No Lasting Peace: How Pakistan-based terror groups sabotage India-Pakistan relations

Despite repeated calls for peace and dialogue, the history of India-Pakistan relations remains marred by a relentless pattern of cross-border terrorism.

While diplomatic overtures and confidence-building measures have occasionally offered brief hope, a long list of terror attacks carried out by Pakistan-based militant groups reveals a stark reality: peace remains elusive as long as state-supported or state-tolerated terrorism continues. The cycle of violence dates back decades.

One of the earliest large-scale attacks, the ''Mumbai Serial Blasts of 1993'', orchestrated by Dawood Ibrahim’s D-Company with alleged support from Pakistani intelligence, left 257 people dead and over 1 400 injured.

The attack marked the beginning of a bloody legacy of cross-border terrorism that would grow increasingly audacious.

In 2000, the ''Chittisinghpura Massacre'' shocked the world when 35 Sikh villagers were murdered in Kashmir on the eve of U.S. President Bill Clinton’s visit.

The perpetrators belonged to Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), one of the most active and dangerous Pakistan-based terror groups.

The same year, LeT militants attacked the Red Fort** in Delhi, killing two Indian soldiers and a civilian — a direct assault on one of India’s most iconic symbols.

The 2001 Parliament attack in New Delhi was perhaps the most brazen provocation. Five terrorists from Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) stormed India’s legislative heart, killing nine and bringing two nuclear-armed neighbours to the brink of war.

Yet again, Pakistan’s complicity in harbouring the attackers was evident. Terrorists continued to strike civilian targets. In 2002, LeT attackers killed 30 worshippers at the Akshardham Temple in Gujarat. In 2003, twin car bombings in Mumbai by the same group killed 52 people.

In 2005, bombings in Delhi’s bustling markets days before Diwali killed 62 civilians, with LeT claiming responsibility. The 26/11 Mumbai attacks in 2008 represented the deadliest assault yet.

Over four days, ten LeT terrorists carried out coordinated attacks across the city, killing 166 people, including 26 foreign nationals.

Ajmal Kasab, the only surviving attacker, confirmed during his trial that the operation was planned in Pakistan. Intercepts and investigations provided further evidence of Pakistani handlers directing the attack in real time. Since then, major attacks have continued.

The Pathankot airbase attack (2016) and Uri attack (2016), both carried out by JeM, targeted military installations and killed a total of 26 Indian personnel.

In 2019, the Pulwama suicide bombing, again by JeM, killed 40 CRPF soldiers, sparking a retaliatory airstrike by India and pushing the two nations to the edge once more. Most recently, the Pahalgam terror attack in April 2025 saw 26 Hindu tourists, including one Nepali national, killed by The Resistance Front (TRF), a proxy of LeT.

Victims were reportedly identified by religion and executed in front of their families — a chilling reminder that religious hatred continues to drive these attacks.

The repeated involvement of Pakistan-based groups in these attacks cannot be denied or downplayed. While Pakistan often dismisses these as “non-state actors,” the scale, coordination, and sophistication of the operations suggest either state support or deliberate negligence. India has made several overtures for peace, from the Lahore Declaration to backchannel diplomacy. But every attempt has been followed by bloodshed.

As long as terrorist groups like LeT and JeM are allowed to operate freely on Pakistani soil, meaningful peace between the two nations remains impossible.

Pakistan cannot be blameless in this equation.

The world must recognise that peace is not merely a matter of diplomacy — it is contingent on ending impunity for those who murder in its shadow.