New Delhi: On the 17th anniversary of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks—one of the most brutal assaults ever carried out on Indian soil—NatStrat, an independent strategic and security research centre, has released a sweeping, meticulously documented historical record of Pakistan-sponsored terrorism against India.
Titled “Chronology of Pakistani Terror Attacks on India (1947–2025)”, the report spans nearly eight decades of cross-border militancy, proxy warfare, insurgency support, and covert aggression. It presents an unbroken chain of violence rooted, as the study notes, in Pakistan’s “consistent strategic behaviour” since Partition.
Speaking to NDTV ahead of the anniversary, Ambassador Pankaj Saran, former Deputy National Security Advisor and Convenor of NatStrat, said the motivation behind the project was the national need to compile and preserve this history in a systematic form.
“When we in NatStrat began analysing the sources of terrorism in India, we realised we were looking at a pattern—one that has been consistent since 1947, aimed at hurting India through non-military means built on deniability and deception,” he said.
He stressed that younger generations “should not forget this history,” which begins with the 1947 tribal invasion of Kashmir and continues today through sophisticated hybrid warfare. The report, he added, is “a tribute to the memory of those who lost their lives and their loved ones,” and a reflection of India’s resilience.
From Tribal Raiders to Global Terror Hubs
The report states unequivocally that Pakistan adopted terrorism as a formal instrument of state policy from the moment of its birth.
The 1947 tribal invasion of Jammu and Kashmir—the first major attack on Indian territory—was not a spontaneous uprising but a Pakistan Army–directed operation. Planned by officers like Major General Akbar Khan, who later detailed the conspiracy in Raiders in Kashmir, the assault marked the beginning of Pakistan’s strategy of using irregular fighters while maintaining plausible deniability.
Over the decades, the ISI built this strategy into a sprawling ecosystem of jihadist groups, training centres, and recruitment networks across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
The report documents Pakistan’s involvement in:
- Khalistani militancy in the 1980s, facilitated through ISI-run camps in Lahore and Karachi.
- The Kashmir insurgency post-1989, powered by Afghan jihad veterans and groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Hizbul Mujahideen, and Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM).
- Major terror attacks inside India, including:
- 1993 Mumbai serial blasts
- 2001 Parliament attack
- 2006 Mumbai train bombings
- 2008 Indian Embassy attack in Kabul
- 26/11 Mumbai attacks
- Recent assaults—from Pathankot (2016) and Uri (2016) to Pulwama (2019) and the 2025 Pahalgam attack—were also tied to Pakistan-based groups, the report notes.
International bodies have repeatedly validated these findings. LeT founder Hafiz Saeed and JeM chief Masood Azhar remain globally designated terrorists under UN Security Council resolutions. Pakistan itself was placed on the FATF grey list for terror financing irregularities, strengthening its global image as the “mothership of terrorism,” a description famously used by India’s External Affairs Minister in 2016.
26/11: Pakistan’s Proxy Warfare at Its Most Calculated
The 2008 Mumbai terror attacks remain the most chilling demonstration of Pakistan’s deep operational linkage with UN-designated terror outfits.
Ten LeT terrorists were trained, armed, and remotely guided from Pakistan, with real-time instructions coming from handlers connected to the ISI. Their 60-hour siege across Mumbai killed 166 people, including multiple foreign nationals, and exposed the scale and sophistication of Pakistan’s proxy infrastructure.
NatStrat’s chronology shows that 26/11 was not an isolated incident, but a continuation of a long-established pattern:
- the 1999 IC-814 hijacking by Harkat-ul-Mujahideen
- the 2001 Parliament attack by LeT and JeM
- the 2019 Pulwama suicide bombing, where Jaish claimed responsibility
A System Sustained by Military-Terror Nexus
The report concludes that the Pakistan Army and ISI have, for decades, directed and nurtured jihadist groups as tools of statecraft. Civilian governments, it notes, are routinely bypassed or kept in the dark.
Events like the Kargil War, orchestrated by a handful of generals without the knowledge of Pakistan’s elected leadership, showcase how deeply intertwined military strategy and militant operations are.
From offering safe havens and weapons to enabling global fundraising networks, Pakistan’s military establishment, the report states, has consistently acted as the architect of transnational terror structures.
India’s Response: Strength in the Face of Persistent Threat
Despite the enormous human toll—tens of thousands of civilian and security personnel casualties over 78 years—India has continuously strengthened its counterterrorism posture.
According to the report:
- India has repeatedly exposed Pakistan’s terror links at the UN and global forums.
- The Armed Forces have carried out cross-border operations targeting terror infrastructure.
- Domestic reforms have significantly enhanced intelligence and counterterror capabilities.
Ambassador Saran noted that the chronicle serves as “a reminder of India’s strength and resilience in withstanding an unrelenting assault on its social and political fabric.”
A Historical Record, A Contemporary Warning
NatStrat’s report is more than a historical compilation; it is a stark reminder that Pakistan’s proxy warfare doctrine remains active.
As India remembers the victims of 26/11, the document stands as an essential resource for scholars, policymakers, and citizens—preserving the cost India has borne and underscoring that the challenge of cross-border terrorism continues.