The massacre a year before didn’t result in more Pak-backed terrorism. India’s deep strikes were effective. But, Iran’s ‘mosaic defence’ against US shows what India’s strategic capability needs
A year after the Pahalgam massacre, the incident has receded from national consciousness. It demonstrates the brutal reality that it was just one more slaughter among the many J&K has witnessed, in nearly four decades of Pakistan-backed Islamist terrorism. If it was intended to catalyse a revival of terrorism in the UT, it has failed comprehensively. The downward trajectory of terrorist activity has been maintained. On the other hand, Centre’s promise of ‘zero terrorism’ also remains out of reach.
A total of 92 fatalities were recorded in 2025, 48 of these after the Pahalgam massacre. This year, till April 18, 12 fatalities have already been recorded, including one SF trooper, and one in the ‘not specified’ category. It is useful to recall, here, that fatalities were already down to 121 in 2012, before they escalated steadily to a proximate peak of 452 in 2018, and have since been declining.