From Pathankot to Pulwama, from Pahalgam to Kishtwar, a disturbing pattern keeps repeating itself. The question that now demands serious attention is whether India has formally adopted false flag operations as a central pillar of its strategic doctrine against Pakistan.
The ongoing situation in Kishtwar offers a textbook illustration of this pattern. For the fifth consecutive day, Indian media and security briefings have projected what can only be described as a spectacle. At one moment, claims emerge that militants linked to Jaish-e-Mohammad have struck. At another, officials announce that a major operation is underway. Then follow assertions that militant hideouts have been discovered and destroyed. Yet amid all this noise, one fact stands out with striking clarity. Not a single Indian soldier has been reported killed.
This raises a fundamental question. In the known history of military operations, particularly counterinsurgency actions conducted over several days, is there any precedent where so much is claimed to have occurred but without a single casualty on the side of the security forces? If this is indeed happening as portrayed, it would be a unique anomaly in military history. For critics, this absence of losses reinforces the perception that Kishtwar represents one of the crudest and most poorly disguised manifestations of a false flag operation.
India appears to have normalised a dangerous policy framework. Conduct an incident under opaque circumstances. Bypass independent investigation and forensic scrutiny. Immediately attribute responsibility to Pakistan. Then unleash a coordinated political, diplomatic and media storm. This sequence has become so predictable that each new incident feels like a rerun of the previous one.
Pathankot followed this script. Pakistan was blamed before any credible investigation could begin. Pulwama followed the same trajectory. No transparent inquiry, no third-party verification, only instant attribution and escalation. Pahalgam marked an even more dangerous escalation where India not only blamed Pakistan without investigation but also launched a direct military strike. That episode ended in international embarrassment for New Delhi, an outcome whose strategic and psychological effects India continues to grapple with.
False flag operations and narrative manipulation may succeed in shaping domestic opinion for a while, but they cannot withstand sustained scrutiny.
Now comes Kishtwar. Five days of a so-called operation have effectively turned daily life for local residents into a nightmare. Movement restrictions, fear, disruption of livelihoods and constant military presence have collectively transformed the area into a zone of suffering. Yet the narrative being projected is not one of human cost but of manufactured triumphs against invisible enemies.
This narrative serves deeper objectives. Under the cover of counter terrorism, the groundwork is being laid to declare local forests as military zones or to seize them under the pretext of defence requirements. The justification is ready-made. These forests are allegedly being used as militant hideouts. After the revocation of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status and the introduction of the Reorganisation Act, India has already armed itself with sweeping powers to take control of land, i?cluding forest resources, under almost any pretext. What is unfolding is not merely a security operation but a continuation of resource plunder in occupied Kashmir. Under international humanitarian law, systematic exploitation of resources in an occupied territory constitutes a war crime.
India’s objectives in pursuing this strategy are not difficult to decipher.
First, it seeks to generate such overwhelming noise that distinguishing truth from fiction becomes impossible. Through aggressive information warfare, India aims to brand Pakistan globally as a sponsor of terrorism. Accusation replaces evidence, repetition replaces proof.
Second, this narrative is designed to conceal the reality of Kashmir. India wants to project an image of calm and normalcy in the valley while portraying violence as the work of a handful of external infiltrators. This framing deliberately erases the indigenous nature of Kashmiri resistance and obscures the widespread anger generated by decades of repression, demographic engineering and human rights abuses.
The reality on the ground is fundamentally different. India is deeply entangled in the consequences of its own policies in Kashmir. There exists a profound level of resentment among the local population. This resentment is not manufactured in Islamabad. It is born from illegal occupation, arbitrary detentions, collective punishment, restrictions on civil liberties and systematic political disenfranchisement.
Blaming Pakistan through false flag narratives may offer temporary political relief, but it does not address the underlying crisis. India cannot escape its predicament by exporting blame. It must confront the reality that its approach to Kashmir has failed morally, politically and legally.
The global context is also shifting. Pakistan’s position against terrorism is clear and consistent. The country has paid an enormous price in blood and economic loss while fighting extremism. The attempt to undermine this reality through staged narratives is becoming less effective. International audiences are increasingly sceptical of instant accusations unsupported by transparent investigations.
False flag operations and narrative manipulation may succeed in shaping domestic opinion for a while, but they cannot withstand sustained scrutiny. Truth has a way of resurfacing, particularly in an age of global media and independent analysis.
The policy of false flag operations directed at Pakistan is not only dangerous but ultimately self-defeating. It lowers the threshold of conflict between two nuclear-armed states and undermines international norms governing the use of force and attribution of responsibility. More importantly, it deepens the suffering of the Kashmiri people, whose lives are repeatedly disrupted to serve strategic and political objectives.
The world is beginning to recognise this pattern. Manufactured narratives cannot permanently obscure structural injustice. The sooner India abandons this path and addresses the roots of the conflict, the better it will be for regional stability and for its own credibility on the global stage.
The writer is a lawyer and author based in Islamabad. He tweets @m_asifmahmood