Pakistan unwilling to shun terrorism despite paying an enormous economic, social & political price

Vivek Katju

THE Pahalgam terror attack’s first anniversary should be an occasion for a sober reflection on terrorism, its regional and international manifestations, global patterns and the places where it has become endemic. It’s time for the Indian establishment and the political class to make a dispassionate assessment of how India has handled Pakistan-sponsored terrorism over the past three-and-a-half decades, especially since 2014.

Pakistan has repeatedly used force against India in a bid to achieve its security and foreign policy objectives. The despatch of tribal raiders to Kashmir in 1947, Operation Gibraltar and Operation Grand Slam in 1965, the initiation of hostilities in 1971 and the Kargil war in 1999 are illustrative.

Terrorism targeting India has become part of Pakistan’s security doctrine. It is particularly striking that Pakistan has raised the bogey of nuclear weapons as a shield. In doing so, it has turned on its head the doctrine that has prevailed among nuclear states. Pakistan is unwilling to shun terrorism despite paying an enormous economic, social and political price for it. That is a lesson which the Pahalgam attack reaffirmed.

India worsted Pakistan each time it used conventional force. This was so even when it was surprised, as in Kargil. However, has it got the better of terrorism originating from Pakistan? Has India succeeded in containing it, let alone eliminating it? Sadly, the answer to these questions is ‘no’. Till the Uri attack of 2016, India used diplomatic means to make the global community exert pressure on Pakistan to abandon the path of terror. On each occasion, the major powers assured India that they would deter Pakistan, but did nothing to this effect. It continued to promote terrorism, confident that it would not have to face the consequences. This, too, is a lesson reinforced by Pahalgam.

India also tried to engage Pakistan in a composite dialogue from 1998 onwards, but these efforts were unable to withstand a major terror attack. The last time India attempted to go down this road was in December 2015, when it agreed to a comprehensive dialogue. Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid a surprise visit to Lahore on Christmas that year, but it was a wasted effort because just a week later, the Pathankot airbase was attacked by terrorists.