Ever since last week’s Pahalgam attack, Pakistan has faced numerous false accusations from India about how it is behind the attack and behind spreading terrorism in the region. Listening to the statements coming from India, it would have been easy for those not attuned to South Asian politics to forget the fact that it is Pakistan that has been the victim of a terror upsurge in which India has played a part. On Tuesday, ISPR revealed that security forces had apprehended a trained Indian terrorist named Abdul Majeed from Jhelum city on April 25 when he was about to place an improvised explosive device (IED). Per investigations, Majeed used to receive drones and IEDs from his Indian handlers and would conduct IED terror attacks. The ISPR also shared photos and audio recordings of Majeed’s handlers, one of whom is a commanding officer in the Indian Army. This is exactly the sort of concrete evidence the Indians have failed to produce in any of their accusations against Pakistan, whether they be about Pahalgam or the numerous other times India has levelled such accusations.
Prior to this recent apprehension, the security forces had also conducted a series of successful engagements from April 25 to 27, neutralising 71 terrorists near the Pak-Afghan border. The terrorists were reportedly attempting to infiltrate into Pakistan from Afghanistan. These militants were also reportedly operating at the behest of India. ISPR says that such actions by terrorists at a time when India is levelling baseless accusations against Pakistan clearly imply on whose cues they are operating and that the strategic intent appears to be to distract the country’s security forces from the fight against terror. To that extent, India appears to have failed. The arrest of Majeed has only further exposed the Indian terror network in Pakistan. There was also an anti-terror operation in Turbat, Balochistan on April 29 where security forces killed three terrorists. The Indian moves against Pakistan appear to have only strengthened the focus of the security forces. However, India is not the only regional actor the country needs to worry about when it comes to terror. Accusations and terror money and materiel are flowing from the east, but many of the terrorists themselves are coming from the opposite side. The Afghan Taliban’s failure or refusal to deny anti-Pakistan terror groups the ability to use their country as a launch-pad and take advantage of the porous western border areas remains a significant obstacle to winning the war on terror. And while it is important to acknowledge the success of these recent anti-terror operations, victory against terrorism still remains quite distant.
According to some reports, there has been an 81 per cent surge in terrorism related incidents in the first quarter of 2025, underscoring the increasing severity of the terror problem. A long-term solution to the terror problem will require more than just security operations and must also focus on getting the Afghan Taliban to deny anti-Pakistan terror outfits any space and also the socioeconomic uplift of the deprived communities where terror groups do most of their recruiting. And while the country is implementing its anti-terror strategy, it is important not to lose the moral high-ground on this issue in the international arena. Pakistan cannot once again be tarred as some kind of terror supporter by the Indians or anyone else. A nation working so hard to counter terrorism deserves more than to be placed back on terror lists. In fact, now would be a good time to ask such international institutions what they plan to do with the information Pakistan has presented to the world about India’s involvement in spreading terror.