Pakistan's terror trail: From Kashmir to Kabul and beyond

Pakistan's role as a rogue state fueling global terror has come under international scrutiny once again following the deadly attack on tourists in Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir on 22 April.

- STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE

Pakistan's track record in sponsoring, sheltering, and exporting terrorism makes it one of the most dangerous and destabilizing forces in the world. For decades, its soil has been used as a launchpad for cross-border terrorism, insurgency, and extremist ideology.

In 2018, former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif, suggested that the Pakistani government played a role in the 2008 Mumbai attacks that were carried out by Lashkar-e-Taiyyaba, a Pakistan-based Islamist terrorist group.

Pervez Musharraf conceded that his forces trained militant groups to fight India in Kashmir. He revealed that the government turned a blind eye because it wanted to force India to enter into negotiations, as well as raise the issue internationally.

A few days back, Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Pakistan's current defence minister admitted that the country supported terrorist groups for more than three decades, calling it a mistake tied to US-led foreign policy decisions.