Thank you dear subscribers, we are overwhelmed with your response.
Your Turn is a unique section from ThePrint featuring points of view from its subscribers. If you are a subscriber, have a point of view, please send it to us. If not, do subscribe here: https://theprint.in/subscribe/
The covert collaboration between the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) remains one of the least acknowledged but most enduring realities of South Asian geopolitics. Beyond the rhetoric of counterterrorism, this partnership has consistently produced outcomes that weaken India’s security architecture, sustain Pakistan’s deep state, and preserve Washington’s leverage in the region.
The 2019 Pulwama suicide bombing, which killed 40 CRPF personnel, was not just another terror strike but a turning point in exposing Pakistan’s proxy infrastructure. Investigations by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) traced a direct command-and-control chain from Masood Azhar’s family in Bahawalpur to ground operatives in Pulwama.
The attack drew global condemnation and forced Pakistan into temporary retreat. Under the scrutiny of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), Islamabad performed a sleight of hand: old terror franchises were broken up and rebranded into smaller, less visible entities such as The Resistance Front (TRF), Kashmir Tigers, and Jhelum Media House. The objective was simple — evade sanctions, confuse attribution, and ensure the jihad machinery remained intact.
India’s abrogation of Articles 370 and 35A in 2019 was a strategic shock to Pakistan’s playbook. The move dismantled separatist structures, outlawed organisations like the Hurriyat, Jamaat-e-Islami, and JKLF, and allowed New Delhi to establish direct governance. Militant recruitment, once a steady pipeline, collapsed to historic lows.
But Pakistan adapted. The ISI redirected its proxies to strike at Kashmir’s economic arteries. The recent Pahalgam massacre of 28 tourists was emblematic of this recalibration — an attack not only on lives, but also on tourism, investment, and the very narrative of normalcy. Intelligence assessments suggest the operation bore hallmarks of external coordination, a reminder that Pakistan’s terror industry rarely operates in isolation.
While Kashmir dominates headlines, Bangladesh is emerging as a quieter but critical front. The fall of Sheikh Hasina’s government created an opening that Islamabad and its backers were quick to exploit. Increased visits by Pakistani officials and the resurfacing of intermediaries with links to both ISI and Western intelligence hint at a coordinated attempt to encircle India from the east. For intelligence planners, this is classic “two-front encirclement” — pressure in Kashmir, disruption in the northeast, and persistent propaganda to keep India in a state of managed instability.
India’s response has been calibrated but firm. Operation Sindoor, launched after the Pahalgam killings, targeted high-value terror infrastructure in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Multiple launch pads, including facilities tied to LeT and JeM, were destroyed, and several commanders eliminated.
Yet the larger lesson is geopolitical. Even as India demonstrated military will, Pakistan’s reliance on tacit Western indulgence remained intact. U.S. policy under Donald Trump revealed this contradiction: punitive tariffs on India and military aid for Pakistan, all while preaching peace. Controlled instability remained Washington’s unspoken doctrine.
The elevation of General Asim Munir to Pakistan’s top military post has been followed by a series of high-level engagements in Washington. Ostensibly framed around counter-China strategy, these visits reinforce a deeper truth: the U.S. still views Pakistan’s military-intelligence establishment as a flexible lever in South Asia.
This is the CIA–ISI nexus in practice — a marriage of convenience that ensures Pakistan is never fully isolated, and India never fully unencumbered. For Washington, Pakistan provides deniability, access, and leverage; for Islamabad, it provides survival and cover.
The battlefield today Is as much digital as physical. Jhelum Media House, operating as an ISI-backed influence hub, produces slick propaganda — from recruitment videos to separatist manifestos — designed to radicalise youth and internationalise the Kashmir question. This hybrid warfare blends the bullet with the byte, creating psychological shockwaves even when kinetic operations fail.
As India builds its response, it must recognise that Pakistan’s proxy war is sustained not only by its own deep state but also by the silent complicity of external powers. Exposing and countering this double game will be central to securing India’s long-term strategic stability.