Tourism under siege: livelihood recovery in the pursuit of peace and prosperity

Kashmir has been caught in the crossfire between India and Pakistan since its independence in 1947; however, with a renewed crackdown in 2019, the region has been constantly promoted as a peaceful tourist destination and is often referred to as the Switzerland of the East. However, after the Pahalgam attack, even that fragile peace is threatened by a cycle of fear and economic uncertainty that runs rampant among the local Kashmiris. A sharp decline in tourism has led to an escalation of uncertainty and psychological insecurity among locals. This paper examines how the disruption of tourism after the 2025 Pahalgam attack has affected tourism-dependent communities and economic security among the locals in Kashmir. The measures taken during an enhanced protective state may mitigate short-term threats, but they neglect the structural drivers that perpetuate long-term instability in the livelihoods of the inhabitants. Sustainable peace and stability in Kashmir require prioritizing economic recovery, cultural resilience, and grassroots peacebuilding, alongside addressing the deep-rooted causes of conflict. Drawing on John Paul Lederach’s Peacebuilding Pyramid, the article further examines how livelihood recovery, community resilience, and grassroots interventions can contribute to long-term peacebuilding in the region. The paper considers NGO interventions as examples of grassroots mechanisms supporting local recovery and community resilience. Furthermore, the study calls for policy attention and international dialogue that focus on local voices and socio-economic support, with reference to the global Sustainable Development Goals, to consider policy implications and prevent further crises.

“There is no way to peace; peace is the way.” - Mahatma Gandhi.

Kashmir remains a critical geopolitical landscape situated in a strategic geographic position, bordering India, Pakistan, China, and Afghanistan. Since 1947, the region has been witnessing four major wars between India and Pakistan, jeopardizing the livelihoods and futures of local Kashmiris (Kousar and Bhadra, 2023). Indo-Pak tensions date back to the time of 1947, since then both has fought four major wars, the first Indo-Pakistani War (1947–48), the 1965 war, the 1971 war, and the Kargil war (1999). As Galtung (1964) posits, these consecutive wars have firmly established structural violence by highlighting inequality, hostility, and militarization between the two nations, which prevents positive peace. Positive peace requires not merely an absence of violence, but it also demands the erasure of systemic injustices and the building of equitable structures that sustain peaceful and cooperative societies. On August 5, 2019, India revoked the special constitutional status of Jammu and Kashmir, scrapping the dual citizenship of Kashmiris and reshaping the region’s political landscape through a profound shift toward direct central governance and full legal integration, facilitating fundamental changes in the region’s demography. New domicile laws opened the door for land ownership and government jobs for non-residents in Kashmir. The April 2025 Pahalgam attack further escalated the structural fracture in public space, transforming a site of tourism into a center of fear and insecurity. This assault disrupted the government’s narrative of normalcy and revealed the fragility of everyday life. The region’s tourist sector is seeing a significant downturn, as, according to the Kashmir Hotel Association (KHA), more than 80% of reservations were cancelled in the aftermath of the attacks (The Hindu, 2025). As a result, tourist towns like Pahalgam became desolate, with local vendors and small businesses heavily dependent on tourism facing substantial losses and intensifying the region’s economic difficulties.

Studies on tourism in the conflict-affected terrain of Kashmir have been analyzed from several perspectives. Previous research examines the economic aspects of tourism recovery and disruption after major political shifts, such as the 2019 revocation of Article 370 (Akhtar and Kumar, 2024; Mir and Somasundaran, 2024). Ahmad (2022) examines the power dynamics within Kashmir’s tourism economy, analyzing contestation between the state, hotels, and local workers such as cab drivers and ponymen in Pahalgam using a Bourdieusian framework. Recent studies interpret tourism, especially state-sponsored religious pilgrimages like the Amarnath Yatra, in relation to territorial control and dispossession (Pal, 2025). Although these studies offer valuable perspectives on the economy, social relations, and tourism in Kashmir, they mostly approach tourism separately from issues of human security and local peacebuilding. Research on the political and human rights conditions in Kashmir has reported the repercussions of the 2019 abrogation of Article 370, including political turmoil and human rights violations, displacement, and shifting questions of identity and land rights (Aryal and Muneer, 2023). This study focuses primarily on geopolitics, state policy, and human rights, with less emphasis on how economic instability affects communal security and daily life. Bali and Akhtar’s (2017) study focuses on grassroots peacebuilding efforts in Kashmir, where it examines cross-Line of Control confidence-building measures, especially the 2005 bus service and 2008 barter trade, illustrating the fragility and restricted institutional reach of grassroots peace efforts. This research identifies tourism as a prospective pathway for future cross-LoC connection; however, it does not empirically investigate the association between tourism, livelihood, and peacebuilding. Existing scholarship remains largely disconnected and offers limited understanding of how a single episode of violence disrupts tourism-dependent livelihoods and how such disruption can be understood within a grassroots and multi-level peacebuilding framework. This article addresses this gap by examining the aftermath of the 2025 Pahalgam attack, focusing on its impact on tourism-dependent livelihoods and pathways through which sustainable recovery may be facilitated. Through John Paul Lederach’s Peacebuilding Pyramid, the study analyses the roles of actors at different levels in connecting livelihood recovery with broader processes of peacebuilding. Based on the gap, the study is guided by the following research questions:

RQ1. How has the 2025 Pahalgam attack and the subsequent disruption of tourism affected tourism-dependent livelihoods in Kashmir?

