Nothing short of reclaiming PoK will end terrorism. Give Pakistan the 1971 treatment

The Print

25-04-2025

Uri, Pathankot, Pulwama, and now Pahalgam—not to mention several other sporadic attacks on army personnel and establishments—exemplify the sad reality that we have not done enough to strengthen internal security, streamline intelligence gathering, and improve coordination among agencies. We have not fortified our border security to create sufficient layers in the counter-terrorism mechanisms, considering the long-term objectives of the Pakistan Army: to bleed India through a thousand cuts.
The terror attack on tourists in Pahalgam on 22 April confirms two important aspects of internal security. First, the findings and recommendations of the Kargil Review Committee report , along with the lessons it offered to the government and its various security-related departments, appear to have suffered from a lack of follow-up, upgrades, and implementation. Several steps, such as the establishment of the National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO) in 2004—a tech-intelligence gathering body—and counter-terrorism mechanisms like plugging gaps in intelligence, and improving border and defence management to prevent another Kargil-like intrusion, were initiated after the report. Yet, terror attacks from Pakistan have not stopped.
Following the heinous terror attack on tourists in Pahalgam, New Delhi has announced stern measures against Pakistan. Steps such as suspending the Indus Water Treaty of 1960, declaring Pakistani military attachés in the embassy as persona-non-grata, and three other actions are seen as just the beginning of a more serious punitive response. In a bid to conceal its panic following India's strong retaliation, Islamabad has also announced reciprocal measures. Pakistan has convened an emergency National Security Committee meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, amid escalating tensions with India. There are also unconfirmed reports suggesting that Pakistan's army is getting war-ready, expecting the situation to escalate.
Also read: Pahalgam attack: Pakistan wants a never-ending war, let's give it one
Pakistani Army's grip
India must understand the psychology driving Pakistan's policy apparatus. There is little doubt that the Pakistani Army maintains a vice-like grip over the country's political system. Once considered indispensable by the US during its occupation of Afghanistan, the Pakistani Army lost its strategic relevance on the Western front after the Biden administration made a hasty retreat from Kabul. The Taliban regime in Kabul has more or less become an adversary of the Pakistani military, belaying all expectations of camaraderie, as evidenced by increasing attacks on Pakistani personnel and civilians in the Sistan-Baluchestan border area.
Meanwhile, the Baloch freedom struggle is gaining momentum and appears poised to secede. The Pakistani Army has abysmally failed to protect Chinese workers and engineers involved in China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects. Beijing's strategic Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) seems to have run out of steam in the region. A rebellion in the Pashto-dominated northwest would seriously jeopardise Chinese assets in Gilgit-Baltistan. Gulf countries are also in no mood to entertain a bankrupt Pakistan. While Saudi Arabia has been a major foreign donor—probably the third-largest after the US and China—Pakistan's refusal to join the Arab coalition against the Houthis has further strained ties.
With Iran, Afghanistan, China, and the United States all totally frustrated with the toothless government in Islamabad and its military string-pullers, Pakistan's last hope was its eastern neighbour, India. But as the Sanskrit adage goes, 'vinasha kale vipareeta buddhi' (when doom approaches, the mind falters). In an anti-India rant, Pakistan Army Chief General Asim Munir has revived the importance of the two-nation theory—long buried since 1971—as essential to Pakistan's existence.
There could be two reasons behind this 'back to basics' speech. One is the perceived success of Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) in its subversive role in overthrowing a democratic government in Dhaka. ISI sleeper cells have long operated discreetly, infiltrating the ranks of Jamaat-e-Islami and radicalising a large section of the political class. The second reason is the recent pat on the back from Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who never stops dreaming of a new Caliphate and sees a natural ally in 'Mughal' Pakistan. PM Shehbaz Sharif expressed his 'sincere gratitude' to his 'dear brother Erdogan' in a joint news conference on Tuesday for 'Turkey's unwavering support on the Kashmir issue,' while reiterating Pakistan's support for Turkey's occupation of Northern Cyprus.
On the same day as the Pahalgam attack, Pakistan and Turkey signed several agreements, including a defence cooperation pact. The Pakistani Army could rely heavily on Turkish military support in the event of an armed conflict with India.
Also read: Pakistan's isolating itself in the Muslim world by backing terrorism
A solution exists
The Pakistani Army arguably qualifies as the world's largest terror outfit. Its footprints are found in ISIS, the Houthis, Hamas, attacks on Christians in Colombo, the Xinjiang uprising, and Jamaat-e-Islami hooliganism in Bangladesh. Several terrorists and terror attacks all over the world have been traced back to training camps festering in Pakistan.
In such circumstances, idealistic calls from pontificating Indians for peaceful coexistence with a fanatical Pakistan only rub salt in the wound of Partition. The Pakistani army continues to use its state to produce terrorists and mercenaries, especially in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). But dismantling individual terror modules is futile unless the fountainhead—the army—is neutralised. The de-militarisation of Pakistan would not only be an effective step in global counter-terrorism efforts but also liberate its people from military tyranny, backwardness, and economic woes.
India must punish Pakistan's army and dislodge it from the occupied territories in PoK. Nothing short of a 1971-like treatment—liberating Balochistan and Sindh and reclaiming PoK, including Gilgit-Baltistan—can end the terror menace. All other measures will yield limited results and fail to stop cross-border terrorism.
Seshadri Chari is the former editor of 'Organiser'. He tweets @seshadrichari. Views are personal.
(Edited by Prashant)