Pahalgam can easily be called a global paradise, a heaven for tourists, and one of the most popular tourist destinations in Kashmir.
In April 2025, 26 tourists were gunned down, mostly Hindus, by Pakistan-backed terrorists. India retaliated with Operation Sindoor, hitting terror infrastructure not only in Pak-controlled Kashmir but across the country.
Missile strikes hit nine militant camps across the Line of Control on May 7, igniting a four-day exchange of fire that killed dozens and saw one of the fiercest aerial warfare in recent times, with cutting-edge jets from the IAF and PAF locking horns.
But beneath the ghastly attacks, a quieter strategy prevails: Islamabad’s decades-long bid to redraw Kashmir’s soul, since it has been unable to redraw the borders.
As Pakistan remains incapable of realizing its ultimate aim of seizing the ‘jugular vein’ Kashmir, a region lawfully controlled by India, it sows doubt, radicalizes youth, and whispers of a caliphate’s call across the Pir Panjal range.
From the 1980s Afghan jihad spillover to today’s proxy fronts like The Resistance Front (TRF), Islamabad treats Kashmir’s Muslims as kin in a perpetual proxy, a “two states, one ummah” template echoing its Afghan playbook.
Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, is the epicenter of this unspoken contest. Once a haven blending Hindu, Buddhist, and Islamic philosophies and teachings, it now hosts underground networks where Pakistani narratives thrive.
The aim is clear — exaggerate or fabricate information, vilify Indian military actions, propagate claims, and portray Pakistan and Kashmiri muslims as victims and India as an aggressor.
In Kashmir, the Pakistani propaganda is amplified by influencers, WhatsApp forwards, and X/Twitter, Facebook, and other social media channels.
The propaganda machine is running extremely effectively — thanks to smartphones. From young, educated urbanites to drivers, guides, boatmen, and horse herders, people across educational levels are now speaking the same language and sharing the same narratives.
Following India’s Operation Sindoor, Pakistan claimed to have downed six IAF jets, including three Rafales, portraying it as a “decisive victory” against India.
On X, posts from pro-Pak handles, boosted by Chinese, Turkish, and even Western channels, amassed millions in engagement, with videos of doctored wreckage spreading faster than wildfire.
In Kashmir, the propaganda is amplified via local handles, where Urdu threads blamed India for the clash and called the Pahalgham terror attack a “False Flag” operation, sparking a viral WhatsApp chain brainwashing everyone — from the masses to the classes.
Narratives portrayed India as orchestrating the attack to “demonize Kashmiris,” with hashtags like #PahalgamHoax trending on X. In Kashmir, this amplified rapidly with local influencers authenticating/reposting the Pakistani disinformation.
During the author’s visit to the Kashmir valley, we had a chance to interact with local people, including taxi drivers, hoteliers, home-stay owners, shopkeepers, tourist guides, and even a local Kashmiri Pandit woman, most of whom have been expelled from the valley.
The Kashmiri Pandit women told us: We are living here because of business, but with fear. We do not go out after 6.00 pm and prefer to stay in prominent areas rather than go deep into downtown. People watch you; they may be very nice to you, but they still have their eyes on you. Social life in Kashmir is zero; drug culture has corrupted the schools and colleges. I got both my kids out of Kashmir as soon as I could, and they are safe. Things can quickly change here, and it’s a great place for tourists, but not a great place for minorities.
Meanwhile, the narrative we read on social media, promoted and propagated by pro-Pakistan accounts, can be heard in Kashmir, literally word by word.
A local tourist guide in the famous ski resort of Gulmarg whispers in my ear: Do you think the ‘Muhajid’ has the time to ask for religion when they conduct an operation. It’s all linked to the Bihar elections, he said.
A taxi driver told us: India conducted the Pahalgham attacks to win the Bihar elections. He added that Pakistan and Kashmir are vital for the Indian government to stay in power.
A young, well-educated hotelier who said he benefited from a PM scheme said: “India lost 6 jets; we know that.” India failed to defeat Pakistan. He iterated the taxi driver’s remarks: India attacked Pakistan to win the Bihar election. He also said, terrorists just fire, and they don’t play the religion card!
Interestingly, these are the same comments we have frequently read on Facebook or X from pro-Pakistan handles.
When the author asked the young hotelier: By your logic, India would need to conduct over 28 terror attacks to win different elections (there are 28 provinces in India), the entrepreneur was left flummoxed.
The author asked the same question to everyone he met, and it appeared the query was “out of the textbook,” or that its response had not yet been drafted by propagandists.
For now, it clearly appears that Pakistan is winning the narrative war in Kashmir. But let’s not blame the Kashmiri people for that, please!
