Pahalgam massacre exposes local nexus with Pakistan-backed terrorists

New Delhi: A devastating terrorist attack that claimed the lives of 26 mostly Hindu Indian tourists in the scenic Baisaran Valley near Pahalgam on April 22, 2025, has reignited a fierce debate over the role of local support in sustaining Pakistan-backed terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir.

The Jammu and Kashmir Police have identified the perpetrators of the gruesome attack, revealing a mix of Pakistani and local Kashmiri militants, while a Kashmiri Muslim commentator has issued a scathing critique of the community’s failure to curb such violence.

In a detailed post on X, Javed Beigh, a Kashmiri Muslim commentator, shared the police findings and posed a critical question to his community:

“WHY DO SOME KASHMIRI MUSLIMS CONTINUE TO PROVIDE SHELTER TO PAKISTAN BACKED TERRORISTS?”

“It has been more than one week since Pakistan backed terrorists killed 26, mostly Hindu Indian tourists, who were holidaying in the meadows of Baisaran Valley near Pahalgam,” Beigh wrote.

“Out of 4 terrorists, who carried out the killings, two are Pakistani Punjabi Muslims including Hashim Musa, aka Suleiman Shah and Ali Bhai, aka Abu Talha. The other two terrorists however are ethnic Kashur speaking Kashmiri Muslims, namely Adil Hussain Thokar from South Kashmir's Anantnag and Asif Sheikh from North Kashmir's Sopore.”

Beigh provided further details on the terrorists' backgrounds, noting that Hashim Musa, a Pakistani Punjabi Muslim, was recruited by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) from the Pakistan Army’s Special Service Group (SSG) to join Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). Musa had entered the Kashmir Valley in September 2023. The two Kashmiri terrorists, Adil Hussain Thokar and Asif Sheikh, had crossed over to Pakistan-Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) in 2018 and re-entered the Valley in 2024, according to Beigh.

Beigh’s post delves deeper into the local dynamics that enabled the attack, pointing to the role of Over Ground Workers (OGWs)—Kashmiri Muslims who provide logistical support, shelter, and information to terrorists without directly participating in violence.

“Furthermore, it has also come to fore, in the investigation that these Pakistani Punjabi Muslim and ethnic Kashur speaking Kashmiri Muslim terrorists were helped by many local Kashmiri Muslim OGWs,” Beigh stated.

He highlighted the alarming fact that, even after 10 days, none of the perpetrators had been apprehended, likely due to continued sheltering by local OGWs.

“So, the point that arises is that without the local support of a section of ethnic Koshur speaking Kashmiri Muslims, Pakistan backed Punjabi Muslim terrorists operating in India's Kashmir Valley cannot carry out their activities,” Beigh wrote, emphasizing the complicity of a segment of the local population in sustaining terrorism.

The attack has deepened the stigma faced by Kashmiri Muslims, a point Beigh addresses with unflinching candor.

“It may sound harsh but the price of this section of ethnic Koshur speaking Kashmiri Muslims facilitating terrorism in Kashmir Valley will indeed be paid by the rest of Kashmiri Muslims,” he warned.

“Merely chanting that Kashmiri Muslims are being subject to ‘collective punishment’ for acts of few rotten apples won’t help. As Kashmiri Muslims, we ought to check and monitor our youth, least they fall in the trap of terror elements backed by Pakistan.”

Beigh’s critique extends to the broader perception of Kashmiri Muslims, both within India and globally.

“As a Kashmiri Muslim, we are seen as a staunchly intolerant Muslim community that has a stigma of forcing our entire religious minority of ethnic Koshur speaking Kashmiri Hindus to leave Kashmir Valley,” he wrote, referencing the mass exodus of Kashmiri Pandits in the 1990s amid rising militancy.

“We are mostly seen as a terror supporting jihadist and religiously radicalized Muslim community, even by most Muslim majority nations. And furthermore, terror support of a discredited nation like Pakistan has meant that no civilized country has any sympathy whatsoever with Kashmiri Muslims as we are seen as a blood thirsty, intolerant, orthodox and jihadist terrorist wielding community.”

Beigh’s post reflects a deep frustration with his community’s failure to confront this reality.

“And yet, WE NEVER LEARN and NEVER INTROSPECT,” he wrote. “The terrorist state of PAKISTAN carried out killings of innocent Hindu Indian tourists in the name of Islam and in the name of Kashmiri Muslims. As a community, we cannot disassociate ourselves from this sin. We cannot say ‘NOT IN MY NAME’ as Pakistan carried out in the name of Kashmiri Muslims and Kashmir Jihad.”

The attack has also sparked broader calls for introspection within the Islamic community. An article in The Australia Today emphasized the need for Islamic scholars to “introspect, condemn, and also stand with humanity and try to rid the religion of this stigma of terrorism.”

Beigh echoes this sentiment, posing a final, critical question to his community:

“The million dollar question is, are we, Kashmiri Muslims ready to stop even the last remaining Kashmiri Muslim youth from joining Pakistan backed terrorism in Kashmir Valley?”

WHY DO SOME KASHMIRI MUSLIMS CONTINUE TO PROVIDE SHELTER TO PAKISTAN BACKED TERRORISTS ?

It has been more than one week since Pakistan backed terrorists killed 26, mostly Hindu Indian tourists, who were holidaying in the meadows of Baisaran Valley near Pahalgam. Out of 4… pic.twitter.com/mftW4bVgxG

— Javed Beigh (@JavedBeigh) May 3, 2025