In 2016, after the Uri attack in Indian held Kashmir, Prime Minister Narendra Modi accused Pakistan of the terror attack and threatened Pakistan in a large rally in Kerala that India would make sure to isolate Pakistan diplomatically and would intensify those efforts. He further warned that the sacrifice of 18 Indian soldiers will not be in vain. However, the prevailing global situation suggests that India’s efforts to isolate Pakistan have backfired; Pakistan is now acting as a middle power—facilitating peace efforts between the U.S. and Iran—and a peace accord is proposed for June 19, 2026, in Switzerland; Pakistan currently enjoys strong relations with both Beijing and Washington.
China and the U.S. have a stake in maintaining the Strait of Hormuz as a critical energy link to ensure uninterrupted access to oil and gas resources. As a result, they see Pakistan as a key player in brokering a deal with Iran, leveraging its cultural ties to pursue a broader geopolitical objective. From that perspective, it underscores Pakistan’s geostrategic relevance.
In the 1990s, India’s Congress Party followed the “strategic restraint doctrine”; it shifted its core focus from Pakistan to liberalising the economy. However, under the leadership of Narendra Modi, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) attached the whole rhetoric to Pakistan. Since resuming office in 2014, the blame game narrative has been central to its political discourse because the pillars of the BJP stand on a Hindu-Nationalist agenda. Further, India frames itself in the post 9/11 discourse; for that matter, it tries to create a binary of “We vs. them,” and it tries to convince the International community against Pakistan for sponsoring terrorism.
From a geostrategic perspective, Pakistan now finds itself in a diplomatic sweet spot. It shares deep historical and cultural ties with Iran, and last year—on the invitation of the U.S. President—Pakistan’s Army Chief, General Asim Munir, visited Washington. During the trip, he signed rare‑earth mineral agreements and secured a $686 million package to modernise the Pakistan Air Force’s F-16 fleet. On the other hand, the Modi-led administration is struggling to balance its strategic pursuits, particularly its relations with the West and Russia. In 2025, President Donald Trump raised import duties on Indian products to 50 per cent, citing India’s failure to honour its commitment to reduce oil and arms purchases from Russia.
In the region, Pakistan has good relations with China, and the scope of collaboration is not limited to the economic sector, such as the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), but also extends to the defence sector and strategic domains. In the last couple of years, Pakistan procured J-10C fighter jets along with PL-15 beyond-visual-range missiles, and was instrumental in May 2025 conflict with India. Further, Pakistan received the Z-10 attack helicopter and recently inducted the Hangor-class submarine, which is no doubt a strategic addition to Pakistan’s defence arsenal.
In September 2025, Pakistan signed a Strategic Mutual Defence Pact (SMDP) with Saudi Arabia, meaning an attack on one country would be considered an attack on the other. Experts interpret the Saudi-Pakistan defence pact as a strategic regional realignment that will deter future aggression. In addition, Pakistan, Türkiye, and Azerbaijan are actively engaged in defence, economic, trade, and infrastructural collaboration—ranging from joint drone technologies to Azerbaijan’s $4.2 billion purchase of JF‑17 fighter jets and Türkiye–Pakistan cooperation on the KAAN fifth‑generation fighter jet program, alongside Azerbaijan’s $2 billion investment package in Pakistan and over $20 billion in Türkiye.
Since the August Revolution, India’s influence has waned not only globally but also in Bangladesh, where ousted Prime Minister Hasina Wajid was accused of taking dictation from New Delhi in domestic affairs. Bangladesh’s calls for autonomy and its ideological affinity with Pakistan fueled the uprising, reshaping the regional triangle—India, Pakistan, and China—as Sri Lanka increasingly sided against India.
The Pahlagam attack in April 2025 exposed India’s information warfare tactics. “Atlantic Council’s Michael Kugelman, reflecting on the tourist shooting in Kashmir’s scenic town, observed that Pakistan had effectively won ‘the global battle of narratives.’” Experts raised the question over the terrorists’ intrusion in the presence of about 700000 troops. Just after the attack, India blamed Pakistan for the attack, and on May 7, they launched an attack on Pakistan; however, in a counter-defensive response, Pakistan shot down 6 of India’s fighter jets, even the U.S. Donald Trump intensively quoted the loss of the Indian Air Force.
Indian PM Narendra Modi’s recent visit to Europe met with a lot of criticism. The trade deal with the Netherlands is only a statement of intent, not a promise of persecution. The Dutch Prime Minister, Rob Jetten, has raised concerns about minorities and violations of civil rights in India. In addition, Helle Lyng’s question to the Indian Prime Minister and diplomat further exposes the grave situation of fundamental human rights in India.
India cannot isolate Pakistan or any other country in the world. The international community does not look to rhetorical statements, but maintains pragmatism as its standard operating procedure. India’s hegemonic posture is not only limited to Pakistan, but it has extended to other continents, such as its strained relations with Canada over the assassination of Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Furthermore, six of the Indian naval officers were accused of espionage in Qatar, which was a diplomatic backlash for India.
Pakistan has sacrificed 70000 lives in the war against terrorism. India’s accusation that Pakistan sponsors terrorism is not grounded in objective reality, but in Indian-held Kashmir, the fault-line exists in the social contract. India lacks the legitimacy to rule the valley, and it faces the consequences in the form of attacks and a hard reaction from the people. The only viable path forward is granting Kashmiris their UN-guaranteed right of self-determination. Without this, the crisis will persist, undermining peace, legitimacy, and regional stability.
