By Hugo Barcia
New Delhi, May 12 (EFE).— Diplomatic expulsions, canceled visas, more than 100 deaths, and a fragile ceasefire have marked the most intense India-Pakistan crisis of the 21st century.
But nearly three weeks after it began, one question still hangs unanswered: Where are the perpetrators of the Apr. 22 Kashmir massacre that triggered it all?
The killing of 26 Indian tourists in a meadow near Pahalgam, a popular destination in Indian-istered Kashmir, sparked national outrage.
Armed men stormed the area, opening fire in one of the deadliest attacks on civilians in the region in recent years.
India blamed The Resistance Front, a group it links to Pakistan, and claimed, without presenting public evidence, that Islamabad had a hand in the assault.
A sweeping but fruitless manhunt In the days following the massacre, Indian authorities released images of three alleged assailants, two reportedly of Pakistani nationality, and launched an extensive manhunt across the Kashmir Valley. More than a hundred suspects were arrested, and over a thousand people were interrogated.
Drones scoured the mountainous terrain, troops conducted door-to-door searches, and pressure mounted on Pakistan.
Yet 20 days later, none of the three identified suspects have been apprehended, and the trail appears to have gone cold.
“India will identify, track down, and punish every terrorist and those who them. We will chase them to the ends of the Earth,” Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had vowed. But that pledge now rings hollow as attention has shifted elsewhere.
Mission creep: From justice to retaliation
Last Wednesday, India launched “Operation Sindoor,” a military campaign aimed not at capturing the Pahalgam attackers but at striking what it called the militant infrastructure behind them.
Indian officials claimed that nine militant camps across Pakistani Kashmir and the Punjab region were bombed, killing more than 100 suspected militants, including those linked to the 1999 hijacking of an Indian airliner to Taliban-controlled Kandahar.
However, none of the Pahalgam attackers were said to be among the dead.
Pakistan, in turn, accused India of targeting civilians, reporting around 30 deaths in its territory.
104 dead, no closure
The conflict quickly escalated into an 89-hour exchange of missiles, drones, and artillery, leaving at least 78 dead since May 7. Including the 26 killed in Pahalgam, the toll stands at 104.
Both nations declared victory after Saturday’s ceasefire, but mutual accusations of violating the US-mediated truce emerged just hours later.
Amid the claims, counterclaims, and political rhetoric, the initial tragedy that set this chain of violence into motion appears forgotten.
Nearly three weeks on, the attackers remain at large, absent from headlines, and seemingly from official priorities. EFE
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