BEHIND the facade of democracy and development, India has perfected a far more sinister art — one rooted in deception, militarized propaganda and politically timed false flag operations.
These incidents are carefully choreographed to malign Pakistan and fuel ultra-nationalism at home.
This reveal a disturbing truth: India is not just reacting to terrorism — it’s manufacturing it.
A pattern spanning decades makes this undeniable.
Each act of terror or military drama seems to align perfectly with India’s domestic political calendar or key diplomatic moments.
From the 1971 Ganga hijacking, later revealed as an Indian intelligence ploy to isolate East Pakistan, to the 2000 Chittisinghpura Massacre before President Clinton’s visit, India has repeatedly blamed Pakistan without credible evidence.
The 2001 Parliament attack nearly triggered war, despite internal doubts about the investigation.
In 2007, the Samjhauta Express bombing was ultimately linked to Hindu extremists especially RSS with alleged military ties, but key confessions were buried.
The 2019 Pulwama-Balakot episode, timed before elections, featured a suicide bombing followed by a widely criticized theatrical airstrike.
Now, the Pahalgam attack mirrored the same pattern — timed with elections and a foreign visit, followed by instant blame and media frenzy.
Each of these events isn’t just an isolated case of state failure — they collectively reveal a strategy.
India, under the BJP and its ideological driver RSS, has built a model where manufactured crises replace policy, and perceived victimhood masks aggression.
Meanwhile, Pakistan — often at the receiving end of these blame games — continues to bear the real cost of terrorism.
Its geostrategic location at the crossroads of South Asia, Central Asia, and the Middle East has made it the last line of defence in the global war on terror.
Unlike India’s choreographed theatrics, Pakistan’s sacrifices are real, enduring and largely unacknowledged and unrecognized.
Since 2001, Pakistan has suffered over 90,000 casualties, both civilian and military.
Through landmark operations like Zarb-e-Azab and Radd-ul-Fasaad, Pakistan has dismantled over 1,500 terrorist cells, arrested thousands and neutralized high-value targets.
Zarb-e-Azab alone deployed over 150,000 troops, eliminating 3,500 militants and destroying hundreds of hideouts.
While India stages false narratives, Pakistan spends billions in genuine counterterrorism operations, stabilizing not just its own territory but shielding the wider region.
It continues to host over 3 million Afghan refugees, fleeing violence exacerbated by extremist groups — many with suspected links to Indian intelligence networks.
Yet, in global discourse, Pakistan is vilified while India enjoys impunity.
India’s covert aggression doesn’t stop at information warfare.
In the 1980s, it collaborated with Israel in a plan to bomb Pakistan’s nuclear site at Kahuta — a disaster only prevented by last-minute U.S.intervention.
Even in the 1990s, radar tracked Israeli jets probing Pakistani airspace — a chilling reminder of India’s obsession with undermining Pakistan’s strategic capabilities.
India’s chokehold over IIOJK adds another layer.
The region isn’t just a flashpoint — it’s Pakistan’s lifeline.
The rivers Jhelum, Chenab, and Indus originate there.
India’s ongoing dam-building spree threatens to cut off Pakistan’s water supply, amounting to water terrorism and violating the Indus Waters Treaty.
India’s old playbook is in motion.
But while she exploits fear, Pakistan continues to bleed for peace.
The world must now confront India’s duality — a democracy on paper, but a master of propaganda in practice.
—The writer is an alumnus of QAU, MPhil scholar and a freelance columnist, based in Islamabad. ([email protected])
