THE ASIAN INDEPENDENT UK
Bal Ram Sampla
Geopolitics
In early 2026, the United Nations released a troubling report. A UN Security Council monitoring team found that Pakistan-based terrorist group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) was responsible for the Red Fort blast in Delhi on November 9-10, 2025, which killed 15 innocent people. The report stated clearly that JeM had claimed responsibility for this attack.
This wasn’t just another terrorist incident. The Red Fort is one of India’s most iconic monuments, a symbol of the nation’s heritage. The attack was meant to send a message, and it succeeded in shocking the world.
This recent attack is not an isolated incident. Pakistan has a decades-long history of supporting and training terrorist groups. The evidence is overwhelming and comes from multiple sources around the world.
The Training Camps
More than 100 insurgent weapon training camps have been identified in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Jammu and Kashmir. Information about training camp locations has been provided to Pakistan repeatedly, but Pakistan denies their existence, even though such massive facilities could not function without government knowledge.
Pakistan’s Army has recently taken direct control of these terror camps, deploying Major-rank officers to oversee training and providing state-of-the-art technology including drones and digital warfare tools. This isn’t just tolerance of terrorism—it’s active participation by the military.
The Major Terror Groups
Two groups stand out in Pakistan’s terror network:
(1) Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT):
This group was responsible for the horrific Mumbai attacks in November 2008, when a suicide assault team killed 164 people across multiple locations including hotels, a train station, and a Jewish center. Former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf himself admitted that Pakistan supported and trained LeT in the 1990s to carry out attacks in Kashmir.
(2) Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM):
Led by Masood Azhar with headquarters in Bahawalpur, JeM has been responsible for attacks including the Indian Parliament attack in December 2001 and the Pathankot airbase attack in January 2016. The same group behind the recent Red Fort blast.
Not Just India’s Problem
Pakistan’s terrorism problem affects the entire world. The Pakistani intelligence agency ISI is accused of supporting Taliban forces, recruiting and training fighters for Afghanistan and Kashmir, and was believed to be behind the attack on the Indian embassy in Kabul in July 2008.
Why Doesn’t the World Act?
Despite mountains of evidence and repeated attacks, Pakistan continues to escape serious consequences. Why?
Reason 1: Pakistan Plays Both Sides
Pakistan has mastered the art of appearing to cooperate while actually supporting terrorists. Pakistan has been playing both sides in the fight against terror—demonstrating efforts to help curtail terrorist activities while secretly stoking them.
When international pressure builds, Pakistan makes token arrests or claims groups are “inactive,” but the infrastructure remains intact. India maintains that JeM remains active, while Pakistan claims organizations like JeM and Lashkar-e-Taiba have become inactive. The UN report shows who is telling the truth.
Reason 2: Geopolitical Complexity
Pakistan occupies a strategically important position in South Asia. It shares borders with India, Afghanistan, Iran, and China. This geographic reality makes many countries hesitant to completely isolate Pakistan.
The United States, in particular, has had a complicated relationship with Pakistan. Until Pakistan became a key ally in the war on terrorism, the US Secretary of State included Pakistan on the 1993 list of countries providing support for international terrorism. But after 9/11, Pakistan became an “ally” again because of its location next to Afghanistan.
Reason 3: Pakistan’s Clever Cover-Ups
Intelligence officials have noted that Pakistan fears returning to the FATF Grey List and has been using indirect methods to avoid overt links that could provoke consequences. Pakistan has deliberately used Afghanistan and other countries to plan attacks, avoiding direct operational links from Pakistani territory to complicate evidence gathering.
Additionally, Pakistan has been normalizing terrorism by rebuilding destroyed terror facilities and providing political legitimacy to terrorist groups through front organizations like the Pakistan Markazi Muslim League.
Reason 4: Economic Leverage
Pakistan lobbies heavily to avoid consequences. After India’s Operation Sindoor destroyed terror camps in May 2025, Pakistan launched an aggressive lobbying campaign in Washington to maintain FATF’s continued whitelisting.
