India, April 21 -- One year after the Pahalgam attack, it is evident that what unfolded on April 22, 2025, was not an isolated act of terror - it was a strategic inflection point. The attack targeted not just civilians but the very idea of normalcy in Kashmir. It struck at the narrative of recovery, coexistence, and reintegration that had slowly begun to take shape. The killing of tourists - targeted explicitly for their faith in the Basiran meadow - continues to haunt the image of Kashmir as a safe destination. No invocation of Kashmiriyat or curated mehman nawazi (acts of hospitality) can easily repair the profound deficit of trust created by those traumatic events.

One year on, therefore, the question is what has changed. How has the ...