Kashmir burns, and war looms. After the April 22 terrorist massacre in Pahalgam, India strikes back, hammering nine Pakistani sites with “Operation Sindoor.” Pakistan’s airspace is shut, its leaders cry “act of war”, and nuclear sabres rattle. Will the West back India’s fight against Islamic terror, or choke on its own cowardice, scared of its Pakistani diaspora and trade deals, as China watches?
On April 22, 2025, 26 tourists -mostly Hindus- were slaughtered in Pahalgam, Indian-administered Kashmir. The Resistance Front, a Lashkar-e-Taiba proxy, initially claimed the attack, targeting non-Muslims. India blames Pakistan’s secret service, ISI, long accused of fuelling jihadist proxies. Since then, the Line of Control, the military line between the Indian and Pakistani controlled parts of Kashmir, has erupted with skirmishes, drone shootdowns, and missile strikes. On May 6, India’s “Operation Sindoor” hit terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan, killing militants but also civilians, per Pakistani claims. Pakistan vows a “robust response,” and war teeters on the edge.
India’s right to self-defence is ironclad. Like Israel battling Hamas or what America claimed after 9/11, India faces a terrorist enemy shielded by a state: Pakistan. The Pahalgam attack, a calculated atrocity, fits Pakistan’s “thousand cuts” strategy to destabilize India. Modi’s response -expelling diplomats, suspending the Indus Waters Treaty, closing borders, and now missile strikes- is not escalation. It is survival. Any nation would act to crush such threats. India’s military, under “complete operational freedom”, is doing just that.
Yet the West wavers. The US, France, and Australia murmur support but urge “de-escalation,” as if India should parley with terrorists. The EU’s Kaja Kallas equates India’s strikes with Pakistan’s terror sponsorship, preaching “restraint.” This hypocrisy stinks. Europe cheered action against Russia but hesitates when India fights jihadists. Its own scars -London 7/7, Paris 2015- should teach it better. Appeasing terrorism only breeds more.
Why the cowardice? Europe’s millions of Pakistani immigrants -1.2 million in the UK alone- loom large. Leaders fear riots or radicalized enclaves, especially in Britain, Germany, France, and even Greece. Integration failures haunt them. Trade with Pakistan, a key EU partner, adds pressure. Neutrality seems safer than backing India. But can Europe afford to sit this out? Neutrality is complicity, and history, from Munich 1938 to today, proves appeasement fails.
India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri calls the strikes “non-escalatory” and “warranted”. No evidence links the Pakistani state directly, but its history with Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed speaks volumes. Pakistan’s missile tests and Line of Control violations show it’s not innocent. India’s Home Minister Amit Shah vows no terrorist will escape. This is no pretext. It is a democracy defending its people.
The West’s double standards are once again plain to see. Israel’s right to hit Gaza or Lebanon is sacrosanct, yet India’s strikes draw hand-wringing. Why? Geopolitics. Europe fears alienating Muslim populations and losing trade. The US, while backing India’s counterterrorism, avoids full-throated support, with Trump saying both sides should “figure it out.” This emboldens Pakistan, risking a wider war.
Europe’s hesitancy is myopic. India is a strategic titan, countering China’s aggression in the Indo-Pacific. With Trump’s trade war on Beijing and China’s Himalayan and South China Sea provocations, India’s role in the Quad alongside the US, Japan, and Australia is vital. Saudi Arabia and the UAE now favour India over Pakistan for investment. Even the Taliban courts New Delhi. Europe’s defence and trade deals with India, led by France, underscore its value. Snubbing India now is strategically unwise.
The standoff is dire. Pakistan’s army chief, Asim Munir, threatens “full force”, while India’s strikes signal resolve. Both nations, nuclear-armed, risk miscalculation. Pakistan’s economy, already fragile, could collapse under war, yet its military-ISI elites thrive on conflict. India, pressured domestically, will not back down. The world watches, but global powers offer only platitudes.
India’s fight is the West’s fight. Islamic terrorism, from Kashmir to Brussels, knows no borders. Backing India means concrete action: Sanctions on Pakistan’s terror networks, intelligence sharing, and diplomatic pressure. Europe cannot hide behind “dialogue” or fear of unrest. India, a democratic pillar against jihadism and Chinese hegemony, deserves alliance, not ambiguity.
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