 Summary of this article
- The April 2025 attack triggered Operation Sindoor and a tense India–Pakistan military standoff.
- Ground reports revealed civilian suffering, security crackdowns, and rising calls for restraint and dialogue.
- Despite ceasefire stability, grief, trauma, and the need for lasting peace continue to define Kashmir’s reality.
A year on from the horrific terror attack in Pahalgam’s Baisaran Valley that claimed 26 innocent lives, the scars remain raw, etched deeply into the hearts of grieving families and across the fragile psyche of Kashmir.
On 22 April 2025, gunfire shattered the serenity of the famed meadow, as tourists became targets in an assault that would reverberate far beyond the Valley. The attack set in motion India’sOperation Sindoor—precision missile strikes on terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir—plunging the region into a fraught four-day military standoff. The days that followed were marked by relentless cross-border mortar and artillery fire, drone and missile exchanges, rolling blackouts, and an atmosphere thick with fear. A fragile calm returned only on 10 May, when both sides, after Director General of Military Operations (DGMO)-level talks, agreed to a ceasefire effective from 1700 hours IST, halting all military action.
Outlook’s May 2025 issues stand today as a compelling chronicle of those days—layered, nuanced, and unflinching in their gaze.
In the 11 May 2025 edition, the cover story, “Pahalgam Terror Attack | Kashmir Bears the Collateral Damage” by Chinki Sinha, struck a measured yet poignant note: “The Pahalgam attack has made us angry, and rightly so. But anger should not lead us into an abyss of hate.” The issue carried powerful reportage from the ground—by Ishfaq Naseem—capturing the sweeping crackdown across the Valley: demolished homes, mass detentions, relentless raids, and intensified patrols. Elsewhere, Toufiq Rashid probed troubling questions around security lapses in and around Baisaran, whileSeema Guhaexamined how, once again, India and Pakistan found themselvesteetering on the brink.
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Grief found its voice in deeply personal accounts, as Avantika Mehtachronicled stories ofmourning that cut to the bone. Alongside these came resonant voices from within Kashmir itself.Mehbooba Mufti urged the government to “distinguish between terrorists and ordinary citizens” if trust, rather than fear, is to take root. Mirwaiz Umar Farooq reflected that “violence thrives where dialogue is absent,” while Tanvir Sadiq issued a stark reminder: “Kashmiris are not your enemy.” In a rare and striking moment, Kashmiris across the political spectrum spoke in unison to condemn the attack—an inflection point noted by Toufiq Rashid.
The issue was further enriched by a range of thoughtful reflections: Huzaifa Pandit’s “Coffins Don’t Permit Debates” meditated on the silence of loss; Siddhartha Gigoo questioned whether Kashmir could ever truly return to what it once was.
By the 21 May 2025 edition—pointedly titled “Is It War?”—the lens had shifted to the mounting escalation and its human toll. In “Ceasefire?”, Chinki Sinha captured the unnerving drift towards conflict: emergency kits hastily assembled, sleepless nights, drones humming overhead, and an overwhelming sense of helplessness. “I don’t want to get used to any war,” she wrote, distilling a sentiment shared by many.
Pahalgam Attack: What Were The Demolitions For?
BY Ainnie Arif |
