The serene meadows of Baisaran, often dubbed "Mini Switzerland" in Pahalgam, turned into a scene of horror this Tuesday. What should have been a tranquil summer outing for nearly a thousand tourists became a blood-soaked tragedy, with 26 innocent lives-including a local pony handler-lost in a mindless terror assault.This was not merely another act of terrorism; it was a loud, brutal signal. The timing of the attack is no coincidence. Only days earlier, Pakistan's Army Chief, General Asim, addressed a gathering of overseas Pakistanis in Islamabad, invoking the unrest in Balochistan and, more pointedly, the "jugular vein" that Pakistan claims as Kashmir. His speech drew a standing ovation - a chilling reminder that even amidst economic despair, Pakistan's military establishment knows how to ignite nationalist fervour.(function(v,d,o,ai){ai=d.createElement("script");ai.defer=true;ai.async=true;ai.src=v.location.protocol+o;d.head.appendChild(ai);})(window, document, "//a.vdo.ai/core/v-ndtv/vdo.ai.js");An Old PlotWhat followed in Pahalgam was likely more than just a strike against civilians; it was a calculated attempt to thrust the Kashmir issue back into the international spotlight - and, in doing so, to distract Pakistan's own populace from inflation, political dysfunction, and global diplomatic isolation. General Asim's speech seemed a green light to Pakistan-based terror outfits-Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad, and Hizbul Mujahideen-to renew their anti-India operations. It is a strategy we have seen before: when the domestic pot boils over, turn the heat outward.India, under the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government, has refused to engage with Pakistan on Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019. That move effectively neutralised Pakistan's long-held talking point. In the years since, a crackdown on separatist elements and the dissolution of key political players in the Valley further silenced voices that once echoed across the border. Pakistan's silence at the time was surprising-perhaps even strategic. But Tuesday's bloodbath changes that equation.Sending A MessageBy targeting tourists - symbols of peace, progress, and India's post-370 normalisation effort - terrorists were not merely aiming to instil fear. They sought to send a message: Kashmir is far from settled. And they may well succeed, not in changing policy, but in rekindling tension. Pakistan has already placed its armed forces on alert, fearing Indian retaliation akin to the 2019 Balakot airstrike following the Pulwama attack. The parallels are eerie, and the threat of escalation all too real.Meanwhile, at home, the Central government finds itself at a credibility crossroads. The narrative that terrorism has been decisively crushed in Kashmir is now under scrutiny. This is not merely about the failure of intelligence or border management. It is about the political reality that the Kashmir conflict remains unresolved - and manipulable. The danger lies not only in the bullets fired in Pahalgam but in the strategic calculation behind them. If this attack was intended to draw international attention back to Kashmir, it might partially succeed, but at the cost of innocent lives and a fresh wave of uncertainty in a region desperate for peace.Pakistan Hasn't Abandoned The IssuePakistan's silence following the abrogation of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir in 2019 had relegated the Kashmir issue to the background. This emboldened the Indian deep state to believe that Pakistan may have abandoned the issue, perhaps due to its internal political upheaval and economic crisis.Importantly, the Pakistani authorities remain fully convinced of India's alleged interference in Balochistan, though they have been unable to prove this before international fora. Yet Tuesday's terror attack has not only reignited the Kashmir issue, but also aimed to bring it to the attention of the new global leadership, highlighting the enduring tension between India and Pakistan. The threat of fresh friction between the two nations now seems imminent following the terror attack on tourists in Pahalgam. The severe crackdown on separatist groups and elements in the Kashmir Valley, undertaken under the BJP rule in Jammu and Kashmir also jolted Pakistan, leading to the silencing of voices within the region. The demise of Syed Ali Geelani, following the revocation of Articles 370 and 35-A, left a vacuum that Pakistan has struggled to fill with a new separatist leadership.In all likelihood, friction between India and Pakistan is set to escalate in the wake of Tuesday's attack. The BJP-led government in New Delhi is also expected to come under pressure from the public, especially as senior leaders had repeatedly claimed that terrorism had been wiped out from Kashmir. The attack has put a big question mark over these assertions.(The author is a senior journalist from Srinagar)Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author