Pakistan’s Failed Old Game: How Islamabad Exploits Terrorism and Nuclear Blackmail to Cling to Relevance

Tensions between India and Pakistan have escalated sharply following a brutal terrorist attack in Indian-administered Kashmir. On April 22, 2025, gunmen opened fire on tourists in Pahalgam, killing 26 people, mostly Indian nationals. The militant group “Kashmir Resistance” claimed responsibility — a group India rightly identifies as a front for the Pakistan-based terror organization Lashkar-e-Taiba, itself nurtured by Pakistan’s military establishment. In response, India, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, expelled Pakistani diplomats, closed the Wagah border crossing, and suspended the Indus Waters Treaty — a watershed move that has alarmed the region. Pakistan, predictably, denied involvement and retaliated by shutting down its airspace to Indian flights and suspending trade.
The truth, however, is clear: Pakistan has long used terrorism as a strategic tool to pursue its geopolitical goals, and today’s events are only the latest chapter in a dangerous and cynical playbook.

Since its creation in 1947, Pakistan has consistently weaponized jihadist proxies to achieve what its military and intelligence agencies could not accomplish through conventional warfare. From the insurgency in Kashmir to the Jihadists in Afghanistan, Islamabad’s fingerprints are all over the major terror movements that have destabilized South Asia. Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed, and a constellation of similar groups have operated with the explicit approval, and often active assistance, of the Pakistani Army and its notorious Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).

Now, as the United States forges ever-closer ties with India, Pakistan finds itself increasingly isolated on the global stage. Once the “frontline ally” in America’s so-called War on Terror, Pakistan has been exposed as a duplicitous actor, simultaneously accepting Western aid while sheltering groups that targeted U.S. forces and interests. With Washington no longer willing to indulge its double games, and India rapidly emerging as the dominant regional power, Pakistan has returned to its oldest tactic: terrorism, coupled with the threat of nuclear escalation, to blackmail the world into paying attention.

But this time, the situation inside Pakistan is even more precarious than before. Islamabad is facing existential threats not from external enemies, but from within. The restive regions of Baluchestan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (historically Pukhtoon area) are seething with resentment against the Punjabi-dominated central government. In Baluchestan, a simmering separatist movement continues to demand independence, fueled by decades of economic exploitation and brutal repression. In the Pashtun areas, anger over military operations, displacement, and discrimination threatens to boil over.

Compounding these internal crises is Pakistan’s crumbling economy, which has reached a critical breaking point. As of early 2025, inflation in Pakistan is running above 25%, with food inflation surging past 35%, devastating ordinary citizens. The Pakistani rupee has lost nearly 30% of its value in the past year, hitting record lows against the U.S. dollar. Foreign exchange reserves have dwindled to less than $4 billion — barely enough to cover a few weeks’ worth of imports. Debt servicing alone consumes nearly 60% of Pakistan’s federal budget, leaving little room for investment in health, education, or infrastructure. Unemployment has spiked to 9.2%, with youth unemployment even higher, feeding frustration and despair among the country’s young population. Meanwhile, foreign direct investment has plummeted, and even traditional “all-weather” allies like China have grown increasingly reluctant to bail Islamabad out, frustrated by mismanagement and lack of reforms.

These internal crises are eroding the very fabric of Pakistan’s national integrity. Yet, instead of addressing its domestic failures, Pakistan’s military rulers are once again choosing to gamble with regional stability. By unleashing attacks like the one in Kashmir, Islamabad hopes to achieve multiple objectives: internationalize the Kashmir issue, remind the world of its “nuclear status,” and divert attention away from the crumbling state of its own union.

The suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty is a watershed moment (pun intended) that could change the dynamics permanently. For decades, this treaty served as a model of cooperation even during periods of open hostility. India’s decision to suspend it signals that New Delhi no longer sees any benefit in pretending that Pakistan is a rational actor. And rightly so.

The international community must stop treating Pakistan as a victim or a misunderstood partner. It must recognize the reality: Pakistan is a state that has institutionalized terrorism as an arm of its foreign policy, a nuclear-armed rogue actor that thrives on instability. Far from being a “cornered” or “desperate” nation deserving sympathy, Pakistan is a deliberate agent of chaos, willing to risk the lives of millions to maintain a seat at the geopolitical table.

It is time for the world to hold Pakistan accountable, to dismantle its terror networks, to sanction its military leaders, and to support the legitimate aspirations of the Baluch and Pashtun peoples who suffer under its oppressive rule. Until then, the region — and indeed the world — will continue to live under the shadow of Islamabad’s deadly games.

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