The attacks on Jaffar Express, Pahalgam and Khuzdar, which took place in 2025 in South Asia, prompted several global and regional responses from states and diaspora actors calling for action against cross-border terrorism. The response has been paradoxical: authoritarian states such as China and Russia have joined India and Pakistan in shaping a global response to terrorism, presented as a “democratic” international order through the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s Tianjin Declaration. At the same time, mobilisations of South Asian diasporas in Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia demonstrated how democratic participation abroad can both promote solidarity against terrorism and deepen polarisation between nationalist elements that echo the grievances of their homeland.
This article argues that the terrorist attacks of 2025, particularly the one in Pahalgam, not only triggered a geopolitical initiative against terrorism, such as the Tianjin Declaration, but also elicited mixed reactions among South Asian diasporas around the world. This is particularly the case in Canada, home to 2.3 million people of South Asian origin, where the diplomatic confrontation with India in 2023 and the subsequent de-escalation led to a cautious approach to sensitive issues, such as the diaspora’s response to terrorist attacks in South Asia.
The 2025 attacks and brief historical context
On 11 March, the Jaffar Express, carrying 440 passengers from Quetta to Peshawar, was attacked and hijacked by militants from the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA). The hostages were subsequently rescued by Pakistani security forces in a two-day rescue operation. On 21 May, a bomb explosion targeting a school bus near Zero Point, Khuzdar, along the Quetta–Karachi motorway killed ten children and injured more than thirty-four others. Pakistani security officials said the attack was carried out by Indian agents. On 22 April 2025, five members of The Resistant Front (TRF), a branch of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), killed 26 people in Pahalgam during an excursion to the Baisaran Valley in Kashmir. Although the TRF claimed responsibility for the attack, Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Asif accused India, calling the attack a ‘false flag operation’ and adding, ‘We believe this was a staged attack, a false flag operation to blame another party.’ For its part, India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) claimed that Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and the LeT were the real perpetrators of the attack.
After the attacks, diplomatic tensions between Pakistan and India quickly escalated. New Delhi declared Pakistani military diplomats personae non gratae, reduced the staff of the Pakistani High Commission and cancelled the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) visa exemption scheme for Pakistani nationals. India also closed the Attari-Wagah border between the two countries and suspended the Indus Waters Treaty. All postal services and ships flying the Pakistani flag were also banned from Indian ports. While the Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs offered its condolences following the attacks, it adopted retaliatory measures by cancelling visas for Indian nationals, closing its airspace and suspending trade. The Indian armed forces launched Operation Sindoor, attacking nine terrorist camps in Pakistan and Kashmir, killing more than 100 militants linked to Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). Indian forces neutralized these sites, which were suspected of being training camps for these three terrorist groups considered to be jihadist organisations aiming to liberate Kashmir from Indian occupation. Pakistan retaliated with strikes against Indian military bases, prompting further missile and drone attacks by India, until the two countries agreed to de-escalate on 10 May 2025.
The Jammu and Kashmir region has remained a source of contention between India and Pakistan since the partition of India in 1947. The Line of Control (LoC), one of the most militarised borders in the world, was formalised by the Simla Agreement in 1972, when the Indian and Pakistani governments demarcated their respective administrative areas of Jammu and Kashmir. Since then, Article 370 of the Indian Constitution granted this region a degree of autonomy to manage its own affairs. In 2019, Prime Minister Modi’s government revoked this autonomous status, placing the region under central government control, with the intention of reorganising it into a Muslim-majority Kashmir, a Hindu-majority Jammu, and a Buddhist-majority Ladakh (the latter sharing borders with Tibet and Pakistan-administered Gilgit-Baltistan). Terrorist organisations operating in this region are deeply motivated by historical resentment over Indian government policies.
Global responses and the Tianjin Declaration
The three attacks triggered geopolitical reactions, notably the adoption of the Tianjin Declaration in September 2025 in China by the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). The declaration stated that countries must act without ‘double standards’ to prevent cross-border terrorism, referring to the attacks in Pahalgam, on the Jaffar Express and in Khuzdar. The declaration was sponsored by China, Russia, India and Pakistan, marking a rare moment of international cooperation. The SCO, which originated as the ‘Shanghai Five’ group in 2001, was founded by China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. It has since expanded to include Belarus, India, Iran and Pakistan as member states; Afghanistan and Mongolia as observer states; and Azerbaijan, Armenia, Bahrain, Egypt, Cambodia, Qatar, Kuwait, the Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Sri Lanka as dialogue partners. The SCO’s objectives are to strengthen trust and good-neighbourly relations, deepen cooperation in multiple sectors, preserve regional peace and security, and promote a more just and democratic international order.
