The ghastly act of terror which consumed 26 of our countrymen has touched every Indian to the core. The initial response of the government is measured and apt; the political spectrum acted with rare sensitivity and unanimity, and the people in Jammu and Kashmir and the rest of India exhibited remarkable unity and social cohesion.

In that sense, the terror sponsors in Pakistan and groups like LeT, or their proxies, have already failed. The perpetrators of terror and elements of the Pakistan establishment that sponsored it acted in desperation as government policy in J&K is working; there is increasing democratic participation in the state, and the economy, investments and tourism are growing. J&K is growing faster than the rest of India. Significant investment is flowing into the state to build infrastructure and businesses. Tourist traffic doubled since 2021 and reached 23.6 million – almost double the population of the state.

Pakistan's desperation to keep the J&K issue alive and focus global attention on it is behind this horrific act. The belligerent comments of Pak army chief Asim Munir on April 16 in a gathering of overseas Pakistanis and the provocative remarks of foreign minister Ishaq Dar and defence minister Khwaja Asif on April 24, in a press conference following the Pehalgam terror attack, clearly indicate Pakistan's need to raise the India bogey. The visit of the US vice president probably offered an opportunity to attract maximum global attention. This act of terror is more like a flame burning brightest before........

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