Contextualizing the Pulwama Attack in Kashmir – A Perspective from Pakistan

Ever since its occurrence in mid-February 2019, the Pulwama incident has obsessively gripped Indian and Pakistani political circles and society alike. It has also remained at the centre of policy, security and opinionated analyses within and beyond South Asia. Ironically, most of these encounters, barring a few notable exceptions, have largely been ridden more by polemics underlying typical Indian and Pakistani nationalism and by partisan descriptions rather than being the product of a systematic analysis of the possible causes behind the incident, the cycle of reactions that it has produced and the ensuing very dangerous security implications. The present account contextualizes the incident within a broader, quite complex, and multi-tier national and geopolitical landscape, to determine its objective status, and reflects on a few broad policy implications.