NYT Amends Kashmir Attack Reportage As India Hits Terror Camps In Pakistan

After India’s successful execution of ‘Operation Sindoor’– targeting terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (POK)– a noticeable editorial shift was observed in the reportage of The New York Times (NYT), one of America’s leading publications. For the first time, the American daily addressed the perpetrators of the Pahalgam terror attack as “terrorists” in its headline — a major shift from the earlier usage of euphemistic nomenclature like “gunmen” or “militants” that had sparked backlash both in India and abroad.

Reporting on Operation Sindoor, the front-page headline on the NYT’s website on Wednesday read: “India Strikes Pakistan Two Weeks After Terrorist Attack in Kashmir”. The report noted that India’s strike was a retaliation for the Pahalgam terror attack. It included New Delhi’s statement saying it had “struck Pakistan after gathering evidence, ‘pointing towards the clear involvement of Pakistan-based terrorists’ in last month’s attack on civilians.”

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The American daily noted that India has called its actions against Pakistan “measured, responsible and designed to be nonescalatory in nature,” as it highlighted the fact that “only known terror camps” were targeted. 

Criticism Of NYT Coverage

The change in the publication’s reportage was especially noticeable as it faced backlash last month due to the use of sympathetic language in describing the perpetrator of the Pahalgam attack.

Twenty-six tourists were killed, including a Nepali citizen, when armed terrorists opened fire in scenic Baisaran valley of Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam on April 22. At the time, NTY led its coverage with the headline: “At Least 24 Tourists Gunned Down by Militants in Kashmir”. An introduction to the report also said that it was Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who called the “shooting” a “terror attack”.

The publication’s coverage came under fire, with the US House Foreign Affairs Committee slamming it for downplaying the atrocity and being “removed from reality”. 

“This was a terrorist attack, plain and simple,” noted the Foreign Affairs Committee of the United States government in a post on X.. “Whether it’s India or Israel, when it comes to terrorism, the NYT is removed from reality,” it added

The critical post, the committee also shared a photo with the correction made on the NYT’s headline, saying, “Hey, NYT, we fixed it for you.”

Hey, @nytimes we fixed it for you. This was a TERRORIST ATTACK plain and simple.

Whether it’s India or Israel, when it comes to TERRORISM the NYT is removed from reality. pic.twitter.com/7PefEKMtdq

— House Foreign Affairs Committee Majority (@HouseForeignGOP) April 23, 2025

Furthermore, the US President Donald Trump also termed India’s action against Pakistan-based terror groups under Operation Sindoor on Wednesday a “tit-for-tat” move. 

“I want to see them stop and hopefully they can stop now. They’ve gotten tit for tat, so hopefully they can stop now,” he told reporters in Oval Office when asked about the attack.