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By targeting terrorism, India is saving Pakistan from itself

Although India and Pakistan gained independence simultaneously in 1947, their trajectories since then have been markedly different.

By targeting terrorism, India is saving Pakistan from itself

Although India and Pakistan gained independence simultaneously in 1947, their trajectories since then have been markedly different. India has made significant strides in technology, space research, and economic development, and is steadily progressing towards its goal of becoming a developed country by 2047. In contrast, Pakistan – founded on religious bigotry – has deteriorated into what its founder President described as a ‘moth-eaten state’.

Pakistan is caught today in the crossfire of multiple grim crises, even though the central bone of contention remains its pyrrhic muscular approach to Kasmir. From Mohammad Ali Jinnah to current Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, successive leaders in Pakistan has often prioritized a hostile stance towards India. Having failed to annex Kashmir by force, Pakistan’s strategy was eloquently articulated in Benazir Bhutto’s famous invective of ‘bleeding India by a thousand cuts’. Thus, instead of focusing on constructive nation-building, there has been a consistent pattern of viewing India’s rise as a regional power with suspicion and envy. This has manifested in policies that nurture animosity, promote indirect aggression including support for cross-border terrorism – and emphasize military build-up over human development.

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The lack of sustained investment in sectors such as education, healthcare, and technology, combined with a conspicuous neglect of land reforms as in India or China, instead putting overemphasis on defense and upping anti-India rhetoric, suggests that as long as such a combative mindset prevails that ties Pakistan to India alone, its comprehensive development will be an elusive narrative. Now the question arises: has Pakistan gained anything from such an approach? The answer appears to be a big zero. On the contrary, this path has significantly weakened the country’s political foundation. Pakistan’s democratic framework is immensely fragile, as the army is the real power centre.

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The role of the Prime Minister has been marginalized, with the military often having the final say in major national decisions. In a state where governance is dominated by military influence and where the alignment of ISI with militant organizations complicates the atmosphere, the political and social fabric inevitably deteriorates. Such a country cannot be considered functional or progressive; rather becomes revisionist or rogue to be afflicted by a deep-rooted systemic crisis.

Terrorism is widely recognized as a societal disease – one that gradually erodes the foundations of a nation. Pakistan stands as a living example of this destructive force. The pressing question, however, is why Pakistan has been unable – or unwilling – to confront and eliminate the very terrorism it has nurtured. Though Pakistan has recently acknowledged that it too has become a victim of terrorism, the deeper question remains: who will take the responsibility to uproot this menace from the so-called rogue state? Who will protect Pakistan from the trouble of Islamic jihad it has mothered and now struggles to contain?

In this context, we are reminded of the famous work The Prince by Italian philosopher Niccolò Machiavelli, where he envisions a fictional prince who would rise to rescue a beleaguered Italy. Perhaps Pakistan, too, awaits such a transformative force to get it rid of its entrenched infrastructure, including finance that feeds it. Therefore, in the context of Pakistan, and drawing from Machiavelli’s concept of the Prince, it can be argued that the country will not be saved by a fictional hero, but by a real will capable of confronting wanton terrorism decisively. In this regard, the attention of the world increasingly turns to India.

Only India appears truly committed and resolved to take meaningful steps to dismantle the terror networks that threaten not only its own security but also that of its immediate neighbour. The recent calibrated precision air strikes based on actionable intelligence, codenamed Operation Sindoor carried out by the Indian military with the help of sophisticated Israeli drones, were a clear pointer to India’s firm posture of retaliation following the Pahalgam attack. It was a pledge on the part of the Indian government to hunt out and dismantle the well-concealed terrorist camps.

This decisive action on May 7 also underscores India’s exasperation at the growing alliance between Islamabad, Beijing and Dhaka. The clippings of this successful action, which now find wide circulation in social media platforms, evince India’s role as a modern-day ‘Prince’ – triumphantly playing the role of a tough but necessary ally that seeks to liberate distressed Pakistan from the atrocious grip of the terrorist virus. Notably India’s approach avoids the extremist prejudice that characterizes Pakistan’s naively nuclear blackmailing. This time too India’s declaratory policy concerning military operations was to target terrorist hideouts alone and to avoid harm to civilians and to refrain from any offensive propaganda. Thereby, India was demonstrating the conduct of a responsible neighbour.

The professional attitude displayed by our warriors sent out a clear message of India’s zero-tolerance policy towards terrorism while maintaining magnificent restraint and respect for humanitarian and international norms. In geopolitics, national interest rides roughshod over mutual benefit. But India’s action blurs the gulf in its wider implication that potentially benefits its adversary too. But it is neither a phantasmagoria nor a touch of imaginative indulgence; Rather, the need of the hour is to distil our vision from a distorted narrative of Pakistan being a hotbed of terrorism and the enemy country. Hence, in the onrush of tension and frantic escalation of sibling rivalry, we should not be unscrupulously punitive towards the multitude of our Pakistani brothers. At the same time, Pakistan must recognise that its primary interest lies in fostering stable and cooperative relations with India.

True development for Pakistan depends on partnering with India. The people of Pakistan are not India’s enemies; the real threat lies in the terrorist networks operating from within its borders with impunity. After all, history teaches us that war not only takes lives but also shatters societies. It is, therefore, desirable that both sides give up obduracy to look ahead, commit to peace, and strive to build a stable, prosperous and sustainable bilateralism.

(The writers are, respectively, Professor and Head, Department of Political Science, SidhoKanho-Birsha University and a former Research Scholar of the same department.)

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