Sanjay Sethi Press TV, New Delhi New Delhi is ratcheting up punitive measures against Pakistan over a recent deadly bomb attack in Indian-controlled Kashmir. Indian authorities have raised customs duties on Pakistani imports despite Islamabad’s denial of having any role in the cross-border attack. Sanjay Sethi reports from New Delhi.<doc-sep>The tension between India and Pakistan has heightened in the past week after a terror attack in Kashmir which killed more than 46 Indian soldiers. Last week, India's foreign ministry claimed that Pakistan had offered JeM leader Masood Azhar ‘full freedom to operate and expand his terror infrastructure in territories under the control of Pakistan and to carry out attacks in India and elsewhere with impunity”. Soon after the attack, Pakistani actors were banned from working in the Indian film Industry. The Indian government has also withdrawn trade privileges for Pakistan while blocking cross-border services. India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who belongs to the right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) vowed to ‘give a befitting reply’ and blamed Pakistan: The dastardly attack in Pulwama has anguished the nation. Yes, this is a time of great sadness. But, I assure every family that a befitting reply will be given! pic.twitter.com/k9eSlfAePf — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 16, 2019 He even promised to isolate Pakistan internationally for supporting the militant groups. In an emergency cabinet meeting, Modi said India's security forces had been given a free hand to deal with terrorists further adding, the “blood of the people is boiling”. “I want to tell the terrorist groups and their masters that they have committed a big mistake. They have to pay a heavy price.” — Narendra Modi But Pakistan rejected these claims and brought the Kashmir issue and human rights abuses to the forefront: In her meeting with Ambassadors from #EU FS Tehmina Janjua underscored Pakistan's position on #PulwamaAttack. She categorically rejected Indian government's remarks of Pakistan's involvement in the attack(1/2) pic.twitter.com/ilVnpNPY8b — Dr Mohammad Faisal (@ForeignOfficePk) February 16, 2019 In a rebuttal, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan denied these claims and warned his neighbor that a response would be imminent if attacked — something which would lead to an all-out war between the nuclear-armed rivals. Citizens’ respond to the escalations In India, while the political class including Indian National Congress (INC) Rahul Gandhi backed the government in responding to the terror attack without offering many nuances, citizens rallied, protested and are crowdfunding on social media to help family members affected by the attack. Indian actor Akshay Kumar and business leader Anand Mahindra tweeted a link to a donation drive to help the families of armed soldiers who perished in the attack: #Pulwama is something we cannot & will not forget.We’re all angry & it’s time to act. So act now,donate to the martyrs of Pulwama on https://t.co/5j0vxsSt7f There’s no better way to pay homage to them & show your support.This is the only official site,pls don’t fall prey to fakes pic.twitter.com/sYruUtzgKY — Akshay Kumar (@akshaykumar) February 16, 2019 Numerous Indian sportsmen, religious institutes and citizen groups donated to help grieving families. Meanwhile, another jingoistic narrative developed wherein cricketers, artists and movies became the casualty amid the ongoing war of words. #India has banned all our products. India has removed us from #MFN status. India has cancelled #PSL broadcast. India has blocked all websites with #Pakistani songs. Etc. Etc. Etc. Why are Indian Actors’ based TV Commercials still running in Pakistan ? Peace is a 2 way street. — Mir Mohammad Alikhan (@MirMAKOfficial) February 19, 2019 Instigations of war Meanwhile, many television channels including ABP news, Republic TV, India Today and Times Now were seen instigating audiences with their sensationalized news coverage and name-calling: Here's what Ziaa Fouad wrote: Neither 🇮🇳 nor 🇵🇰 can afford a war. Neither does 🇮🇳 have a valid reason to start one! Please use this hysteria driven time to see how nationalism often brings the worst out of people! #Pulwama #Kashmir — Fouad Ziaa (@ziaafouad) February 19, 2019 Zaid Hamid highlighted the alienation Kashmiris face due to brutal occupation and subsequent youngsters joining militancy: Getting kicked in the back, getting slapped and abused by kids & youth — India has surely "won" the war of hearts and minds in Kashmir… The 'mighty" army is being utterly disgraced in their attempt to hold on to a population which will go to any extreme for freedom.