Former Northern Army Commander Lt General (retd) D S Hooda has said the Pahalgam terror attack was a deliberate, well-planned operation orchestrated by the Pakistan Army to provoke India and escalate tensions. “The act that has happened in Pahalgam is not something that is an opportunity target. This was very well planned, deliberate act and it is meant to provoke India,” Hooda said in an interview with Times Now. “It is meant to escalate the situation. And I have no doubt that it’s completely the planning of the Pakistan Army.”
He said the massacre, where terrorists singled out Hindus before killing 26 civilians, was carried out to “stir up trouble in India” and put the Pakistan Army back into the limelight. “Their aim only is to stir up trouble in India. I think it’s time that they are taught a lesson,” he said.
On how India should respond, Hooda said the reaction must be calm, calculated, and designed for maximum impact. “My only thing is revenge is best served cold. I think we need to calmly think through the situation. Let’s not be in any kind of haste. Pick and choose targets where we have almost 100% chance of success. Let’s do it at a time when we are fully prepared. Let’s not be in a hurry.”
He said the military option is still very much open. “We’ve already seen a very very swift reaction…fairly strong reaction particularly in terms of holding the Indus Treaty on hold. This is a very big and strong step. These are only the initial steps, you can expect more action being taken by the government in future. The military option is still on the table.”
Hooda said both ground and air options are available for India, referring to past operations. “We’ve seen two different methods by which the military force was used in 2016 and 2019. In 2016, special ground forces were sent in across the Line of Control. In 2019, again there was a surprise element in which the Air Force was used. Both options are still open. You can use ground troops. You can use air power. We now significantly have upgraded our Air Force arsenal with the Rafales having come in.”
He said the Army, Navy and Air Force are all well-prepared. “The Army is well prepared, the Air Force is well-prepared, and so is our Navy. I’m sure they’ll come up with good plausible options.”
On Pakistan Army Chief Asim Munir’s address on Kashmir, Hooda said the recent escalations are aimed at distracting from domestic troubles. “Pakistan military is under enormous pressure both in Kyber Pakhtunkhwa and in Baluchistan. This is a way of distracting attention. Their importance is always that they are the ideological defenders of Pakistan.”
Hooda dismissed the nuclear threat often flashed by Pakistan, noting that India’s previous cross-border operations have shown New Delhi won’t be deterred. “Every time something happens, they try and flash the nuclear card. What happened with the cross-border operations carried out by India is that some of this nuclear bluff has been called out. Fine, both countries are nuclear-armed but that doesn’t mean that we cannot take decisive military action against major acts of terrorism.”
Meanwhile, the Indian Navy said on Sunday that its warships had successfully conducted multiple anti-ship firings to “revalidate and demonstrate readiness of platforms, systems and crew for long-range precision offensive strike.” The exercise comes amid heightened tensions with Pakistan after terror attack in Pahalgam.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has promised the “harshest response” to the perpetrators and conspirators behind the Pahalgam massacre. The Navy said it remains “combat ready, credible and future ready in safeguarding the nation’s maritime interests anytime, anywhere, anyhow.”
