Pahalgam, Narrative Contestation, and the Evolving Meaning of Marka-e-Haq

Events that commemorate conflict are inevitably biased. These are moments when memories, power, and legitimacy converge. When considering the anniversary of the Pahalgam incident, now recognized in Pakistan as Marka-e-Haq, one cannot confine it simply to an act of reminiscence. One must examine the manner by which the truth surrounding conflicts of today has been formulated and legitimized.

The position taken by Pakistan government regarding the matter has been constant. The country denies any responsibility for the attack at Pahalgam insofar as it has yet to be subjected to international investigation and confirmation. The Pahalgam attack, among others, has been considered part of the usual occurrences that happen in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

But to be preoccupied with “who did it” is to ignore the more fundamental issue of who gains from how it is perceived.

However, a concentration solely on attribution may limit the analytical scope. The key consideration here concerns the embedding of events such as those at Pahalgam in conflicting narratives. For understanding this particular issue, constructivist theory in international relations can provide some useful insights. According to constructivist scholars, politics cannot be understood exclusively in terms of materiality but needs to take into account the social construction of reality through discourse, norms, and identity. Under this paradigm, the importance of Pahalgam lies less in what happened there than in its meaning for various parties.

By portraying Pahalgam-type events in a certain way, India strengthens its discourse on security issues as justification for its actions in Kashmir. On the other hand, Pakistan challenges Indian security discourses by drawing attention to legal procedures, human rights considerations, and the right to self-determination.

Similarly, the issue of security may also be analyzed within the ambit of securitization theory. It is not simply a question of the essence of an issue becoming one of national security but how it is constructed as such to necessitate drastic measures to address it. In the case of Pahalgam, rapid securitization of the incident facilitates a process where the state is enabled to exert control and marginalize any competing narratives, especially those coming from the people of Kashmir themselves.

The border conflicts that ensued serve as further illustration of how kinetic actions go hand in hand with messaging. In contemporary times, military activities have two distinct purposes. They serve as a deterrent as well as a message to the intended audience, whether domestically or internationally. Hence, it is no wonder claims to victory or restraint serve as part of maintaining credibility.

Under such circumstances, Marka-e-Haq gains significance beyond being a mere ethical statement. Marka-e-Haq can be viewed as an assertion of authority in a world where communication occurs swiftly and may not always be verified. The task facing Pakistan is to present its stand in a way that it becomes principled as well as empirically verifiable.

In order to move forward on such a path, the narrative must shift from reacting to advocating. This would include the task of providing solid proof through documentation and the involvement of independent witnesses. There must also be harmony between foreign policy statements and international legal discourse in terms of human rights and international law.

However, the importance of this particular anniversary does not lie in the fact that it will be used to reinforce already established positions but rather in its capacity to adjust to the evolving face of conflict. The conflict that is captured in the term Marka-e-Haq is becoming more and more dependent on the power to frame and maintain credible narratives. Under these conditions, truth cannot just be assumed; it must be created and maintained.

In order for this to happen, this particular event must evolve from a repetitive process to one that deals with underlying structures.