Islamabad, Oct 6 (IANS) Pakistan continues to use policy of creating instability in the neighbourhood through proxy groups as it is cheap, easy to deny, beneficial for its military and allows the Pakistan army to keep its budget and political power intact while the citizens of the country bear the ultimate costs, a report has detailed.
Pakistan using jihadist proxies against its neighbours is a key part of its policy, active on two fronts and backed by top military leadership. Pakistan originally used this approach against India in Jammu and Kashmir and is now targeting the Taliban in Afghanistan. Pakistan started using this strategy more than 70 years ago, according to a report in Afghan Diaspora Network.
The events of 2025 indicated that Pakistan continues to use this policy even today and uses it to create instability in the region and places the spotlight on the Pakistan military as their protector. In April last year, Pakistan-backed terrorists gunned down 26 civilians in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam, and the Resistance Front (TRF), a Lashkar-e-Tayyaba (LeT) proxy, claimed responsibility for it.
In response to the heinous Pahalgam attack, the Indian armed forces in May last year launched 'Operation Sindoor', carrying out what officials described as a focused, measured and non-escalatory military action targeting high-value terror bases in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). The close connection between the Pakistan military establishment and proxy outfits was showcased after India's Operation Sindoor, as pictures showed funerals of terrorists, with coffins covered in Pakistan’s national flag, and senior uniformed army officials present there.
Pakistan has also been using this approach against Afghanistan. Pakistan helped create the Afghan Taliban and backed the Haqqani network. Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief was in Kabul just days after the Taliban seized power in 2021. However, the ties between Pakistan and Pakistan have been strained in recent times.
Recently, Afghanistan's Ministry of Defence said that its forces killed 28 fighters and captured 32 others in Nuristan and accused Pakistani security forces of financing and training those individuals to fight against the Taliban. Earlier this year, a Taliban spokesperson said a group within Pakistan's military was attempting to destabilise the region and accused Islamabad of sheltering Islamic State Khorasan (IS-K) rather than fighting it, the Afghan Diaspora Network report mentioned.
"Pakistan continues using this strategy of creating instability in the neighbourhood through proxy groups because it is cheap, easy to deny, and benefits the military. It helps the Pakistan Army keep its budget and political power intact, while the local population bears the ultimate costs. International sanctions have mostly targeted individuals and terrorist outfits, not the Pakistan Army itself," Rahmatullah Achakzai, journalist based in Balochistan, it stated.
"Moreover, Pakistan got off the FATF grey list by changing its paperwork, and since 2025, renewed US ties with Rawalpindi have removed the last bit of external pressure on terrorism. As a result, South Asia now faces increasing chances of instability, aided by the Pakistani military, that may lead to major military conflicts and possibly mass-casualty events," it added.
--IANS
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