By Dr. Avi Verma | Publisher, IndoUS Tribune

The recent massacre in Pahalgam, Kashmir, on April 22, 2025—where 26 civilians, including women and children, lost their lives—has once again shaken the fragile foundations of peace between India and Pakistan. For India, this was not just another terror incident—it was a tipping point.

The Modi government’s immediate decision to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) and Pakistan’s retaliatory withdrawal from the Simla Accord have sent diplomatic shockwaves across the subcontinent. These landmark agreements had long served as a buffer against total war, even during the darkest moments of Indo-Pak hostility. Now, with those safeguards gone, we are staring into the abyss of nuclear brinkmanship.

In this volatile context, the Indian diaspora across the world has erupted in unprecedented rallies and protests, expressing both grief and fury. From New York to London, Toronto to Melbourne, Indian communities have taken to the streets demanding justice and an end to Pakistan-sponsored terrorism. Notably, in Chicago, over 800 Indian Americans gathered in front of the Pakistani Consulate, holding a powerful rally demanding that Pakistan be officially designated a terrorist state. The crowd echoed chants for accountability, holding placards and banners condemning the Pahalgam attack and Pakistan’s ongoing support for extremist groups.

The global Indian voice, long a force for diplomacy and development, is now clearly united in its call for decisive action.

This groundswell of sentiment is not lost on the Modi administration. With national elections on the horizon and pressure mounting both at home and abroad, the government is likely to consider a multi-pronged response: tightened intelligence operations, strategic strikes on terror camps, diplomatic offensives, and leveraging international platforms like the G20 and UN. Prime Minister Modi, known for his firm stance on national security, is unlikely to let such provocation go unanswered.

At the same time, developments outside South Asia are quietly reshaping the geopolitical chessboard. In Canada, the recent electoral defeat of pro-Khalistan candidates marks a stunning rejection of extremist ideology by Canadian voters. This outcome may open a rare window of opportunity for Indo-Canadian relations to reset and heal, especially if the Trudeau government begins to crack down more forcefully on anti-India elements operating on Canadian soil. However, failure to follow through with meaningful policy changes could keep ties in a prolonged state of mistrust.

The Khalistan movement, once a fringe irritant, has become a diplomatic flashpoint—especially given Pakistan’s covert support for its global revival. India’s concerns about the movement are not ideological—they are rooted in national security, shaped by bitter memories of the 1980s and kept alive by contemporary violence and propaganda.

Today, India stands at a crossroads. It seeks peace, but not at the cost of sovereignty or innocent lives. It desires dialogue, but not while its citizens are under siege. And it values diplomacy, but not when treaties are mocked by bullets and bombs.

The world must now choose to see Pakistan not as a victim of terror, but as a state complicit in its orchestration. The burden is on Islamabad to prove otherwise.

India, meanwhile, must continue walking the line between measured retaliation and global responsibility—a difficult, delicate balance. But let there be no doubt: the time for restraint is not infinite.

Let us hope the voices of the global Indian community, and the sobering realities of the nuclear age, prevail over vengeance. But let us also remain vigilant—because peace, in this part of the world, has never been given. It has always been earned through strength.