By targeting terrorism, India is saving Pakistan from itself

Although India and Pakistan gained independence simultaneously in 1947, their trajectories since then have been markedly different.

- GOURI SANKAR NAG AND AJAY MAJUMDER

India has made significant strides in technology, space research, and economic development, and is steadily progressing towards its goal of becoming a developed country by 2047. In contrast, Pakistan—founded on religious bigotry—has deteriorated into what its founder President described as a 'moth-eaten state'. Pakistan is caught today in the crossfire of multiple grim crises, even though the central bone of contention remains its pyrrhic muscular approach to Kashmir.

From Mohammad Ali Jinnah to current Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, successive leaders in Pakistan have often prioritized a hostile stance towards India. Having failed to annex Kashmir by force, Pakistan's strategy was eloquently articulated in Benazir Bhutto's famous invective of 'bleeding India by a thousand cuts'. Thus, instead of focusing on constructive nation-building, there has been a consistent pattern of viewing India's rise as a regional power with suspicion and envy. This has manifested in policies that nurture animosity, promote indirect aggression—including support for cross-border terrorism—and emphasize military build-up over human development. The lack of sustained investment in sectors such as education, healthcare, and technology, combined with a conspicuous neglect of land reforms as in India or China, instead putting overemphasis on defense and upping anti-India rhetoric, suggests that as long as such a combative mindset prevails that ties Pakistan to India alone, its comprehensive development will be an elusive narrative.