RQ2. How can John Paul Lederach’s Peacebuilding Pyramid explain pathways towards sustainable recovery in the aftermath of the 2025 Pahalgam attack?

This article argues that viewing the Pahalgam attack through a human-security lens reveals how securitized state responses undermine peacebuilding, tourism recovery, and everyday dignity. The Pahalgam attack set the stage for increased tensions between national and human security. Usually, state responses prioritize sovereignty, border control, and counterterrorism, often neglecting the day-to-day realities and vulnerabilities of the local Kashmiris. Human security, which focuses on protecting individuals’ rights, livelihoods, and wellbeing, remains a neglected facet of the Kashmir conflict. According to Holliday and Howe (2011), human security centers on protecting individuals from violence and securing their basic needs, and the international community bears a shared moral responsibility beyond state sovereignty to reduce suffering and ensure true security. Post-Pahalgam attack, nearly every dimension of human security, such as economic, food, health, environmental, personal, community, and political, is under pressure, causing a multidimensional crisis marked by political suppression, economic instability, and a fragile environment.

The article examines how terrorism affects tourism, local livelihoods, and the peacebuilding process in Kashmir. To capture the multidimensional impact of the attack, the methodology adopted is a qualitative analysis grounded in peace and conflict studies, relying on secondary sources such as media reports, economic surveys, and NGO accounts. The study relies on secondary sources because it examines a recent event. The dataset comprises economic surveys from 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025; the Digest of Statistics report from 2019 to 2021, and NGO newsletters that provide information on tourist inflow, livelihood disruption, and local experiences. The research further employs John Lederach’s Peacebuilding Pyramid (1997), which highlights the interplay between grassroots actors, middle-range leadership, and top-level decision-makers in processes of conflict transformation. The study explores how cycles of violence and insecurity disrupt economic stability, reframes Kashmir’s conflict as not just geographical but deeply human, and identifies potential pathways toward sustainable peace. The analysis progresses in three interconnected stages, with each unfolding a different dimension of the Pahalgam attack’s impact (see Table 1).

Data sources

Data were collected from four types of sources: (i) Tourism Statistics and Economic Survey Reports, (ii) Government official data, (iii) NGO publications and reports, and (iv) media reports and interviews with stakeholders. These sources were chosen because they offer complementary evidence. Statistics and economic surveys were used to identify fluctuations in tourist inflow, while NGO and media accounts provide sufficient information on the region’s tourism-driven economy.

Analytical procedure

Tourism as a causality of geopolitics

The first stage analyses tourism statistics, government surveys, and media portrayals of Kashmir. By examining quantitative data on visitor decline alongside qualitative narratives from local stakeholders, this section reveals how the Pahalgam attack disrupts economic stability and tourism in Kashmir.

Community livelihoods and ground realities

The discussion focuses on NGO reports, press interviews, and local testimonies to emphasize how the attack intensified livelihood precarity and psychological insecurity. This analysis also highlights the gap between nationalist narratives and ground realities, showing how protective measures mitigate short-term threats but neglect the structural drivers of instability.

Peacebuilding and Lederach’s pyramid

In the final stage, Lederach’s framework is applied to categorize across three levels: grassroots actors, middle-range leadership, and top-level leadership. This section underlines the importance of NGOs as drivers of social change and in bridging grassroots needs with policy interventions.

The findings show that the consequences of the Pahalgam attack go beyond the immediate incident of violence and significantly affected Kashmir’s tourism-driven economy and local livelihoods while also disrupting the peace. The tourist inflow in Jammu and Kashmir fluctuated significantly between 2016–17 and 2025–26. The earlier declines in tourism are associated with the Uri attack in 2016, the Pulwama attack in 2019, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Tourism recovered from 1.13 crore in 2021–22 to 2.36 crore in 2024–25. Following the Pahalgam attack on 22 April 2025, tourist inflow fell again to 1.78 crore. This decline and irregularity in tourism and related sectors significantly affected transport managers, hoteliers, vendors, small businesses, and locals dependent on tourism. This resulted in fewer income-generating opportunities and increased economic uncertainty among locals. The attack also disturbed the sense of security and normalcy while renewing concerns regarding violence and instability in the region. Thus, the resulting insecurity affected both perceptions of the region among visitors and the day-to-day lives of local communities. The results show that the Pahalgam attack can be associated with two interconnecting forms of disruption: a decline in tourism-driven economic activity and reignited anxiety and instability, distorting peace in the region.