#Pulwama pic.twitter.com/G4lofvoix4 — Zaid Hamid (@ZaidZamanHamid) February 16, 2019 Kashmiri Student leader Rashid also spoke about the ignominy of everyday violence as numerous reports of violence against Kashmiris across India were reported in the local media: Brilliant piece of investigative reportage by Yashraj Sharma who documents step by step how the Dehradun attacks on Kashmiri students were planned and executed over FB & Whatsapp.https://t.co/NBDOZGfVa3#SOSKashmir #UnHateNow #SafeHaven #KashmirDistressAlert #HateKiNoEntry — Shehla Rashid شہلا رشید (@Shehla_Rashid) February 17, 2019 Is peace possible? Amidst all the provocations in India, some citizens are also calling to restrain from jingoism. Samir Bhatia tweeted: Disrespecting a country's flag is just insulting and despicable. Imagine deriving pleasure from such obscene display of jingoism. https://t.co/igxt9DgSGp — Samir Bhatia (@SamirBhatia8) February 16, 2019 Monazza Aarfa from Bihar, India writes: Even #Pakistan has faced terror attacks in the past.Lost their loved ones.The point is we can't blame the whole Pakistan and target even the innocent citizens for the tragic #PulwamaAttack and this is what many journalists are talking about. HATE begets HATE!#AntiHateChallenge pic.twitter.com/Okn7H2bqE2 — Monazza Aarfa (@aarfa_monazza) February 20, 2019 Pakistani social worker and journalist Sehyr Mirza launched the #AntiHateChallenge on social media: Many Pakistanis were also seen condemning the Pulwama violence in social media: ‘Whether blood be ours or theirs, Its the blood of humankind. Whether wars be waged in the east or west, It is the murder of world-peace. War is a problem itself. How will war resolve problems?’ – Sahir Ludhianvi #AntiHateChallenge #NoToWar #CondemnPulwamaAttack pic.twitter.com/dmK2oZWjvZ — Maryam (@maryem_mirza) February 19, 2019 Indian actor Swara Bhaskar responded to all the images and said: Thank you friends from #Pakistan for this message of condolence and peace. Laudable initiative by young Pakistanis. We hear you! 🙏🏿🙏🏿❤️❤️ #Pulwama pic.twitter.com/pJIZKI2c5O — Swara Bhasker (@ReallySwara) February 19, 2019 Sathiya Prasanth tweets: These Pakistani ladies have marched forward with placards in hand to declare that their hearts bleed for the martyrs of India. Ma'ams, humanity is alive in Pakistan because of people like you. You have a spine and most importantly, A HEART.#AntiHateChallenge #PalwamaAttack pic.twitter.com/k126qPOwM4 — Sathiya Prasanth (@smokeraider108) February 20, 2019 Kashmir subtext: The terror attack, when looked through Kashmir's brutal occupation presents a complex view of Indo-Pakistan relationship and the tragedies faced by Kashmiris including rapes, enforced disappearances, the Kunan-Poshpora gang rape, pellet gun violence and many other documented struggles as reported by Global Voices. Militancy, once prominent in the 1990s in Kashmir, has spiked again since 2016 after Indian security forces killed Burhan Wani, a local militant who was revered as a freedom fighter by locals in Kashmir. Here's what Pakistani senator Sherry Rehman said to India's response to Pulwama attack highlighting the decades-old Kashmir issue: Pulwama Responses like cutting off cultural exchanges and delisting Pakistani songs will not help change the mood of anger in Kashmir nor give any talks a chance: Indian T-Series unlists new Atif Aslam song from YouTube post warning by Raj Thackeray's MNS https://t.co/V1aIKlsXnC — SenatorSherryRehman (@sherryrehman) February 17, 2019 India-Pakistan tension for whose benefit? The Pakistan government has described the reaction from the Indian government and several Indian media outlets as irresponsible, baseless and immature, and an attempt to twist the upcoming polls in India for political gains. With the general elections just around the corner, this gives the opportunity to India's Modi to galvanize the Pulwama attacks like he did the 2002 riots in Gujarat that claimed hundreds of lives. This augurs well for the government which was staring ahead at a divisive election amid falling employment numbers and a resurgent opposition that has silenced itself after the Pulwama attacks. Prem Shankar Jha wrote in Wire.in: Modi has followed a single-track policy of repression without dialogue. As a result, from believing that peace was only an arms length away, Kashmiris have crashed into an endless night of violence with no dawn at its end. That is the seed from which suicide bombing has been reborn. However, amidst the political upheaval, some are urging the public to remember that when there is violence — everyone suffers:<doc-sep>ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has denied having any role in the suicide attack in Kashmir carried out by Jaish-e-Muhammed, a terrorist organisation believed to be based on Pakistani soil. Following Thursday’s attack in Pulwama, Islamabad rejected any allegation linking the attack to Pakistan without any evidence. India, however, strongly believes that the deadly suicide attack on it troops was the handiwork of Pakistan. The presence of Jaish chief Maulana Masood Azhar , reportedly in Bahawalpur region of Pakistan’s Punjab province, gives credence to the Indian government and media’s claims that Pakistan has long given safe haven to Jaish-e-Muhammed militants and accused it of having a “direct hand” in the Pulwama attack that left 44 CRPF troops dead. India has demanded Masood Azhar’s extradition a number of times but Islamabad has always refused citing lack of evidence. “The attack in Pulwama is a matter of grave concern. We have always condemned acts of violence anywhere in the world,” Dr Muhammad Faisal, the Pakistan foreign office spokesperson, said in a tweet on Friday. “We strongly reject any insinuation