Pahalgam—Modi govt’s toughest moment yet

The terror attack puts it in a quandary on three fronts: Domestic, international and messaging to perpetrators.

The savage massacre of tourists by terrorists in Kashmir’s Pahalgam and its aftermath are the toughest challenge yet for the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government in its 11 years of being in power. Not just because it was a brutal and brazen attack on helpless civilians, or because it reflects a degree of security lapse and intelligence failure or because it punctures the government’s claims of a significant reduction in terror-related incidents in the Valley. This is the Modi government’s biggest crisis so far, even bigger than the 2019 Pulwama attack, as it puts it in a sticky spot with respect to three fronts—domestic, international and messaging to Pakistan.