The Pahalgam attack and its immediate impact

Pahalgam, a small town known for its scenic landscapes and as a gateway for the Amarnath pilgrimage, became a site of tragedy after the militant attack on 22nd April 2025. Armed militants with AK-47 and M4 Carbine rifles attacked the tourists in Baisaran Valley Meadow, killing 26 and injuring 20 (Satpute, 2025). India issued a strong condemnation of the attack, holding Pakistan responsible for supporting cross-border terrorism, a claim that Pakistan denied. Initially, a militant organization called the Resistance Front claimed responsibility for the attack but later denied any involvement. In response, India launched “Operation Sindoor,” carrying out targeted strikes on suspected terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-governed Kashmir. Additionally, India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty, downgraded diplomatic relations, and closed its borders with Pakistan as part of a broader set of retaliatory measures (Press Information Bureau, 2025). Consequently, curfews were imposed on Kashmir, which limited the movement of locals. The attack happened in the spring—peak tourism season—when tourists visit in huge numbers and significantly contribute to the region’s economy. Tourism’s decline after the Pahalgam attack is often measured in GDP loss and visitor cancellations. Yet these metrics obscure deeper impacts: the erosion of psychological peace, the collapse of cultural continuity, and the silencing of Kashmiri dignity. Studies on collective trauma show that conflict can increase psychological distress, weaken social solidarity, disrupt cultural practices, and reduce trust in institutions (Thamotharampillai, 2025). Tourism has been regarded as a peacebuilding tool rather than a revenue sector, as it fosters intercultural understanding and promotes positive change, thereby sustaining livelihoods, fostering dialogue, and symbolizing normalcy in a fragile environment (Pratt and Liu, 2016; Senbeto, 2022). It is often credited with promoting peace and understanding between people (World Tourism Organization, 1980). Its destruction reveals how securitized responses undermine not only the economy but also the everyday foundations of peace. Tourism functions as a crucial peacebuilding mechanism in many iconic tourist spots by creating economic stability, encouraging social interaction, and building confidence. Nepal is a prime example, where tourism has acted as a catalyst for peace and helped recovery by turning cultural heritage and trekking into shared economic assets (Neupane, 2013). A recent study posits that Nepalese tourism supports not only generation, but also social inclusion, and community participation (Upadhayaya, 2013). Similarly, in Northern Ireland, ‘peace tourism’ has transformed former conflict spaces into sites of memory, dialogues, and employment. Sri Lanka, another tourist country, also reflects this post-conflict logic, showing that tourism can rebuild confidence and livelihoods only when it is supported by inclusive governance rather than substituting for political settlement. In this sense, tourism could evoke peace in Kashmir not by resolving conflicts directly, but by increasing social and economic stability while strengthening practical incentives for coexistence.

Tourism contributes significantly to the economic development of Jammu and Kashmir. The economic survey of Jammu and Kashmir reveals that the sector contributes significantly to the gross state domestic product and supports the livelihoods of around 5 lakh people through direct and indirect employment (Directorate of Economics and Statistics, 2025). According to Singh (2024), tourism also empowers local communities through skill development and increased cultural and environmental awareness. However, these benefits are tempered by seasonal fluctuations, reliance on specific sectors, and unequal distribution of benefits. Before 2016, Kashmir did not have anywhere near the number of visitors it has had in recent years. Previous research by Mahapatra and Shekhawat (2008) explains that the India–Pakistan peace process began creating conditions for economic development in Jammu and Kashmir. Initiatives like cross-border trade routes and reduced hostility fostered optimism for private investment and effective policy implementation. The Pahalgam attack reinforced how an outburst of violence can destabilize such efforts and reverse gains made through peacebuilding. Sustained peace is crucial to breaking the cycle of prolonged violence and underdevelopment in all sectors. Furthermore, the aftermath of the attack exposed not only security concerns but also a fragile economy, where tourism is the region’s primary source of income and the most visibly affected sector.

Tourism as a casualty of geopolitical tensions

Kashmir’s tourism industry has historically been endangered by ongoing geopolitical conflicts in the region. According to the stakeholders of tourism in Kashmir, the country is subjected to more conflicts due to the government’s weak intentions to solve the Kashmir conflict, instead of fulfilling their own selfish political interests (Samnotra and Gupta, 2020). Every major attack in the country has led to an immediate decline in the number of tourists to Kashmir. Official data from 2016 to 2025 shows neither a continuous decline nor a pattern of growth; instead, the industry has gone through repeated cycles of disruption and recovery. The continuous unrest in 2016 after the Uri attack not only led to a bilateral boycott, surgical strikes, and the postponement of the SAARC summit, but it also resulted in a tremendous loss of tourism and its related sub-sector, where the tourist inflow slightly increased to 1.35 crore. The industry eventually recovered, with tourist numbers rising to 1.45 crore in 2017 and 1.69 crore in 2018 (Directorate of Economics and Statistics, 2019). Tourism took another significant hit after the Pulwama bombing in February 2019, with many travelers canceling their plans due to security concerns. On August 5, 2019, following the revocation of Article 370, the government of Jammu and Kashmir issued a new security advisory asking all tourists to leave the region as soon as possible due to security concerns. This led to yet another decline in tourism to Jammu and Kashmir, posing a serious threat to both tourists and the industry (Kumar, 2021).

