Beyond the barbed wire fences at the Line of Control are terror launchpads that have one routine task: sending terrorists across the boundary into Jammu and Kashmir. On the other side lies Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir, the portion of the Indian region that remains under the occupation of Pakistani troops. Terrorists make their way through the fencing to carry out terror attacks in the country.
These launchpads function freely despite repeated warnings to Pakistan against harbouring terrorism. And Islamabad plays ignorant.
After terror struck Pahalgam last month and 26 civilians were massacred in the scenic Baisaran meadow, terror links to Pakistan emerged again, exposing how Pakistan has used its occupied portion of Jammu and Kashmir to harbour terrorism.
In his first public remark on the attack, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called for a “credible, neutral probe”.
His remark underlines the willful ignorance of Pakistani leaders over the years of the homegrown terror infrastructure. A look at India and Pakistan’s conflicts over the decades highlights how terrorism has been Islamabad’s most potent weapon.
Pak-Sponsored Terrorism Since 1947
Pakistan’s use of terrorism to achieve its geopolitical goals isn’t a new phenomenon. Terrorism has been part of Islamabad’s aggressionist policy since Independence. At the time of Partition in 1947, Pakistan backed tribal militia to invade Jammu and Kashmir.
But Pakistan was not done yet. Terror infrastructure evolved. And it was again used during the 1965 war. Applying its infiltration tactics, Pakistani soldiers were sent across the border into Kashmir under ‘Operation Gibraltar’. Disguised as locals, they intended to spark an uprising among the Kashmiris, but the attempt failed.
In 1999, when war broke out in Kargil, Pakistani terrorists again infiltrated the border. They initially denied any involvement, but evidence later emerged, establishing how terrorists trained by them had crossed onto the Indian land.
The use of proxy terror groups has allowed Pakistan to remain behind the curtains. It has created, trained, and armed multiple terror groups like the Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad that have carried out several attacks targeting civilians, minorities, pilgrims, and the security forces in India. With these groups claiming responsibility, Pakistan has been able to maintain “plausible deniability”.
Terror Attacks Since 1990s
Terrorism sponsored by Pakistan in India has seen an increase since the 1990s. Groups armed and funded by Islamabad have carried out some of the deadliest terror attacks in the country, including the 2019 Pulwama attacks.
In 1993, a series of blasts left 267 dead in financial capital Mumbai, and Pakistan continues to shelter its mastermind, Dawood Ibrahim, despite global sanctions.
In 2001, the attack on the Indian Parliament was planned by the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad. India had released its mastermind, Masood Azhar, in exchange for hostages of a plane hijacked and landed by terrorists in Kandahar in 1999.
Terror struck again in 2008. Several places were targeted in Mumbai. This time it was Lashkar-e-Taiba. Pakistan’s involvement in the attack was proven through captured terrorist Ajmal Kasab, phone intercepts, and international intelligence.
In 2016, an attack was carried out by terrorists at an Indian Air Force base in Pathankot, Punjab. Despite allowing a Pakistani investigation team to visit the attack site, no action was taken by Pakistani authorities.
In 2019, the deadliest attack of the decade took place in Pulwama. A suicide bombing on a convoy of Indian paramilitary personnel left 40 dead. India had made legal requests for information on Pakistani suspects, but Islamabad ignored.
How Pakistan Obstructed Justice
India had provided Pakistan with adequate evidence of their nationals being involved in spreading terrorism in India after every major attack. However, Pakistan stuck to a script every time, either denying involvement or refusing to act.
Pakistan’s ignorance has allowed the Mumbai attack masterminds, Hafiz Saeed and Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, to operate freely in their country. Seventeen years on, it has made no progress on the Mumbai trial despite international pressure.
While Pakistan stalled its probe after the Pathankot attack to protect the perpetrators, it ignored all legal requests for information on four suspects after the Pulwama attack.
Pakistan’s Terror Track Record
Pakistan’s global track record of exporting terror is known worldwide. Osama bin Laden, the mastermind of the 9/11 attack, was found living near a military academy in Pakistan’s Abbottabad. He was eliminated by the US forces in 2011 while another 9/11 conspirator, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, was caught in Pakistan.
Besides, several Pakistani citizens or groups backed by them have been found involved in terror attacks across the globe, including the US, UK, France, Germany, Spain, Norway, Saudi Arabia, and Afghanistan.
Pakistan, blacklisted by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) for terror financing, has frozen terrorists’ assets in the past under international pressure, only to unfreeze them later, exposing their nexus with terror channels.
To save its image, Pakistan has lied blatantly in international forums when accused of providing space to terrorists. It had initially claimed that Sajid Mir, one of the conspirators of the Mumbai attacks, was dead. It later admitted that Mir was alive and in a Pakistani jail.
Such lies have not only exposed Pakistan’s duplicity but also undermined global counterterrorism efforts.
Pahalgam Terror Attack
The Pahalgam massacre offers a clear view into Pakistan’s use of terror for achieving its goals. The same strategy that Pakistan has used for cross-border terrorism and to destabilise India over the decades has been seen in this attack as well.
Even calling for a “neutral probe” and blaming “non-state actors” has been part of an old tactic used by Pakistan to avoid accountability.
“Pakistan’s call for a neutral probe is not based on a desire for justice, but on diverting international attention, evading scrutiny and responsibility, and undermining India’s right to defend its sovereignty and security. Neutrality in investigation presupposes a dispute over facts – but here, the facts are clear and historically consistent,” said sources.
The repeated acts of terrorism stemming from a single source underline the need for a focus on the Pakistani state for enabling and exporting terrorism.
“It is time for the international community to hold Pakistan accountable, not just for this attack, but for maintaining a decades-old terror infrastructure. Succumbing to Pakistan’s ‘neutrality’ rhetoric is a betrayal of justice, for the victims of Pahalgam and every prior act of terror linked to Pakistan,” said sources.