Terror’s changing face, India’s counter-terror strategy
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The terror attack carried out by al-Qaeda on the Twin Towers in New York on September 11, 2001 was neither the first major terrorist attack in the world nor the first against the United States. But it fundamentally changed how terrorism would be fought in the decades that followed.
Over the past 25 years, the global security landscape, including that of India, has changed irreversibly. The forms of terrorism have evolved, the instruments used to perpetrate terror have changed, and so too have the strategies adopted by countries around the world to counter terrorism.
We no longer hear of large terror groups operating under ruthless terrorist leaders such as al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden or Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who led the Islamic State and called for the establishment of an Islamic Caliphate. Instead, terror groups have morphed into smaller, more autonomous entities. Lone-wolf attacks are becoming the norm, while technologies such as drones, cyber capabilities, and even artificial intelligence are being used not only by terror groups but also by nations combating terrorism.
From an Indian standpoint, 9/11 certainly helped bring greater attention to India’s concerns over cross-border terrorism, particularly in Kashmir. However, it was not until the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks (November 2008) that the world truly stood in solidarity with India and acknowledged its fight against cross-border terrorism. Over the years, India’s strategy towards terrorism has evolved — from a passive strategy of merely warning Pakistan but not punishing it, to a bold and active strategy that classifies any act of terrorism backed by support from across the border as an ‘act of war’.
Although cross-border terror commenced in Kashmir in early 1990s, the first major terror attack did not come from the Kashmir Valley. The assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam terror group of Sri Lanka on May 21, 1991 in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu shook the nation.
With no clearly defined counter-terror strategy and a rapidly expanding terror network in Kashmir, India found itself stretched. The March 1993 Mumbai serial blasts, which killed over 250 people in 13 coordinated blasts across the city, and the synchronised blasts across Coimbatore city (Tamil Nadu) in February 1998 exposed the inadequacies of India’s internal security mechanisms to detect and fight terror inside the country.
However, the direct role of Pakistan was first exposed with the hijack of Indian Airlines flight IC-814, on December 24, 1999. Under tremendous public pressure and with very few options, India agreed to release dreaded Pakistan-based terrorists such as Ahmed Omar Sheikh and Masood Azhar in exchange for more than 160 civilian hostages. The attack on India’s Parliament in New Delhi by the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorist group on December 13, 2001 outraged India and led to a large-scale military mobilisation under ‘Operation Parakram’. With India and Pakistan having acquired nuclear weapons, the threat of escalation grew, prompting the international community to rush in to cool tempers. After almost two years of a tense standoff, the military disengagement took place without any direct punishment on Pakistan. The 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks — widely considered India’s 9/11 moment — also did not lead to any military action against Pakistan.
There were other terror attacks too, such as the 2002 Akshardham Temple attack, the 2006 Varanasi serial bomb blasts, and the 2010 German Bakery blast in Pune. Delhi, too, was not left untouched by terror. Even before the Parliament attack, an Army garrison within the Red Fort was targeted on December 22, 2000 by Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists, resulting in the deaths of three soldiers. In October 2005, over 60 people were killed in serial blasts that rocked popular Delhi markets, including Sarojini Nagar and Paharganj. Again, in September 2008, months before the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, multiple blasts rocked commercial areas of Delhi, including Connaught Place, Greater Kailash, and Karol Bagh. On September 7, 2011, a briefcase bomb exploded outside the Delhi High Court, killing 15 people. The attack was claimed by Harkat-ul-Jihad Islami (HUJI), a terror group affiliated with al-Qaeda and largely based in Pakistan. In all these cases, and many others, India chose not to respond directly and decisively, even after conclusive proof of Pakistan’s direct support for these attacks. How and when, then, did India change its strategy?
It was after a change of government at the Centre in May 2014, and its resolve not to let terror go unpunished, that India changed its strategy towards cross-border terrorism. The terror attack on September 18, 2016 by Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorists on an Army camp in Uri, Kashmir, led to the first cross-border surgical strikes (September 28-29). The strikes not only sent a strong message but also served as a clear statement of intent. Soon thereafter, following the terror attack on a Central Reserve Police Force convoy in Pulwama, Kashmir, on February 14, 2019, the Indian Air Force (IAF) launched strikes on a JeM terror camp in Balakot. This marked the first time that the IAF had crossed into Pakistani airspace to carry out a strike against a terror target.
However, it was the terror attack in Pahalgam on April 22, 2025 that outraged the nation like never before. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was on a visit to Saudi Arabia, returned to India and soon after, the Indian armed forces launched Operation Sindoor on May 6-7, hitting the heart of the Pakistan-based terror network. In a matter of 96 hours, the leaders and headquarters of the terror networks (LeT and JeM) were destroyed and Pakistani military assets were pulverised.
India has come a long way since the menace of cross-border terrorism took root in Kashmir in the early 1990s. From a passive and reactive policy, India has emerged as a leading voice in the global fight against terrorism. Soon after Operation Sindoor, India declared three clear intentions — first, that the era of restraint and patience is over, and Pakistan will have to pay a direct and heavy price for any terror attack in the future. Second, that any future act of cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan will be treated as an ‘act of war’. Third, that Pakistani nuclear blackmail will no longer be a restraining factor.
India also unveiled ‘PRAHAAR’, its first comprehensive National Counter-Terrorism Policy and Strategy, on February 23, 2026. The policy provides a national counter-terrorism framework for preventing and responding to terrorist activities and radicalisation through coordinated “whole-of-government” and “whole-of-society” approaches.
Although the number of terror-related incidents in Kashmir has declined drastically, the possibility of a few terrorists infiltrating across the Line of Control (LoC) and evading intelligence and security agencies remains. The answer lies in a four-fold strategy. First, continue to hunt down and eliminate the remnants of the terror network in the country, particularly in Kashmir. Second, take pre-emptive military action against any potential terror threat building across the LoC, including at terrorist launch pads. With years of experience and a deeply embedded intelligence network, this is possible. Third, undertake an exhaustive de-radicalisation programme across the country that not only motivates young people to join the mainstream but also makes the prospect of joining or supporting a terror outfit unattractive and prohibitively costly. Fourth, take all necessary steps to cut off terror financing, in close coordination with friendly countries.
Twenty-five years after 9/11, the threat of terrorism across the globe has not been eliminated but has instead morphed into new forms. At the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit in Bishkek on September 1, Mr. Modi called out the double standards on terrorism and said, “We must send a strong message to countries that use terrorism as an instrument of policy and provide safe haven and support to terrorists that terrorism can never be a strategic asset for anyone.” At the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi, an exclusive paragraph on the Pahalgam terror attack was included in the Delhi Declaration, clearly underscoring the growing global consensus on combating terrorism.
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