According to Prahlad Singh Patel, Minister of State for Tourism, after the revocation of Article 370 in 2019, restrictions on movement and communication led to a sharp decline in tourism, with only approximately 84,000 tourists visiting in the subsequent months. This was followed by a nationwide lockdown due to COVID-19, so returning to normalcy was never an option for the Kashmiris, who were locked down even before the pandemic. That is, while nations around the world struggled to tackle the pandemic, Kashmir, as a conflict zone, faced a double lockdown during this time (Connah, 2021). The most severe decline happened in 2020, when arrivals fell to 34.76 lakh due to the global pandemic (Directorate of Economics and Statistics, 2021). The abrogation of Article 370: the government’s official data reports a positive result, with a sharp decline in terror incidents falling from 228 in 2018 to 43 by 30 November 2023 (Press Information Bureau, 2023), and tourist arrivals also increased after 2019. At the same time, some natives criticized the abrogation of Article 370 as a negative move because it stripped them of exclusive land and job rights and threatened their demographic identity. Intense debates over Article 370 have hinged on conflicting definitions of stability: autonomy-driven harmony versus integration-led security. The special status of Kashmir functioned as a ‘soft’ border, managing peace through political ambiguity, regional identity, and land protection rights from external shifts. Conversely, the revocation of Article 370 represents a ‘hard’ border strategy that seeks positive peace by dissolving the legal and political distinctions that were previously exploited. Nevertheless, post-2019 Kashmir demonstrated reduced direct violence, tighter control over separatist movements, and economic growth, thereby building a form of negative peace characterized by the absence of overt conflict. According to Galtung (1964), a positive peace is marked by cooperation, justice, equity, and participatory inclusion between human societies. Adding to that, visits by foreign delegates and G20 events projected normalcy, limitations on individual rights and liberties, militarization, and the repression of conflict are all necessary to maintain this stability but the International Commission of Jurists, along with the Human Rights Council and other non-governmental organizations (NGOs), expressed their concern over the restrictions imposed after the revocation of Article 370 like curfew under the section of 144 and no internet connectivity from 5th August 2019 to December 2019. Their statement brought with it unlawful arrests, torture, arbitrary detentions under repressive laws, and restrictions on freedom of speech (Khattab, 2024). Social aspects of the state were affected, negatively impacting human psychology (Pathak and Mushahary, 2022). That is the reason why positive peace remains unfulfilled in Kashmir, where control and integration overpower reconciliation and empowerment.

The government of India has consistently promoted Jammu and Kashmir as a potential tourist destination through various policies, programs, and marketing plans despite constraints. One such program is the mega tourism promotion event “Tapping the Potential of Kashmir: Another Day in Paradise,” organized in Srinagar, in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir. The program aims to promote Jammu and Kashmir as a leisure destination and showcase the region’s tourism packages (Press Information Bureau, 2021). This post-COVID recovery was rapid, with arrivals increasing from 1.13 crore in 2021 to 1.88 crore in 2022 and 2.11 crore in 2023, then reaching an all-time high of 2.36 crore in 2024, according to the respective economic surveys. This post-pandemic increase corresponds with a series of government initiatives aimed at expanding and diversifying tourism in Jammu and Kashmir. According to a 2025 economic survey of Jammu and Kashmir for the fiscal year 2024–2025, the tourism sector contributed almost 7.2% to the region’s gross domestic product (GDP), equivalent to Rs 18,550 crore in nominal terms and Rs 10,150 crore in real terms (Directorate of Economics and Statistics, 2025). This clearly indicates that the tourism industry makes a remarkable contribution to the economic activity of the union territories. According to India Brand Equity Foundation (2026), Jammu and Kashmir witnessed an inflow of 1.08 crore tourists in CY24 up to June, setting a new record. The decrease in tourist arrivals in 2025 to 1.78 crore disrupted this upward trajectory (Directorate of Economics and Statistics, 2025).

The Pahalgam attack significantly affected the valley, as seen not only by the decline in tourist arrivals but also by the closure of several tourist sites and a substantial decline in tourism-related business activity. The Jammu & Kashmir administration has closed almost 48 of 87 tourist destinations in Kashmir following the attack due to security reasons (Bukhari and Patel, 2025). The downturn showed up in canceled travel plans. According to a Local Circles survey, 62% of families with travel or pilgrimage bookings to Kashmir between May and December 2025 canceled their plans after the attack. This survey includes more than 21,000 verified responses from 361 districts, including tier 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and rural areas (Mukhopadhyay, 2025). Ground-level reports show that the disruption affected business sectors like hotels, transport operators, retailers, and other occupations that rely on tourism. Mr. Javeed Bashir Burza, president of the Hotel and Restaurant Owners Association, highlights that hotel occupancy rates remain alarmingly low, even 50 days after the terrorist attack. While occupancy occasionally reaches 10% or 20%, it often dips to zero on many days, resulting in a staggering loss of 200 crore during the peak season from May to July (Shaikh, 2025). By the end of September, the Kashmir Hotel and Restaurant Association (KHARA) and the Travel Agents Association of Kashmir (TAAK) reported that only 9,000 tourists visited Kashmir in the first 15 days of September, compared with last year’s inflow of approx. 1 lakh (Wani, 2025). The tourism industry further suffered due to the strict security measures imposed after the attack. As a precautionary measure to improve safety, the administration set early cut-off times for tourists’ movements, limiting access to several destinations from 4 p.m. These measures curtailed tourist mobility and restricted time for sightseeing and travel between destinations. These ground-level reports complement the official tourist-arrival statistics, underscoring that the 2025 downturn significantly disrupted tourism operations and affected tourism-dependent livelihoods in the region.

