When twenty-six innocent tourists were killed by terrorists in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir—after the perpetrators identified the victims as followers of the Hindu religion—the whole of India felt deep sorrow. The one country that can fully empathise with the pain felt by Indians is Israel. Both Israel and India have been subjected to repeated terror attacks over the past several years. A common factor in these attacks is that they are carried out by what are now widely referred to as Islamic terrorists.
The pressing question now is: how can the world be saved from these terrorists, who seem to fear no one and have, so far, remained largely unchallenged in any significant way? This is evident from the fact that terrorists continue to remain active and frequently perpetrate attacks in regions of their choosing.
The United States suffered a major terrorist attack on 11 September 2001, when hundreds of innocent people were killed. European countries, too, have faced terrorist attacks at various times, and more recently, such incidents have also been reported in Canada. One might wonder whether the governments of these regions consider such acts to be isolated incidents, given that they have yet to implement well-coordinated counter-terrorism strategies to eliminate these threats once and for all.
When it comes to effective action against terrorism, little can be expected from the United Nations Organisation (UNO).
Regarding the Pahalgam attack, while a few countries openly supported Pakistan’s claim that it was not responsible, several others remained virtually neutral, offering only token condemnation of terrorism. At the same time, they failed to acknowledge the base from which the terrorists involved in the Pahalgam attack had operated.
Anyone with a basic understanding of terrorism would know that such acts cannot be executed without the sponsorship or support of a government or state agency. It is well known that terrorists operating against Israel are often based in regions like Yemen and Lebanon. In the case of the Pahalgam attackers, it is widely accepted that they had a base in Pakistan. The Pakistani government itself has admitted in the past to having provided support and bases for terrorist groups.
A few years ago, a massive terrorist attack occurred on Easter Sunday in Sri Lanka, killing hundreds of innocent people. The Sri Lankan government had to face this grave situation with minimal support from the international community.
The key lesson from the Pahalgam terror attack is that countries which are victims of terrorism cannot expect meaningful support from others. This is because each nation seems to respond to terrorist incidents in other countries based on its own interests, particularly trade and regional alliances.
Countries like Israel and India, which face repeated terrorist threats, must stand on their own feet and rely on their own strength to combat terrorism on their soil.
In this context, the UNO—which has so far largely remained a passive observer—should take the initiative to pass a resolution declaring that any act of terrorism is equivalent to an act of war. Furthermore, it should affirm that countries targeted by terrorism have the right to strike the terrorists’ bases, wherever they may be and in whichever region they operate.
