Indian newsrooms become war rooms

KARACHI: Where official statements and responses from India following the Pahalgam attack in Occupied Kashmir fell short in terms of diplomacy, restraint, maturity and responsibility, other quarters in India were equally quick to abandon reason for war-mongering.

Hindustan Times reported that the Pahalgam attack occurred around 3:00pm on Tuesday. By 3:05pm — just five minutes later — Indian social media was already blaming Pakistan. By 3:25 pm, calls for a retaliatory strike had started trending across social media platforms. Not to be left behind, Indian television media ratcheted up the jingoistic fervour.

Leading the charge was Republic TV, where the controversial Maj-Gen (r) G D Bakshi was seen shouting that if India did not respond, it would be “a nation of eunuchs”, and urging India to “get ready to fight” and to “take back PoK”.

Meanwhile, on Times Now, retired Lt-Gen Dhillon advocated for direct strikes on the Pakistan Army, calling it the place “where it hurts the most”. On India TV, both the anchor and the reporter in one show stated with unwarranted certainty that Pakistan had a role in the attack and was sheltering the alleged mastermind.

Aaj Tak went a step further, broadcasting unverified claims that Pakistani intelligence was behind the attack, asserting the operation was orchestrated and carried out by Pakistanis. The anchor went on to name alleged Pakistani masterminds, urging Indian authorities to respond forcefully. A reporter also claimed that one or two of the attackers spoke Pashto — a claim that remains unverified.

The tone across Indian news channels — especially Republic TV — was incendiary. Headlines and tickers such as “It’s Time To Settle This” and “#WeWantRevenge” amplified and glorified calls for violence.

In his usual vitriolic style, Republic TV’s Arnab Goswami declared that the only solution was for India to “occupy Azad Kashmir” — referred to as “PoK” in his narrative. A Pakistani guest on his show, however, refused to stay silent, retorting that Indian authorities were more suited to writing Bollywood scripts. “If they want Azad Kashmir, they can try and come for it — but this time, Pakistan will not respond with a cup of tea”, the guest warned.