This Pahalgam attack occurred when tourism reached its peak. Therefore, this 2025 downturn cannot be viewed as the continuation of a declining trend; rather, it represents a disruption of a period of sustained tourism growth. Thus, tourism in Jammu and Kashmir has the capacity to recover, though its growth remains vulnerable to renewed security crises. The decline in tourism after the Pahalgam assault indicates how geopolitical violence produces repercussions beyond its immediate location. The tourist sector operates through an interconnected livelihood network that includes hotel owners, tour guides, pony operators, cab drivers, vendors, artisans, and other small-scale service providers. A reduction in tourist influx impacts not just one sector but triggers a ripple effect of diminished demand throughout the local economy. Tourism is especially prone to conflict because travel is discretionary and relies on perceptions of safety. Kashmir’s tourism industry encompasses accommodation, transport, guides, vendors, and artisans; a decline in tourist arrivals can propagate the initial impact across several livelihood sectors. Unlike economic activities, which may continue under restricted conditions, tourists can immediately cancel when a location is perceived as unsafe.

Disruption, violence, and political insurgency are the main issues worldwide that impede tourist influx (Kumar, 2018). These issues are common in this part of the world and disrupt the seamless flow of tourists and investment, undermining the region’s economic stability, limiting investment opportunities, and directly affecting locals’ livelihoods. Psychological peace refers to the mental and emotional wellbeing of people, which has been deeply affected by decades of conflict, uncertainty, and structural violence (Hamber and Gallagher, 2014). Silove et al. (2014) assert that political instability directly affects society’s social and economic factors, giving rise to stressors that affect the everyday life of the population. The constant threat of violence and economic instability intensifies the mental health challenges. As per a survey by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and University of Kashmir & Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (IMHANS) (2016), nearly 45% of adults in the Kashmir Valley have significant symptoms of mental distress, and one in every five adults is living with significant symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The high levels of violence confronted by the Kashmiri population have resulted in a high prevalence (33%) of mental health problems (De Jong et al., 2008). The politicization, media advocacy, and nationalist narratives about the attack added another layer of complexity.

Nationalist narratives vs. ground realities

The intense politicization and extensive media coverage of the Pahalgam attack have often obscured the reality of the local people and their suffering. These competing narratives matter for reconciliation as they shape whose experiences are acknowledged in the public perception of the conflict. The experiences of local populations are often displaced from the conflict narrative when Kashmir is largely framed in terms of territorial security and nationalist claims. This exclusion prevents the recognition, open dialogue, and mutual understanding that are necessary for peace. Both Indian and Pakistani governments have used the attack to stoke nationalist sentiment within their respective countries. In Pakistan, officials denied any involvement in the attack and argued that India’s accusations are attempts to divert attention. India’s ruling party, the Bharatiya Janata Party, organized a Triranga Yatra (Tricolor Rally) in Pahalgam to project patriotism and justify hardline policies. Punjab Governor Gulab Chand Kataria called the attack a “one-off” and urged tourists to continue visiting, thus attempting to minimize the trauma for the locals. There is also stark polarization in narratives covered by the media outlets. Some international and national media reported on the Indo-Pak tensions, while others focused on the humanitarian perspective of the civilian casualties. Kashmir is represented either as a site of strategic importance or as the center of border tension, rather than as a nation inhabited by people. Kashmir remains one of the most heavily militarized landscapes, with the tightest security, checkpoints, and strict military surveillance. After the Pahalgam attack, security in the region strengthened due to terrorism, which significantly disrupted civilian life. According to Ilyas (2023), armed conflicts represent detrimental external shocks to the wellbeing of households by instilling a persistent fear and by devastating local infrastructure. As per the United Nations annual report (International Committee for the Respect and Application of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights), CIRAC local Kashmiris should not be humiliated or victimized under the pretext of terrorism and counterterrorism (United Nations General Assembly, 2025). Together, these dynamics reveal how nationalist rhetoric and narratives differ in form and political intent; both relegate local suffering to the margins.

Towards sustainable peace and security

Over the last few decades, violence against civilians in Kashmir has declined, and empirical data support the claim, as seen in Chart 1, which was prepared by Drs. Sarkar and Das with data from the Armed Conflict Location and Events Data (ACLED) Project (see Figure 1) (Sarkar and Das, 2025). However, this attack has reignited fears about the region’s peace and security and the resurgence of terrorism. The concept of peace has undergone a significant transformation since the 20th century, with Johan Galtung’s distinction between “negative” and “positive” peace marking a major development in the field of peace studies. On the Kashmir issue, any sustainable solution must address both negative peace (absence of violence) and positive peace, which emphasizes the presence of justice and equitable social structures. Indeed, there is an urgent need to address the structural violence that occurs in everyday life, like economic disparities, constant surveillance, access to justice, and fear of control. While the decline in civilian violence suggests a reduction in direct violence, the Pahalgam attack demonstrates the fragility of this relative stability. The attack also provides immediate empirical evidence for examining how a security incident affects tourism-dependent communities and broader recovery conditions. According to studies, peacebuilding in Kashmir requires multisectoral strategies that go beyond traditional security arrangements, consistently calling for integrated approaches that include educational reforms, grassroots dialogues, and multilayered negotiations that incorporate Kashmiri voices (Nanda and Aima, 2013).