by elements in the Indian media and government that seek to link the attack to Pakistan without investigations,” he asserted. A mixed sort of reaction was seen on social media and TV channels in Pakistan regarding the attack in the Kashmir valley and the Indian government and media’s response towards it. “2 terror attacks in Pakistan’s 2 neighbours (Iran and India) this week, 2 Pak based militant outfits (jaish-ul-Adl & JeM) accepted responsibility for the attacks. Isn’t the tail still wagging the dog? Who will believe Pak claims with LeT, JeM & “good Taliban” operating unhindered? … (sic)” tweeted Afrasiab Khattak, a prominent Pakistani politician, human rights activist and former senator. Sherry Rehman, a Pakistani senator and former ambassador to the US, said Modi’s India was escalating its response to a heinous terror attack in Kashmir by premising Pakistan’s hand in it. “Yet Islamabad makes no gains from such an attack. Instead of a political response to years of brutal repression in Kashmir, hysteria is being amplified against Pakistan,” Rehman said in a tweet. Facebook Twitter Linkedin EMail<doc-sep>
NEW DELHI—Indian authorities said they would punish Pakistan for an attack that killed at least 40 Indian security personnel, putting India’s long-festering friction with its neighbor and the people of Kashmir at the center of political debate just months ahead of national elections. A Pakistan-based militant group claimed responsibility for Thursday’s suicide car-bombing attack on a convoy carrying Indian paramilitary policemen. Islamabad said it wasn’t behind the attack. India said Friday it was canceling Pakistan’s most-favored-nation trade status and taking further steps to try to diplomatically isolate the country. Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised further consequences. “We are in a state of grief as well as deep anger,” he said in a speech. “However, let me tell you, the nation will counter such attacks strongly. India will not be intimidated.” The deadly attack has sparked outrage across the country, with news channels broadcasting the flag-draped coffins of the victims and their crying families. Security forces inspect the remains of a vehicle following the convoy attack, on Feb. 14. Photo: Agence France-Presse/Getty Images Prime Minister Modi came to power in 2014, promising to be tough on Pakistan. The attack likely will spur debate about whether he has accomplished this goal or whether new leadership could do better. His response could set the tone for the national elections, scheduled to wrap up by mid-May. “It will be the fodder for the opposition,” said Mohammad Ashraf Wani, a retired history professor. Mr. Modi’s “government had claimed that we have contained militancy in Kashmir. They have not actually done so.” Pakistani militant group Jaish e-Mohammad claimed responsibility for the attack. The group is the same one India says was behind two cross-border attacks in 2016 that killed around 25 people. Thursday’s attack, however, was unusual, local authorities said, because it was carried out by a young man from the region rather than someone from Pakistan. New Delhi says Pakistan’s military and intelligence agency allow safe haven and support for some militants who cross the border and attack India. Pakistan says there is no organized militant presence on its soil and says that it is a victim of terrorism. Jaish e-Mohammad is banned in Pakistan. Islamabad accuses India of supporting separatist rebels within Pakistan, a claim that New Delhi denies. Indian authorities say Pakistan also fans the flames of unrest from local groups in the Kashmir region. Pakistan says the turmoil is a result of Kashmir’s indigenous movement for freedom from India. The latest wave of Kashmir unrest has increasingly been backed by locals, frustrated with how they are treated by India and its huge military presence in the area. If India tries to press Pakistan further to rein in groups like Jaish e-Mohammad, which often operates openly within Pakistan’s borders, it has diplomatic, economic and military options, analysts said. After the 2016 cross-border attacks, India’s army said it carried out “surgical strikes” on what it called terrorist bases on Pakistan’s side of the so-called Line of Control, the de facto border with Pakistan. Pakistan at the time denied there was an attack. Any military retaliation by India would likely be limited, said Ajai Sahni, executive director of South Asia Terrorism Portal and Institute for Conflict Management, a New Delhi think tank. “All that you will see is some effort to save political face by this government as was the case with the surgical strikes, which was a completely worthless and counterproductive operation,” he said. Indian Finance Minister Arun Jaitley briefed the media after Mr. Modi’s cabinet met to discuss the security situation in Kashmir. India, he said, will “initiate all possible diplomatic steps which have to be taken to ensure the complete isolation from the international community of Pakistan, of which incontrovertible evidence is available of having a direct hand in this gruesome terrorist incident.” —Krishna Pokharel contributed to this article. Write to Eric Bellman at eric.bellman@wsj.com