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Michael Rubin compared the Pahalgam terror attack to Hamas’ assault, calling it a targeted killing. He urged India to take decisive action, similar to Israel’s response to Hamas.
Michael Rubin (L)/Security forces near the Attari-Wagah border (R) (Photos: ANI/PTI)
Former Pentagon official and senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, Michael Rubin, on Thursday, said the Pahalgam terror attack was very similar to the attack by Hamas on Israel on October 7, 2023, as both incidents targeted civilians.
Rubin also called for decisive action against Pakistan’s intelligence agency and opined that India, too, should respond to Pakistan in the same way Israel did to Hamas.
“That is exactly what went on when Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023. It was directed specifically against Jews and not only against Jews, but among the most liberal Jews who were most prone to wanting peace and normalcy with the Gaza Strip,” Rubin told news agency ANI.
“Targeting a vacation resort, middle-class Hindus, it is evident that the Pakistanis are trying the same tactic now. It should be no more successful for Pakistan than it was for Hamas.”
“…And frankly, it’s now the duty of India to do to Pakistan and to Pakistan’s ISI what Israel did to Hamas,” he said.
“It’s time to wipe out the leadership of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) to treat them as a designated terror group and demand that every country that is an ally of India, every country that is an ally of the world’s largest democracy, do the same,” he added.
Also commenting on whether recent remarks by Pakistan army chief Asim Munir may have served as a direct provocation for the Pahalgam attack, Rubin said, “Certainly that speech seemed to green light terror. Asim Munir said that Kashmir is the jugular vein. What India now needs to do is to cut Pakistan’s jugular. There’s no ifs, ands, or buts. There are no shortcuts anymore. Asim Munir gave the green light.”
“We know that Pakistan is home to a myriad of terrorist groups, including Lashkar-e-Taiba. Unfortunately, because of a lack of concerted counter-terror action, because Pakistani diplomats are playing the West for fools, we now have an expansion of the problem, not only in Pakistan but frankly in Bangladesh as well,” he added.
PAHALGAM TERROR ATTACK
As many as 26 tourists, 25 Indians and one Nepali national, were killed in the terror attack in Kashmir’s Pahalgam on April 22.
It happened as a group of armed terrorists fired on tourists, reportedly after asking their names and religion. They allegedly shot dead those who said they were non-Muslims.
The Pahalgam terror attack is being deemed one of the most horrific incidents since the 2019 Pulwama terror strike.
In response, India announced stringent countermeasures against Pakistan, including suspending the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 and closing the integrated check post at the Attari Border with immediate effect.