بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
The Ongoing Escalation between Pakistan and India:
An Election Campaign Card for Modi and an Escape Route for Pakistan’s Rulers from the Pressure of their Failure over Gaza
By: Bilal Al-Muhajir – Wilayah Pakistan
(Translated)
On April 22 in Pahalgam, Kashmir, media claimed that gunmen from a Kashmiri resistance movement opened fire on tourists, killing 26 people, including visitors from the UAE and Nepal. Despite the movement claiming responsibility, stating that the target “was not ordinary tourists but intelligence agents,” and despite Pakistan’s denial and condemnation, as well as the reality that both sides, India and Pakistan, work side by side to dry up the sources of resistance in occupied Kashmir, and Pakistan criminalizes and prosecutes anyone who supports the resistance there, India nevertheless insisted that Pakistan was behind the attack.
India took several retaliatory measures against Pakistan, such as ordering all Pakistanis to leave within 48 hours, canceling their visas, closing the borders after the attack, and most significantly, suspending participation in the Indus Waters Treaty, a major lifeline for Pakistan’s water supply, especially for agriculture and energy. Islamabad described this move as a “declaration of war” as it marked the first time such actions had been taken, since the signing of the Indus Waters Treaty in 1960, which had remained one of the few stable elements in Indo-Pakistani relations.
The hallmarks of the attack do not indicate that the resistance movement actually carried out the operation, as it is a repulsive move in the eyes of public opinion and does not serve the goals of the resistance in the region. The killings were based on racial identity and religious sectarianism, which contradicts the resistance’s previous approach. However, the primary beneficiary of this attack is the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Modi’s ruling party, which was founded on racism, sectarianism, and inciting hatred and demonizing the image of Islam and Muslims both within India and across the region.
It is a party that managed to rival the long-established English-backed party in the country, the Congress Party, by fueling sectarian and religious strife, and promoting Hindu bigotry against Muslims, ultimately replacing it in power over the past two decades. This is the secret that keeps the BJP party alive, its ability to mobilize sectarianism among the gullible masses of Hindus, who form the majority in the country, enabling it to secure legislative, political, regional, and public stances.
In this context, it is worth noting that there was fierce competition over the Indian capital region, Delhi, between the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party. Delhi is the most important region in India and is geographically connected to Kashmir. India is divided into 28 states and eight union territories, with the states having elected governments led by a Chief Minister and a legislative assembly, granting them a significant degree of autonomy.
In addition to having control over security, police, and land, and although Delhi is classified as a union territory, it enjoys a special status as the “National Capital Territory.” The importance of these elections for both the Aam Aadmi Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party lies in the fact that they represent a crucial turning point for the Aam Aadmi Party, for two main reasons:
The first reason: the party has been subjected to repeated attacks from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the past years, with many of its ministers in the Delhi government being arrested, including its leader, Kejriwal.
The second reason: the Aam Aadmi Party, along with the Indian National Congress, is among the few opposition parties that have influence in more than one state across India, whereas most other opposition parties are limited to a single state most of the time. If the Aam Aadmi Party manages to retain power in Delhi, it will be able to strengthen its position as a major opposition force at the national level. On the other hand, these elections are also important for the Bharatiya Janata Party, as it has not been able to win any elections to form a government in Delhi since 1998, keeping it out of power in the region.
Thus, Modi’s party’s desperation to win in the most important Indian regions. Its lack of appealing electoral plans pushed it to fabricate or exploit the incident after paving the way for the attackers, as the area where the attack took place was unusually devoid of security forces, which are typically widespread in the region. The BJP has consistently used the sectarian issue as a winning electoral card, and the reason behind this resort to sectarian violence is the low likelihood of Modi’s party winning the most recent regional elections. Therefore, the mobilization and the incident had to be major, on a national level, not just a regional one.
On the other hand, the Pakistani government, which has failed the people of Kashmir, is under intense pressure these days from public opinion due to its failure to support the Blessed Land of Palestine. This is reflected in the marches and protests condemning the government’s inaction and calling for the mobilization of the Pakistani military to march towards Al-Quds. The Pakistani government found an opportunity in this attack to divert the public’s attention from demanding support for the people of Gaza to confronting their arch-enemy, who “lurks” and threatens retaliation. Thus, the incident became a shared interest between the two states loyal to the Western powers in Washington, exchanging fiery statements, and excelling in delivering them, without any real retaliatory action taking place so far, despite more than ten days passing, and the conclusion of the regional elections.
Had the Pakistani government been free from complicity with India in this event, it would have seized the opportunity to cancel all peace and normalization treaties with India, and moved towards liberating Jammu and Kashmir, annexing it to Pakistan, while the Western world and China were preoccupied with each other.
However, such actions are impossible under the current leadership, which is complacent and traitorous to the causes of the Ummah, including the issues of Kashmir and the Blessed Land of Palestine. The sincere individuals in the Pakistani military must cleanse their ranks of these treacherous commanders and grant their Nussrah to Hizb ut Tahrir.
Hizb ut Tahrir will be the one who will lead the country, the people, and the nuclear weapon possessing army to liberate the lands of Muslims from every occupier, and return the entire Indian Subcontinent to the Abode of Islam and the protection of Muslims. Indeed, this will happen soon, by the will of Allah (swt). All that is required from the sincere military officers is to fulfill what Allah (swt) has commanded them, so they can earn the reward of deterring India and the honor of its conquest. The Messenger of Allah (saw) said,
«عِصَابَتَانِ مِنْ أُمَّتِي أَحْرَزَهُمُ اللَّهُ مِنَ النَّارِ: عِصَابَةٌ تَغْزُو الْهِنْدَ، وَعِصَابَةٌ تَكُونُ مَعَ عِيسَى ابْنِ مَرْيَمَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ»
“Two groups from my Ummah are protected by Allah (swt) from the fire: one group that will conquer India, and one group that will be with Isa ibn Maryam (as).” (Narrated by Ahmad).