Zero-day terror in Kashmir: National security needs an AI upgrade

Copyright © HT Digital Streams Limit all rights reserved. Opinion Narain Batra 4 min Read 29 Apr 2025, 12:30 a.m. for civilians who are irritated by troublesome drones, and that they eliminate their cameras, it may be preferable to crash them down. (Image: Pixabay) Summary A proper embrace of artificial intelligence will help India to jump ahead in the prevention of terrorist attacks. AI instruments such as those adopted by Israel and the US can be helpful. Time for an AI-oriented security learning. On April 22, the calm of the Baisaran Valley near Pahalgam was broken by violence of the most cruel kind. In what is now called the deadliest terrorist attack, aimed at civilians in India since 2008, 26 tourists in cold blood have been killed by militants who claim the resistance front (TRF), a well-known proxy from Lashkar-E-Taiba in Pakistan. It was not just a horrible terror, as India was also an intelligence failure and a tragedy with in -depth strategic consequences. India, a nuclear -armed state with one of the largest armies in the world and a formidable intelligence network, could not provide an attack in one of its most patrolled and sensitive regions. It is India’s ‘zero-day’ event, a cyber security term that refers to a previously unknown vulnerability exploited by attackers before being patched. Kashmir’s picturesque facade may have had policy makers in the wrong sense of normality. But below lies dormant terrorist networks waiting for their event. Also read: Kashmir Simmers, but the game of Pakistan has no winners. The question that India should ask now is this: How can India predict and prevent the next attack? The answer is not just more boots on the ground, but more intelligence, better integration and excellent technology. India must make a decisive shift to AI-enhanced national security. India’s terrorism strategy against terrorism remains a mix of centralized intelligence agencies and military deployment in volatile areas such as Jammu and Kashmir. But this system is often reactive, bureaucratic and quiet. This is good in response, but weak with prediction. In addition, the focus in Kashmir has tilted over the past few years to infrastructure development and tourism promotion. Although such soft power strategies are essential, they should go with upgraded mechanisms for supervision and threat. Baisaran, who is only accessible on foot or horse and surrounded by a thick forest, has become unattended – a perfect target for asymmetric warfare. Also read: Terror Strike throws a blanket of gloom over Kashmir’s tourism landscape Israel offers one model. The intelligence agency, unit 8200, use AI to analyze phone metadata, satellite imagery and online communication to detect disorders. It is crucified with historical patterns of rebellious activities, which presented the Israeli army attacks with precision. The smart border systems, powered by thermal imaging and computer vision, can detect and classify movement – human, animal or vehicle – within seconds. In high -risk zones, these instruments are not experimental, but operational. The US, especially by the project of the Department of Defense Maven, uses AI to analyze Drone footage in real time. It can identify vehicles, weapons and human activities in conflict areas in a blink of an eye. Combined with generative AI’s Natural Language Processing (NLP) systems that forums, encrypted platforms, deep web foods, etc. Monitor, US against terrorism plants can often intercept plots before it becomes operations. In addition, agencies such as the National Security Agency and Department of Homeland Security forecasting tools that are domestic and foreign threats on the basis of behavioral analysis and travel history flag ropes that are controversial but are effective in high importance security scenarios. Also read: Pahalgam must be handled with a firm, wise hand India, with its large pool of talent, not to mention military R&D capacity, can build and deploy such systems. Here are five AI applications that will serve the country well. Predictive modeling: AI can detect disorders in movement patterns, communication behavior and online activity. Unusual visits to forests, encrypted group chats that discuss sensitive areas, or route mapping can all cause early warnings. Drone -intelligence, supervision, exploration: Autonomous aircraft equipped with computer vision can patrol valleys such as Baisaran and warning commanding centers to suspect events, gunfire or unauthorized movement. Facial recognition and biometric verification: AI can investigate the supervisory camera footage of bus stations, hotels and sanctuaries at watchfare. Social media and dark web monitoring: NLP-powered systems should scan the web for coded language, propaganda or radicalization stories in local languages. Smart boundary defense: Thermal and radar-based AI systems must be deployed in terrain-accessible infiltration area, with warnings led by a centralized AI-powered military operation center. Also read: Mint Quick Edit | India can get Indus chef -leverage about Pakistan adopting AI is not just about buying new software or hardware. This requires institutional transformation, for which India can establish a national AI command center – a nodal agency that can integrate data from all agencies and resources. For best results, AI should combine with human judgment. Just as important is the question of civil freedoms. Since AI systems can be abused or biased, there must be legal precautions, ethical frameworks and parliamentary supervision, especially on civilian supervision. The Baisaran Valley attack should be treated as a wake-up call for a technology upgrade for an era in which algorithms form war outcomes. Diplomatic measures are needed, but not sufficient. While evictions and visa cancellations, plus the Indus Waters Treaty kept in compliance, send out a strong geopolitical signal, these movements may not stop the next attack. A new doctrine must emerge – one that places AI in the middle of national security, not just as an instrument, but as an integral part of the activities. From space-based to drone supervision, from behavioral analysis to cyber intelligence, AI can help India to do what it can’t do in Pahalgam: see it coming. The author is a national security analyst, a podcast host and the author of ‘India in a New Key: Nehru to Modi’. Catch all the business news, market news, news reports and latest news updates on Live Mint. Download the Mint News app to get daily market updates. More Topics #Kartic Intelligence #Inlamist Militants #Air Defense System Mint Specials