Indian response to Pahalgam terror: Options besides war with Pakistan

Bhupendra Chaubey discusses with academic Pushpesh Pant and former diplomats TCA Raghavan, Vikas Swarup and entrepreneur Aniruddh Dasgupta India’s most probable course in response to the Pahalgam Terrorist Attack. Is the Indian response going to be a multi-pronged approach? Is India's military power a good enough deterrence? Is #war inevitable? What about the suspension of the Indus Water Treaty? Are all neighbourhoods problematic? Does the world support India? Does the support for India translate to condemnation for Pakistan? Etc

US does not want the Indian response to mean war

Not only the panellists in the programme above in Nainital, but also United States Vice President JD Vance, sound mostly pacifist. Vance expressed hope that New Delhi would respond to the recent terror attack in Pahalgam in a way that avoids triggering a “broader regional conflict”. Speaking to Fox News on Thursday, 1 May 2025, Vance also said he expected Pakistan to work with India in efforts to “hunt down” militants operating from within its borders.

Vance's remarks came while he and his family were in India on a four-day trip that coincided with the April 21 attack—the deadliest such incident since Pulwama in 2019.

“Our hope here is that India responds to this terrorist attack in a way that doesn’t lead to a broader regional conflict,” Vance stated during an appearance on Fox News’s Special Report.

The vice president elaborated: “I am worried about any time you see a hot spot breaking out, especially between two nuclear powers. We have been in close contact with our friends in India and Pakistan.” He added: “Our hope here is that India responds to this terrorist attack in a way that it doesn’t lead to a broader regional conflict. And we hope that Pakistan, to the extent that they are responsible, cooperates with India to make sure that the terrorists, sometimes operating in their territory, are hunted down and dealt with. That’s how we hope this unfolds.”

The attack, which occurred in the Baisaran meadow area of Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, left 26 civilians dead. In the aftermath, India launched a series of diplomatic actions against Pakistan, including suspending the Indus Waters Treaty, halting visa issuance to Pakistani citizens and closing its airspace to Pakistani aircraft, among other steps.

Vance’s comments align with the stance taken by the US State Department, which on Thursday reaffirmed America's solidarity with India in combating terrorism. The department added that Prime Minister Narendra Modi “has our full support”. Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged both countries to “work toward a …responsible resolution that maintains long-term peace and regional stability in South Asia.”

Indian ministers, US secretaries talk

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar also held a call with Secretary Rubio on Wednesday, in which he stressed the need for accountability: the “perpetrators, backers and planners” of the Pahalgam attack, he said, “must be brought to justice”.

Separately, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, in a phone conversation with US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth on 1 May, directly accused Pakistan of longstanding support for terrorism. “Pakistan has a history of supporting, training and funding terrorist organisations,” Singh said.

In response, Hegseth is reported to have conveyed Washington’s support for “India’s right to defend itself”.

Vice President Vance, present in India during the attack, also spoke with Prime Minister Modi to offer his condolences. US President Donald Trump similarly reached out to Modi, reportedly becoming one of the first world leaders to do so.

Commenting earlier on the incident, Trump told reporters: “I am very close to India and I’m very close to Pakistan, as you know. And they’ve had that fight for 1,000 years in Kashmir. Kashmir has been going on for 1,000 years, probably longer than that. And it was a bad one yesterday, though, that was a bad one.”

The US president added: “There have been tensions on that border for 1,500 years. So you know, the same as it’s been, but they’ll get it figured out one way or the other. I’m sure… I know both leaders. There is great tension between Pakistan and India. But there always has been.”