Protracted geopolitical conflicts in Kashmir have human costs, creating a large number of deaths, displacement, and long-lasting trauma. Moreover, the consequences extend beyond the casualties, including a crashing economy and the environmental effects on where the population lives. The Pahalgam attack makes it necessary to shift the focus from nationalism to a people-centered approach towards peace and justice. According to the United Nations Development Program (2025), this approach ensures that people’s rights, needs, perspectives, and experiences drive the transformation of justice and security systems and their institutions to serve people, especially the most marginalized, better. This study highlights how the attack’s impact extends to disruptions in tourism and the livelihoods that depend on it. Decades of cross-border tensions, militarization, and wars, which have highlighted the issue as a national security problem, in no way resolve the conflict; instead, they lead to the isolation and alienation of its people. A security-first approach may reduce immediate threats and create short-term stability in a conflict-affected region. However, reduced violence does not address the political and economic concerns. Now, amidst the adversity, there is an essential need to reconstruct the way in which the conflict is observed; it is more than a national security breach but a human security crisis where the wellbeing of Kashmiris should take precedence. Peacebuilding must be prioritized in divided societies. A security-first approach may reduce immediate threats and create short-term stability in a conflict environment. John Paul Lederach’s Peace Pyramid model (Figure 2), taken from his work Preparing for Peace: Conflict Transformation across Cultures, offers an analytical lens for understanding conflict transformation in the region. Sustainable reconciliation requires action on three levels: (1) top leaders must proceed beyond the security-centric approaches to address structural grievances through policies; (2) Middle-range actors, such as religious figures, educators, and NGOs, should foster dialogue and trust between the top level and the grassroots level; (3) the grassroots level, where citizens and local groups carry the responsibility of transcending lived relationships by promoting trust, cooperation, and shared identity through local initiatives. This study demonstrates that the Pahalgam attack had severe impacts, disrupting regional security, local tourism, and daily economic survival. To address these interconnected challenges, Lederach’s Peacebuilding Pyramid provides a useful framework for evaluating how leadership at the top, middle, and grassroots levels can take action.

Top-level diplomacy has been key in several tactical de-escalations but consistently failed to endure. These top-down interventions address immediate operations like missile strikes, treaty suspension, and border security issues that remain vulnerable to militant attacks. After the attack, India undertook a series of security and diplomatic measures, such as Operation Sindoor, the suspension of the Indus Water Treaty, and increased border security. These actions demonstrate the dominance of top-level security and diplomatic responses to the crisis. The absence of vertical integration leads to this fragility in elite negotiations. Post-Pahalgam attacks, demolitions, and detentions intensify grassroots alienation and block relational reframing. Lederach (1995) asserts that top-level action is necessary to contain immediate threats but is insufficient for sustainable peace; it must create a space for lower levels rather than substitute for them. The middle range acts as the critical connecting chain where actors, NGOs, academicians, religious figures, journalists, and professionals foster dialogue and trust between the other levels. They convey grassroots grievances into policy discourse and interpret state actions for local communities, thereby creating a bidirectional mediation. NGOs in Kashmir contribute to peacebuilding through livelihood, health, education, and community-support initiatives. This includes APDP’s work with families of disappeared persons, CHINAR International’s livelihood support, and other initiatives of Athrout and the Jammu and Kashmir Yateem Trust. These interventions align with Lederach’s middle-range level by linking community needs with extensive institutional and social processes. As a result, their role in rehabilitation goes beyond immediate aid to include enhancing social resilience, community support, and participation. These NGOs complement, rather than replace, formal political and security processes by addressing the everyday conditions that shape sustainable recovery. At the grassroots level, peacebuilding operates through local communities, village leaders, women’s self-help groups, youth groups, and educators who act as the primary agents of micro-level conflict transformation. In Kashmir, tourism-dependent communities experienced a severe economic crisis as income from tourist activities declined. Such communities play an important role at the grassroots level, where everyday livelihood concerns and local participation become central in building peace.

In post-crisis contexts, grassroots actors generate social resilience, maintain intercommunal peace, and support reconciliation. Their role in this study goes beyond receiving assistance; their experiences provide an important basis for identifying the economic and social consequences of insecurity and the priorities for local recovery. Their role is not political; instead, it is relational, targeting root causes through vertical integration by allowing local voices to influence higher agendas. The pyramid’s analytical core lies in its ability to integrate peace efforts vertically and horizontally. Vertical integration connects top-level mediating institutions and local communities, allowing grievances to be articulated at all levels. Horizontal integration networks through solidarity and coordination within social levels. The results show that a multi-level approach is useful and relevant. A single category of actors cannot address the disruption of tourism and its dependent livelihoods. Government and security officers play an important role in shaping the broader conditions for security and recovery. Middle-range actors connect institutional actions with community needs. Peace is only sustainable when different levels of the pyramid are synchronized. This framework shows that peace cannot be imposed from above but must emerge through synergy across all levels.

