'Don't fall for restraint or third-party assurances': Ex-army chief Naravane says India must bare its fangs

Calling the Pahalgam terror attack "no less barbarous than the 7 October attacks by Hamas on Israel," former Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane has urged India to mount a strong, multi-pronged response, warning that Pakistan must now remain "on tenterhooks."

In a strongly worded article in ThePrint, Naravane wrote: "The brazen attack on unsuspecting tourists at Pahalgam on 22 April by The Resistance Front, is no less barbarous than the 7 October attacks by Hamas on Israel. That both attacks have their roots in fundamentalist Muslim organisations should serve as a wake-up call to nations across the world who are still shy of condemning terrorists and terrorist organisations out of an ill-conceived notion of liberalism."

The strike, which took place at the tourist hub of Baisaran in south Kashmir, killed 26 people — including two foreigners from the UAE and Nepal — and injured several others. Prime Minister Narendra Modi cut short his Saudi Arabia visit and returned early Wednesday, while Home Minister Amit Shah arrived in Srinagar the night of the attack to coordinate the security response. Modi has vowed that those behind the killings "will not be spared and brought to justice."

Naravane stated that The Resistance Front (TRF) is merely "a different version of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, re-branded after the abrogation of Article 370 in an attempt to remove the Islamic fundamentalist footprint and mask it as a home-grown insurgency." He added that Jammu and Kashmir “has always been susceptible to terrorist attacks, aided and abetted by handlers in Pakistan.”

The timing of the attack, he noted, was far from coincidental. "Major terrorist strikes have always coincided with other events on the national or international stage. This time was no different. Prime Minister Modi was in Saudi Arabia on a state visit, while US Vice President JD Vance was on his maiden visit to India." He said the strengthening India–Saudi Arabia ties were "eroding Pakistan’s standing in the Muslim world," a development that may have provoked the attack. He also referred a recent "vitriolic speech" by Pakistan Army Chief General Asim Munir as a likely encouragement to militants.

Naravane warned that the goal of the attackers was to "disturb the peaceful environment in Kashmir and destabilise Bharat by creating a sense of instability in the minds of foreign investors and sowing the seeds of mistrust between different communities." He pointed out that while global condemnation followed the attack, "the notable abstention is Pakistan."

The significance of the location, Naravane said, cannot be ignored. "It is not only a major tourist destination but also on the route to Amarnath, with the pilgrimage to the Amarnath cave scheduled to commence in the first week of June. This will no doubt place an additional burden on the Security Forces in the days leading up to the Yatra and its actual duration." He asserted, however, that "the yatra must go on. Our daily lives cannot be and should not be allowed to be disrupted by or held hostage to such wanton acts of violence."

Stressing the need for decisive action, Naravane said, "What will our response be? And there should be no doubt that there will be one. However, in the aftermath of the attack, Pakistan will be on guard, knowing that it is now in the cross hairs. Let them be on tenterhooks for a while till they start jumping at shadows."

He urged India to build political, diplomatic, and military support for retaliatory action "in multiple domains, both kinetic and non-kinetic," adding, "It is time for India to bare its fangs and not fall prey to calls for restraint, or third-party assurances. India can always borrow from the US or Israeli playbook and draw support from international law which allows for such responses."

Quoting the French military officer and author Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, Naravane concluded: "Revenge is a dish better served cold."