India-Pakistan Tensions Hit Critical Mass: A Diagnosis of the 2025 Kashmir Crisis

India and Pakistan, nuclear-armed neighbors, were brought to a brink of disaster after a Kashmir terrorist attack sharply escalated the historic India-Pakistan conflict, causing their relations to hit critical levels. This is an analysis of the crisis: the immediate drivers, the deep historical roots, and the South Asian and possibly global consequences of the crisis. 1: The Immediate Crisis – Triggers and Escalation 1. The Spark: Pahalgam Terror Attack On April 22, 2025, extremists attacked tourists in Kashmir's Baisaran Valley close to Pahalgam and killed 26 individuals. Survivors explained that the assailants—part of the Pakistan-based Resistance Front (TRF) targeted non-Muslim tourists. Indian officials quickly traced the organization to Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), which is a proscribed group with a past relationship with Pakistani intelligence. India's Response - Blamed Pakistan for state-sponsored terrorism and rejected Islamabad's proposal for a joint investigation a...