Spilling the 'Dirty Work' into India
Embedded Files
Accountability of Western Powers: The article calls for Britain and the United States to take responsibility and help fix Pakistani democracy and economy, given their role in shaping Pakistan’s strategic direction during the Cold War.
The Deeper Issue – Geopolitical Roots: The roots of terrorism in the region are deeper than Kashmir or Indo-Pak relations, tied to Pakistan’s historic role in doing the West’s “dirty work” during the Cold War, leading to the creation of terror infrastructure.
Need for Long-Term Strategy: Repeated military actions and international pressure have failed to eliminate terrorism.
India must adopt a long-term, forward-looking strategy involving economic diplomacy and regional cooperation to address the root causes, especially poverty and radicalization in Pakistan.
India’s Military Response to Terror: Following the terror attack on tourists in Pahalgam, Indian forces launched Operation Sindoor, targeting nine terror camps in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and Pakistani territory, reaffirming India’s zero-tolerance policy on terrorism.
India@2047 Vision – Peace Through Regional Stability: For a peaceful and developed India by 2047, stability in South Asia is crucial.
India must lead efforts to build a cooperative, economically integrated neighborhood—drawing parallels to the European Union’s approach to post-war peacebuilding.
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MAY 2025
Today’s situation at the LoC brings together a mix of current affairs, historical context, geopolitics, and public policy—prompted by the latest escalation in India-Pakistan tensions following the terror attack on tourists in Pahalgam.
In response, Indian forces launched a late-night operation—Operation Sindoor—targeting nine terror camps across Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and within Pakistani territory.
Carried out on the night of May 6–7, the operation was intended to avenge the brutal Pahalgam attack.
The national mood in India was unambiguous: there was an outcry for decisive action.
Salute is due to the Indian Army's brave commanders and soldiers who executed the strike with precision. Their actions reaffirm India's zero-tolerance policy towards terrorism.
But while the operation sends a strong signal, we must acknowledge a sobering truth: the roots of the problem run far deeper.
This is not merely a matter of Kashmir, or of bilateral tensions with Pakistan. It is, fundamentally, the legacy of a deeper malaise.
It is the one that originates from Pakistan’s decades-long role as a pawn in the strategic games of global powers, the NATO and the Soviets.
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Wherever opportunity exists, radicalisation rarely takes root.
Just last week, Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif admitted that his country had been doing the “dirty work” of the West for decades, including Britain.
That dirty work, involving covert wars, radicalisation, and proxy militancy, then against the Soviets in Afghanistan, now has created a festering ecosystem of terror that nowadays routinely spills across borders.
India cannot, and should not, bear the burden of cleaning up this mess alone.
As former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh noted like many other great statesmen, "We can choose our friends, but not our neighbours."
Therefore, fostering a healthy neighbourhood is not optional, it is essential. The focus must now shift to fixing fundamentals, not merely retaliating to provocations.
Broken Record, Predictable Results
India cannot afford to repeat old strategies and expect new outcomes.
Surgical strikes, international shaming, and grey-listing Pakistan on financial watchlists have been used before. They may serve tactical goals, but they have failed to eliminate the threat.
Time and again, whether it was the Indian parliament attack, 2008 Mumbai attacks, the beheading of Indian soldiers, the Pulwama suicide bombing, or now the Pahalgam massacre, militants have returned with renewed strategies.
The response has remained largely reactionary, caught in a loop of short-term deterrence and long-term stalemate.
Worse, both sides of the border exploit these tragedies.
Sadly, political forces weaponise grief and nationalism for domestic gains, especially during election cycles.
The loss of innocent lives becomes, disturbingly, a tool for public spectacle, where competing parties counts dead bodies like cricket scores, that too on live TV.
But public memory is short.
By next week, on May 14, these surgical strikes may already begin to fade from public discourse.
IPL and other matters would have overtaken the space. But the threat for another time will persist.
This very transience is why our solutions must be rooted in long-term thinking.
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A Question of Fundamentals
Let us ask an inconvenient, but necessary, question: Why don’t we see Indian youth from cities like Bengaluru, Hyderabad or Gurugram joining militant groups to reclaim Aksai Chin or avenge persecution of Hindus in neighbouring Bangladesh?
The answer lies in India’s foundational strengths.
Our society, despite its complexities, offers pathways through education, employment, economic growth, and the promise of a peaceful life.
Wherever opportunity exists, radicalisation rarely takes root.
Contrast this with Pakistan.
A toxic mix of poverty, poor governance, and ideological manipulation has created fertile ground for militant recruitment.
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If Britain was once a party to the "dirty work," it must now be a party to the cleanup
The lack of state capacity and the misuse of religious sentiment have together enabled mass indoctrination and the militarisation of disenfranchised youth.
Even Pakistan’s own Defence Minister, Khwaja Asif, has tacitly acknowledged this phenomenon.
Therefore, India must now act, not merely with force, but with foresight.
A Strategic Reset
India must boldly reimagine its Pakistan strategy, not just for today, but for the next 10 to 25 years.
With its rising economic stature, India holds unprecedented global leverage. It is time to use it.
That includes holding Western powers accountable, especially the United Kingdom and the United States, who were complicit in fostering Pakistan’s militarised state during the Cold War.
They must now be part of the solution.
Aiding in the stabilisation of Pakistan’s democracy, reducing its poverty, and transforming its education and employment landscape must be part of a broader Indian sub-continent's peace agenda.
Few days ago, India signed a free trade agreement (FTA) with the UK.
Shouldn't our policymakers have asked a larger strategic question: why was peace in the Indian subcontinent not a part of the negotiation?
If Britain was once a party to the "dirty work," it must now be a party to the cleanup.
This may sound utopian, but it is not unprecedented.
The European Union used economic conditionality and development funding to transform fragile neighbours like Romania, Bulgaria, and at times for economic crisis for Portugal and Greece.
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...(India) must place peace in Indian Sub-Continent at the heart of its policy architecture
EU membership comes with hundreds of mandatory reforms, strengthening borders by stabilising those beyond them.
India must craft a similar model: a India - Pakistan peace initiative backed by India initiated economic diplomacy, political vision, and multilateral support.
Learning from Kashmir
We’ve already seen what works.
When India brought economic development and tourism to the Kashmir Valley, local sentiment improved. Peaceful democratic elections followed.
There is today little incentive for many Kashmiris to side with separatist groups.
That model of engagement—built on trust, development, and opportunity—must be expanded to India’s broader neighbourhood.
If India wants to celebrate its centenary in 2047 as a prosperous, secure, and globally respected democracy, it (India) must place peace in Indian Sub-Continent at the heart of its policy architecture.
If Europe could reconcile with nations it fought in two world wars, why can’t India and Pakistan aspire to the same?
No Winners in War
At the end of the day, there are no winners in war. As Indians, we must never reduce our soldiers or civilians to cannon fodder. Lives are not statistics.
Closely watch both Indian and Pakistani news coverage.
On both sides of the border, the tragic loss is framed like a scoreboard, as though the goal is to claim the higher number of casualties, this is not how mature nations respond.
Terror attacks, military strikes, and full-blown wars leave scars that can take generations to heal.
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Terror attacks, military strikes, and full-blown wars leave scars that can take generations to heal
The trauma of the World Wars still lingers across Europe, eight decades on. But what helped heal that grief were extraordinary efforts by old enemies to build something new together: a shared future of cooperation and peace.
Indian sub-continent, must find its own version of that story.
For now, let us salute the courage and discipline of our armed forces—and resolve to build a future where their valour is honoured not through repeated combat, but through sustained peace.
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