Tourism is conceptualized as a tool that can generate employment, facilitate cultural dialogue, and ultimately contribute to long-term peace in the area. Recent studies on peacebuilding between India and Pakistan have identified tourism as a vehicle to promote peace in the region by stimulating social interactions, reviving local traditions, and boosting the region’s economy (Chari et al., 2011). Confidence-building measures (CBMs) are among the most notable aspects of tourism in Kashmir, as they pave the way for peace between divided communities and across the disputed Line of Control (LOC). Tourist measures, including cross-Line of Control bus services and trade programs, have been initiated to reunite estranged families and promote interpersonal relationships. These initiatives can alter entrenched negative perceptions by facilitating face-to-face interactions that transcend geographical boundaries (Chari et al., 2011). This potential is constantly degraded by insecurity and state-centric narratives that emphasize control rather than connection. Bhat (2014) asserts that peace through tourism refers to reducing and, ideally, eliminating the conditions that lead to violence.

Peacebuilding and sustainable development: linking the Kashmir case to SDGs 16 and 8

The post-Pahalgam attack impact highlights the relationship between peace, security, and development in Kashmir. It also extends beyond security concerns and affects the progress towards several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially SDG 16 (Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions) and SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Work). In Kashmir, tourism, livelihoods, social cohesion, and security are interlinked. SDG 16 promotes peaceful and inclusive societies by expanding access to justice and building effective, accountable institutions (United Nations, 2015). Target 16.1 aims to reduce all forms of violence and related death rates everywhere. The tragedy of the Pahalgam attack directly challenges this objective, resulting not only in physical insecurity but also generating fear and uncertainty among locals. Richmond notes that long-term conflicts undermine solidarity, weaken trust in institutions, and obstruct sustainable peacebuilding. Lederach’s peace pyramid proposes that sustainable peace requires engagement at multiple levels. Trust-building measures, community-driven initiatives, and local dialogues for peacebuilding help reduce the recurrence of violence and advance the targets of SDG 16.1. SDG 8 promotes inclusive economic growth and decent work. The sharp decline in tourist arrivals directly affects Target 8.3, which encourages productive activities, entrepreneurship, innovation, and the growth of small- and medium-sized enterprises. Supporting local businesses through financial aid, market opportunities, and entrepreneurship programs can play a crucial role in offsetting the economic fallout of conflict while reinforcing community resilience. Further, Target 8.9 emphasizes advancing sustainable tourism that fosters employment, supports local culture, and promotes indigenous products. In Kashmir, tourism is deeply interconnected with cultural heritage, artisanal traditions, and natural landscapes. Scholars emphasize that sustainable tourism is not only about rebuilding economies but also about rebuilding societies (Causevic and Lynch, 2011). Restoring visitor confidence after the attack requires more than heightened security; it necessitates targeted investment in sustainable tourism initiatives for stable economic gains. Together, SDGs 16 and 8 show that peacebuilding and development mutually strengthen each other. Achieving these goals in Kashmir calls for an integrated strategy that blends conflict transformation, economic renewal, and locally rooted peacebuilding to support sustainable peace and resilience.

Significance of NGOs: driving social change

Local peace movements and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have implemented numerous initiatives that have played a transformative role in promoting peace and healing in Kashmir. Magara (2025) observes that NGOs have become dominant and influential actors in local peacebuilding. However, their capacity for transformative impact comes to the forefront, especially when peace initiatives are connected to governance reforms and community wellbeing. The interventions of NGOs in Kashmir cannot be viewed as consistently constructive due to the highly militarized and politically sensitive landscape. Rather than working as a single group, their work is deeply fragmented, and their operational efficiency is disrupted by systemic geopolitical pressures. Irrespective of all the geopolitical constraints, NGOs drive social change in the region by catering to essential health, education, and livelihood needs to help society overcome challenges in the conflicted terrain Community-led programs brought forth by Athwass, the Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP), and the Human Effort for Love & Peace (HELP) Foundation have contributed significantly to repairing the broken society (Suri, 2004). APDP shows how a grassroots organization can turn experiences of loss and uncertainty into collective action. This NGO was founded in 1994 and continues to interact with families of disappeared persons through sustained activism demanding justice. Its activities include documenting disappearances, pursuing legal cases, organizing demonstrations, and conducting monthly sit-ins as acts of public mourning. These practices transform private grief into collective action, enabling affected women to assert agency, preserve memory, and demand accountability (Zia, 2016). Help Foundation is a prominent NGO that has been actively involved in humanitarian relief and rehabilitation since its inception in 1997. It also played a key role in the 2014 Kashmir flood relief efforts, providing food, shelter, and emergency supplies (Shameem et al., 2025). Osuri (2018) reports how APDP functions as a living archive of memory and resistance, where grief is transformed into collective political action. Recent research on interviews with APDP members shows how the organization works with the families of disappeared persons through documentation, commemoration, and demands for accountability, highlighting the importance of civil society in managing issues of recognition and justice (Jehan, 2026). Human rights and social organizations like this show that civil society initiatives can respond not only to immediate needs but also to concerns about memory, recognition, and justice. NGOs in Kashmir work across many areas, including health, social welfare, orphan care, education, human rights, and the environment, to support multi-sectoral development.