Countries also worry about Pakistan’s economic collapse. If Pakistan fails as a state, the thinking goes, it could create an even worse situation with nuclear weapons falling into the wrong hands.
Reason 5: The FATF
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is supposed to punish countries that finance terrorism. Pakistan has been included in the FATF greylist many times for its financial support to terrorist activities, with the last removal in 2023.
But getting Pakistan back on the grey list requires consensus among 39 member countries. Even with clear evidence, political considerations often prevent action. FATF recognized state-sponsored terrorism for the first time in its July 2025 report, highlighting Pakistan-based groups like LeT and JeM, yet Pakistan remains off the grey list.
The Cost of Inaction
When the world refuses to act decisively against Pakistan’s support for terrorism, innocent people pay the price. The 15 people killed at the Red Fort. The 164 victims in Mumbai. The 40 soldiers killed at Pulwama. The list goes on and on.
From December 5-12, 2025, JeM organized openly advertised radicalisation camps in Quetta, conducted without any state intervention. This brazenness shows that Pakistan believes it can act with impunity.
What Needs to Change
For the world to effectively combat terrorism emanating from Pakistan, several things must happen:
1. Stop the Double Standards:
Countries cannot claim to fight terrorism while providing Pakistan with billions in aid and loans that free up resources for terror support.
2. Unified International Pressure:
All democratic nations must speak with one voice. Pakistan exploits divisions between countries.
3. Hold Pakistan Accountable at FATF: The evidence is overwhelming. Pakistan should be placed back on the grey list and, if it doesn’t change course, moved to the black list.
4. Cut Off Terror Financing:
Terror groups are using digital wallets, cryptocurrencies, and mobile apps like Easypaisa to evade scrutiny from financial watchdogs. International cooperation is needed to shut down these channels.
5. Recognize the Pattern:
This isn’t about one attack or one group. It’s about a state that has made terrorism a tool of policy for decades.
Conclusion
The UN report linking Pakistan to the Delhi blast is not new information—it’s confirmation of what has been known for years. Pakistan has a documented, decades-long history of training, funding, and supporting terrorist groups.
The question is not whether Pakistan is involved in terrorism. The evidence is clear and overwhelming. The question is whether the international community has the will to do something about it.
So far, the answer has been no. Geopolitical calculations, economic concerns, and Pakistan’s manipulation of the system have allowed it to escape serious consequences. Meanwhile, innocent people continue to die.
The world must decide: Is fighting terrorism a real priority, or just something we say to make ourselves feel better? Because if we’re serious about stopping terrorism, we know exactly where to look. The training camps are in Pakistan. The terrorist leaders live in Pakistan. The attacks are planned in Pakistan.
Until the world acts with unity and determination, the cycle will continue. Pakistan will support terrorists. Terrorists will kill innocents. The UN will issue reports. And nothing will fundamentally change.
The next attack is probably being planned right now, in one of those training camps that “don’t exist” according to Pakistan. The only question is where it will happen and how many people will die before the world finally says: enough is enough.
References
1.https://www.efsas.org/publications/study-papers/pakistan-army-and-terrorism;-an-unholy-alliance/
2.https://www.ap7am.com/en/100395/full-list-of-pakistans-terrorist-facilities-backed-by-isi-revealed
3.https://www.thestatesman.com/world/fatf-report-slams-state-sponsored-terrorism-puts-spotlight-on-pakistan-1503455462.html
4.https://www.newkerala.com/news/o/fatf-report-reinforces-indias-position-state-sponsored-terrorism-880
5.https://industrywired.com/news/india-responds-push-to-re-greylist-pakistan-at-fatf-over-terror-links-9300248
6.https://youtu.be/u0iseMhnXi0?si=RsbMmwu4h4wAL7aE
