India’s strategic rivalry with Pakistan reflects a deeper, historically entrenched doctrine of destabilization that transcends mere geopolitical competition. Rooted in the principles of Kautilya’s Arthashastra, India’s foreign policy vis-à-vis Pakistan exemplifies a calculated application of subversion by exploiting societal fractures and fueling insurgencies. This approach aims not only at regional influence but at the systematic erosion of Pakistan’s stability through calibrated interference.
Afghanistan has historically served as India’s primary base for executing these subversive tactics against Pakistan. During the Cold War, Indian intelligence operatives began using Afghanistan’s proximity to facilitate and nurture insurgencies across the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. Following the Taliban’s 2001 fall, India entrenched its intelligence operations under the guise of diplomatic expansion, embedding networks that extended its influence over Afghan leadership, notably Hamid Karzai and Ashraf Ghani. These relationships allowed New Delhi to sustain a pro-India tilt in Afghan policies, strategically positioning anti-Pakistan militant groups within Afghanistan’s borders.
The historical context of India’s role in the fragmentation of Pakistan was unmistakable during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 2015 admission of India’s role in East Pakistan’s secession underscored a policy trajectory that consistently exploits Pakistan’s internal vulnerabilities. By covertly supporting the Mukti Bahini insurgency, India leveraged separatist sentiments to effectuate Pakistan’s dismemberment—a tactic it appears to be replicating in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).
In recent years, India’s interference has been increasingly targeted toward Balochistan and KP. In November 2016, Pakistan identified and expelled eight Indian diplomats from Islamabad, implicating them in espionage and destabilization efforts tied to India’s intelligence apparatus. Pakistani authorities disclosed that these operatives had direct affiliations with the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Pakistani intelligence assessments have revealed the existence of over 60 RAW-sponsored camps in Afghanistan, where insurgents from groups like the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) and Baloch Republican Army (BRA) receive financial and logistical support, including advanced training. The amalgamation of separatist factions into the Baloch Raaji Aajoi Sangar (BRAS) in 2018, facilitated by RAW, catalyzed coordinated insurgent attacks on Pakistan’s critical infrastructure, targeting pipelines, military installations, and CPEC projects.
The resurgence of insurgent groups like the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) has been marked by an alarming increase in the sophistication and scale of their operations, particularly in Balochistan. According to recent reports, insurgent violence in Balochistan accounted for nearly 35% of Pakistan’s total security incidents in the first quarter of 2024. This period saw a dramatic rise in violence, with fatalities doubling from 91 to 178, a staggering 96% increase compared to previous periods. The report from the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) also notes that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan together accounted for over 92% of fatalities and 86% of all terror-related attacks in this timeframe.
However, India’s interference in this insurgency is not confined to mere support for militants—it extends into a more insidious form of manipulation. India is now funding symapthizers of BLA terrorists, individuals who are selling their loyalty for a few pennies, turning them into conduits of extremism, separatism, and hatred against the Pakistani state. These individuals are reportedly influencing young Baloch minds, fueling the next generation’s commitment to violent separatism. This is not the first time India has resorted to such tactics against Pakistan; the European Union Disinfo Lab previously revealed how India has historically engaged in similar subversive activities. It is therefore unsurprising that India’s actions in Balochistan mirror these earlier interventions.
Kulbhushan Jadhav, an Indian naval officer arrested in Pakistan in 2016, confessed to conducting espionage and subversive activities in Balochistan. He admitted to being tasked by India’s RAW to support insurgent groups, such as the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) and the Baloch Republican Army (BRA), providing them with funding, training, and strategic guidance. His goal was to destabilize Pakistan, particularly by targeting Balochistan and disrupting the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Statements from prominent Indian officials, including National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, advocating for support of “Baloch causes” further validate Pakistan’s assertions regarding India’s persistent interference.
In an incisive analysis, Awinash Paliwal’s “My Enemy’s Enemy: India in Afghanistan from the Soviet Invasion to the US withdrawal” delineates India’s strategic cultivation of Afghan ties as a tool to counter Pakistan. By aligning with Afghan factions antagonistic toward Pakistan, India secured a foothold for intelligence operations directed against its neighbor. This counter-force strategy intensified under Afghan leaderships like those of Karzai and Ghani, who fostered closer ties with India, allowing New Delhi to extend its influence along Pakistan’s western border. This alignment is corroborated by U.S. officials, including former Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, who stated: “India for some time has always used Afghanistan as a second front, and India has over the years financed problems for Pakistan on that side of the border,”
In November 2020, Pakistan presented a dossier to the United Nations that exposed India’s extensive role in fostering terrorism across its borders. This dossier, meticulously documenting the involvement of India’s intelligence agency RAW, revealed its support for insurgent groups like the TTP and Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, operating with impunity from Afghan soil. India’s meddling not only destabilizes Pakistan but also targets critical national interests such as the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), an essential project for Pakistan’s economic future. Yet, the world has remained disturbingly silent about these dubious operations.
The international community’s selective inaction, particularly its disregard for India’s destabilizing activities in Afghanistan, has emboldened New Delhi to take its proxy warfare tactics beyond the region. We have already witnessed India’s transnational killing spree across Western countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia, with Indian agents implicated in targeted attacks against its diaspora and critics abroad. If unchecked, it is only a matter of time before India escalates its proxy warfare to destabilize countries beyond Pakistan, posing a far-reaching threat to global peace and security.
India’s consistent encroachment into Pakistan’s internal affairs reveals a complex entitlement mindset that disrupts regional stability. Rather than addressing its own escalating internal challenges, India persists in fostering cross-border strife, presenting itself as a provocateur in South Asia. The duplicity of maintaining a democratic veneer while engaging in aggressive subversion strategies exposes India’s hegemonic aspirations, casting doubts on its commitment to regional peace.