Women-centered organizations such as the Jammu and Kashmir Markazi Behboodi Khawateen have contributed to women’s empowerment through financial assistance, education, vocational training, healthcare, and socio-security initiatives, while also supporting destitute women and orphan girls with shelter and educational support (Dar and Lamb, 2024). Civil society peacebuilding initiatives have organized informal peace meetings and assisted collaborations between groups from both sides of the line of control. These efforts aim to build social relationships and mutual trust across social and political divides (Schild, 2023). Gender- responsive peacebuilding calls for women’s equal participation and the adoption of a gender equality perspective in all peacebuilding processes and programming (Merkel et al., 2021). Ngo like the Yakjah Reconciliation and Development Network focus on dialogue, development initiatives, and cross-cultural workshops to build relationships across religious and ethnic communities in Kashmir. Its youth expression and leadership program had reached more than 400 young people, including a core group of 50 young men and women, through activities aimed at peacebuilding and leadership development (Morse, 2014). The localities benefited from a multi-layered intervention strategy in which NGOs play a significant role. CHINAR International (Child Nurture & Relief), for instance, integrates child development with livelihood interventions to help vulnerable families achieve economic stability. Its 2025–26 annual report records 33 families receiving livelihood support, 28 skill development centers training 373 participants, and its small business support program selecting 24 entrepreneurs for financial and mentoring support (CHINAR International, 2026). The Jammu and Kashmir Yateem Trust, established in 1972, has extended welfare to orphans, widows, destitute persons, and persons with disabilities, while also providing interest-free loans to poor families for small businesses and arranging marriages for girls from economically disadvantaged families (Bhat et al., 2011). These NGOs function as crucial intermediaries between conflict-affected communities and their unfulfilled everyday needs, combining immediate humanitarian relief with long-term social recovery. Such interventions are pertinent as they address dimensions of human security, including health, economic, and political security, that shape the conditions under which sustainable peace can be established. Some NGOs are engaged in advocacy at international forums; for instance, Sambhali Trust addressed the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) sessions in 2025, urging accountability for the attack’s sponsors while condemning terrorism as a barrier to human rights and peace. Through the recurring cycles of violence, NGOs have historically played a people-centric role. They rehabilitate victims, promote education to youth, support women, revive handicrafts, revitalize tourism as peace dividends, and act as bridges between communities and the state. Together, these NGO collaborations are a necessity for sustainable recovery (Purohit, 2025). Thus, these NGO actions are not a replacement for political processes; they serve as a complementary axis by addressing the everyday conditions of human security, dignity, agency, and social cohesion. Peacebuilding in Kashmir between Pakistan and India must go beyond strategic calculation; it must arise through mutual respect, regional cooperation, and a commitment to human security. Lasting peace will arise not from power, but from communication, compassion, recognition, human security, and the rebuilding of relationships within communities.

Kashmir and its conflicts are often characterized by external violence and internal unrest. The natives of the land struggle to survive their daily lives, hoping for normalcy. Occurrences like the Pahalgam attack tend to terminate the fragile hope and create uncertainty among the non-combatants. Tourism, or travel for pleasure, often deemed a luxury, is the most essential lifeline for the region in boosting its economy. In the Kashmir conflict, amidst the prevailing dominant state narratives, the humanistic aspects are often overshadowed or underpinned by strategic power plays and nationalist agendas. Peace is the most crucial and essential component for a society’s development in all aspects. Without peace, there can be little development, and without development, there can be little peace. During times of violent crises, development is generally delayed or postponed without education, justice, healthcare, protection of human rights, and the environment (Webel and Kaba, 2019). Policy interventions such as inclusive political dialogue, economic rehabilitation, educational investment, and confidence-building measures are recognized as required conditions for reducing alienation and sustaining peace. These must be supported by responsive governance, active public participation, and NGOs that work in relief and development. For peace to be meaningful and long-lasting, Kashmiri voices must be central, not peripheral; they are being denied what is rightfully theirs. They must be treated as active agents of peace, recovery, and reconciliation, not as passive subjects. Promoting and protecting the tourism industry is crucial not just for economic growth; it is a moral and political necessity in a long-term peacebuilding strategy. Linking recovery efforts to SDG 8 and SDG 16 positions sustainable tourism as a means to create jobs, safeguard cultural heritage, and strengthen institutions that uphold justice and peace. Tourism is the consequence of peace; if there is peace, tourism will be an automatic boost to our state (Kumar, 2018). For sustainable peace in Kashmir, the emphasis should be on human security over territorial security, dialogue over dominance, and healing over hostility.