Although it may seem ironic that authoritarian regimes such as Russia and China are providing leadership in promoting a ‘democratic’ international order, the SCO remains one of the few regional organisations where rival nations cooperate on the same platform. In other words, it has succeeded in convincing Pakistan to reconsider the transfer of responsibility for the 2025 terrorist attacks and to negotiate with India the reinstatement of the Indus Waters Treaty. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has also expressed his willingness to prioritize diplomacy over confrontation, and even to support China’s Global Governance Initiative (GGI). This position may be influenced by Pakistan’s growing dependence on Chinese investment, such as the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and the port of Gwadar, as well as pressure from mounting Chinese debt, which stands at US$26.6 billion. Pakistan’s position also reflects the growing regional influence of India, which has succeeded in steering Islamabad towards greater cooperation within the SCO framework.
Diasporic resonance
Following the attacks in Pahalgam, the South Asian diaspora organised demonstrations in London, Copenhagen, Melbourne, Kathmandu, Toronto and Vancouver. Protests also broke out in France, Finland, Germany, Spain and the United States. On 25 April in London, pro-Indian demonstrators gathered outside the Indian High Commission chanting slogans in support of India and urging governments to declare Pakistan a state sponsor of terrorism. British demonstrators of Pakistani origin, meanwhile, rallied in support of the Kashmiris. A heavy police presence was deployed to prevent any violent clashes. Polarised debates also emerged on social media after the publication of a photo of a Pakistani official holding a poster of Indian Air Force pilot Varthaman while making a throat-slitting gesture. This incident, which sparked a wave of outrage, led a spokesperson for the Friends of India Society International UK to call on the British government to support India and reconsider its policy towards Pakistan.
The Indian diaspora organized a protest outside the Pakistani consulate in Toronto, Canada, under the auspices of the Hindu Forum Canada, joined by the Indo-Canadian Kashmir Forum, the Baloch Human Rights Council Canada, Canadians for Human Rights Watch, the Canada India Global Forum and Nimittekam Canada. Due to the intense emotions aroused by the terrorist attacks, many nationalist protesters chanted ‘Pakistan Murdabad’ (death to Pakistan). In Federation Square in the city of Melbourne, thousands of people from the Indian community demonstrated, chanting ‘Hindu Lives Matter’ and ‘Pakistan Army Terrorist Army,’ expressing similar nationalist sentiments. However, in Toronto that same week, members of the Indian community, joined by Hindus, Jews, Balochis, Iranians and other Canadians, also held a candlelight vigil in memory of the victims of the attacks. In London, too, the Indian community held a candlelight vigil in Piccadilly Circus.
The Canadian diaspora is one of the largest in the world among immigrants of South Asian origin and frequently mobilises around issues affecting their country of origin. In 2022, the Pakistani community demonstrated in Montreal in support of former Prime Minister Imran Khan when he was ousted by a motion of no confidence. In 2024, protesters gathered in Mississauga, Canada, to support the imprisonment of former Prime Minister Imran Khan. As a result, Canadian government officials and non-governmental actors remain cautious, fearing that conflicts on the Indian subcontinent could affect social cohesion within their diaspora. As a reflexive measure, Prime Minister Mark Carney condemned the terrorist attack in Pahalgam, while issuing a joint statement from the G7 foreign ministers that read: “We call for immediate de-escalation and encourage both countries to engage in direct dialogue towards a peaceful outcome. Statements from the Pakistan-Canada Association and the Vedic Hindu Cultural Society of British Columbia called for peaceful relations within the community in Canada. The Hindu Canadian Society also issued guidelines for Hindu Canadians to avoid aggression and promote harmonious living.
Furthermore, following the Foreign Interference Commission hearings, which examined the alleged influence operations of China, India, Russia and other states, Ottawa must adopt a proactive strategy of engagement with diasporas to protect their communities from foreign manipulation. The appointments of ministers such as Anita Anand to Foreign Affairs and Gary Anandasangaree to Public Safety, who have close ties to South Asian communities and the politics of their countries of origin, are therefore positive steps in this direction. This is particularly important in the wake of the diplomatic crisis between Canada and India in 2023, following the assassination of Canadian Sikh citizen Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Canadian authorities not only accused Indian intelligence services of orchestrating the killing, but also mentioned the presence of Indian agents linked to the Bishnoi criminal gang, suspected of targeting the South Asian community in Canada.
Conclusion
The recent wave of terrorist attacks in South Asia has sent shockwaves around the world, prompting reactions from the diaspora, vigils of solidarity and a broader geopolitical response. The SCO’s Tianjin Declaration illustrates the profound consequences of terrorism linked to Pakistan and India’s diplomatic influence in the region. While the Pahalgam attacks have reignited tensions between India and Pakistan, leading to diplomatic escalation and negative emotions within the global Indian diaspora, they have also highlighted the need for solidarity among communities in the face of terrorism. The demonstrations by the global diaspora have also demonstrated the depth of the transnational ties that connect immigrants of South Asian origin to issues affecting their countries of origin. Canada, home to a large South Asian diaspora, should therefore position itself as a balanced and vigilant actor, continuing to strengthen its engagement with this community and encouraging its representation in foreign policy in order to serve Canadian interests — notably by protecting its democratic institutions from foreign interference.
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