No More Symbolism—Time for Measured Resolve

While we stand united in this hour of national grief, lighting candles and raising slogans will not dismantle terror launchpads. Rhetorical resolve and muscular body language are no substitute for meaningful retaliation. What Pahalgam needs is not symbolism—but strategy.

India must respond—not in haste, not to appease public sentiment for vengeance—but with a cold, calculated, and deeply disruptive strike at the roots of terror inside Pakistan.

A coordinated deep strike, not merely across the LoC, but within Pakistan’s sovereign geography, is perhaps the only language its army and intelligence services will ever comprehend.

Let us not press our government into a knee-jerk reaction. The Indian State must strike at a time, place, and in a manner of its own choosing—but that time cannot be far.

Because the patience of Indian citizens is running dangerously thin, and no democracy can afford to appear helpless in the face of repeated slaughter.It is time to stop enduring. It is time to start enforcing.

April 23, 2025