The Dangerous Illusion of False Equivalence: How The New Indian Express Echoed Pakistani Propaganda in the Wake of Pahalgam

When the harrowing details of the Pahalgam massacre emerged, the nation was shaken — not only by the loss of innocent lives but by the cold, calculated brutality with which terrorists targeted men, forced them to recite the Kalma, stripped them to identify non-Muslims, and executed them in front of their horrified families.

Stunning meadows of Baisaran valley that stood witness to a wanton bout of despicable violence by Islamic terrorists on April 22

But what followed in The New Indian Express a day later was, in its own way, a moral tragedy. In an opinion piece titled “End of the Kashmiri summer: Is Pahalgam the payback for the Jaffar Express hijacking?”, journalist Neena Gopal put forth a troubling narrative — one that attempted to draw an absurd moral equivalence between this terror attack and a train hijacking by Baloch rebels in Quetta.

This wasn’t journalism. This was intellectual abdication — a parroting of Pakistani propaganda under the guise of analysis.

A Dangerous Narrative Masquerading as Balance

To suggest that the Pahalgam attack — where terrorists selectively slaughtered Hindu pilgrims — was a “retaliation” for an unrelated train hijack in Pakistan is not only irresponsible, but morally abhorrent. This narrative, lacking any credible evidence, does nothing but serve as an echo chamber for Islamabad’s long-standing propaganda.

Worse still, it provides legitimacy to state-sponsored jihadist violence, all while cloaked in the language of "balance" and "perspective." The article dangerously blurs lines between a grassroots rebellion against state repression in Balochistan, and a foreign-sponsored jihad aimed at destabilizing India.

Legitimising Terror by Shifting Blame

By insinuating that India’s supposed role in the Jaffar Express hijack provoked the Pahalgam massacre, the article essentially deflects responsibility from the actual perpetrators — Pakistan-backed jihadist groups — and lays it, instead, at India’s doorstep. It ignores the ideological roots of jihad in Kashmir, and instead advances the notion of "provocation" to explain away a horrific act of targeted violence.

This isn’t nuance. This is narrative laundering.

The writer inadvertently hands a propaganda win to Pakistan’s military PR wing, the ISPR. In their wildest dreams, they couldn’t have imagined an Indian journalist validating their false accusations against India — and doing so in a mainstream Indian publication.

Kashmir Is Not Balochistan — Let’s Be Clear

To equate Kashmir with Balochistan is to fundamentally misunderstand both. Balochistan is a province brutally suppressed by the Pakistani military — its people disenfranchised, its activists disappeared, and its resources exploited. The Baloch movement is a homegrown resistance against Punjabi military hegemony.

Kashmir, by contrast, is an integral part of the Indian Union — governed democratically, with regular elections and constitutional protections. What Kashmir has faced is not a local rebellion but a jihadist insurgency, armed and exported from across the border.

There is no comparison — morally, politically, or historically.

Strategic Rights and Moral Clarity

Even if, for argument's sake, India were offering covert or diplomatic support to Baloch freedom fighters — as Pakistan frequently alleges without evidence — would that not be a strategic counter to decades of bloodshed inflicted on Indian soil by Pakistan’s proxies?

From Kandahar to Kargil, Parliament to Pulwama, India has paid in blood for Pakistan’s “bleed India with a thousand cuts” policy. Is it not within India’s rights to support those resisting Pakistan’s oppressive state machinery?

What India hasn’t done is fund terror groups or deploy suicide bombers. The contrast could not be clearer.

The Real Cost: Undermining India’s Global Position

Opinion pieces like this may resonate with a certain ideological crowd, but they do real harm internationally. They offer Pakistan a convenient “Indian voice” to quote in global forums like the UN, to falsely claim that India, too, justifies terrorism.

At a time when India is building strategic partnerships across the globe, such narratives undermine our credibility. They paint a false symmetry between India and Pakistan — as if both are equally culpable — which is not only misleading, but strategically dangerous.

Terrorism Is Not a Debate Topic

Terrorism, by its very definition, has no justification. The Baloch fight is a resistance against tyranny; the Pahalgam attack was a premeditated massacre of civilians, driven by extremist ideology and Pakistan’s military agenda.

To compare the two is to insult both the victims of terror and the cause of justice.

We don’t need dishonest intellectual acrobatics. We need clarity. We need courage. And above all, we need the conviction to call out falsehoods — especially when they come from within.

Conclusion: Clarity Over Confusion, Truth Over Equivalence

The massacre in Pahalgam wasn’t a reaction. It wasn’t provoked. It was part of a long, bloody history of state-sponsored terrorism by Pakistan against India. Attempts to paint it as anything else only embolden our enemies, confuse our allies, and dishonor our dead.

False equivalence is not journalism — it’s complicity.

It’s time we stop giving legitimacy to narratives that serve Pakistan’s agenda, and start standing unequivocally for truth. Because when terror strikes, there is no middle ground.

(With inputs from OpIndia)