By Ankit Kumar
Terrorism is a burden on the economic and human development of society. India, is a classic case study as over the last three decades it has carried this burden, largely courtesy the cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan. From the 2001 Parliament attack to the 2008 Mumbai siege and the 2019 Pulwama bombing, the most lethal strikes have been linked to groups based in Pakistan, a pattern reinforced by international designations and sanctions. Lashkar‑e‑Taiba (LeT) and Jaish‑e‑Mohammed (JeM) are both listed by the UN Security Council’s ISIL (Da’esh) & Al‑Qaida Sanctions Committee; the UN explicitly describes LeT as a “Pakistan‑based organization” responsible for major attacks in India, including Mumbai. Masood Azhar, JeM’s founder, was added to the UN sanctions list in 2019.
The United States’ Congressional Research Service (CRS) makes a similar point. Several UN‑ and U.S.‑designated terrorist groups, continue to operate from Pakistani soil. CRS acknowledges that Pakistan has undertaken steps in recent years but notes it has “yet to complete its pledge to dismantle all terrorist organizations without delay or discrimination.” Pakistan’s anti‑terror financing measures did improve under international pressure; in October 2022 the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) removed Pakistan from its “grey list.” But removal from monitoring is not the same as the neutralization of India‑focused networks.
The human cost of this persistence is steepest in Jammu & Kashmir (J&K), the principal theatre of infiltration and militancy. The records show 22,449 fatalities in J&K since 2000, including 12,055 civilians and 4,981 security personnel, a grim ledger of lives disrupted and lost. National tragedies elsewhere underscore the reach of Pakistan‑based groups: the 2008 Mumbai attacks killed 166 people, with prosecutions and international reporting tying the plot to LeT; the 2019 Pulwama suicide bombing killed 40 Central Reserve Police Force personnel and was claimed by JeM.
Ceasefire violations escalated sharply through 2020. India reported 5,133 incidents that year, with 22 Indian civilians and 24 security personnel killed. A renewed ceasefire understanding between the two armies in February 2021 helped tamp down firing, and infiltration indicators fell. In Parliament, the government reported “net infiltration” of 141 in 2019, 51 in 2020, 34 in 2021, 14 in 2022, and zero through June 2023, figures that reflect a hardened border grid, layered surveillance, and improved counter‑infiltration tactics.
Even with these improvements, the macro picture remains sobering. The Global Terrorism Index 2025 ranks India 14th most affected by terrorism and notes that South Asia continues to have the highest average regional impact. Pakistan ranks second globally on the same index, an indicator that permissive ecosystems can boomerang domestically as well. The U.S. State Department recorded 94 terrorism‑related incidents and 117 deaths in the Union Territory, including 30 security personnel and 14 civilians.
The economic burden is substantial. Border security is capital‑intensive. New Delhi’s Border Infrastructure & Management (BIM) umbrella scheme set aside ₹13,020 crore (2021–26) for fencing, flood‑lighting, roads, and technology along vulnerable frontiers. Earlier, flood‑lighting alone on the Indo‑Pakistan border was revised to ₹1,201 crore. Beyond the fence, terror shocks depress tourism and services (as Mumbai learned in 2008), raise insurance premia, and force sustained deployment of central armed police and military units, with long‑term opportunity costs for development spending.
Pakistan’s role in this equation is not asserted by India alone. The UN’s listing files for LeT and for Masood Azhar, successive U.S. assessments, and court cases abroad (including recent extradition actions connected to 26/11) point to networks nurtured by sanctuary and facilitation on Pakistani soil. Islamabad officially denies state sponsorship and emphasizes actions taken under FATF‑mandated reforms; yet the durability and branding of India‑focused groups such as LeT and JeM, and their repeated appearance in major incidents, are difficult to square with claims that the ecosystem has been comprehensively dismantled.
Pakistan often denies official support for militant groups, but the evidence paints a different picture. UN sanction lists, U.S. government reports, and international court proceedings all point to the continued presence and activity of groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed on Pakistani soil. These organizations have maintained their structures, training facilities, and recruitment networks despite global pressure. While Islamabad has taken steps under international scrutiny such as reforms linked to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) these actions have not fully dismantled the ecosystem that sustains anti-India terrorism.
The persistence of these groups shows how Pakistan has struggled, or in some cases chosen not, to break the links between elements of its security establishment and militant outfits. This has not only harmed India but has also backfired on Pakistan itself, as terrorism has destabilized its own society and economy. For lasting change, Pakistan will need to move beyond temporary crackdowns and show verifiable, sustained action against these groups. Until that happens, the burden of cross-border terrorism will continue to weigh heavily on both regional stability and Pakistan’s own international credibility.
The heinous terror attack on unsuspecting tourists in the picturesque town of Pahalgam on 22nd April 2025 in which 26 civilians were brutally gunned down was another stark reminder if the human and economic burden that terrorists and their sponsors seek to impose. The target was not just civilian lives, identified in the basis of their religion, but the growing economy of Jammu and Kashmir. Terrorists and their sponsors see development as a threat to their divisive agenda.
In a bid to create awareness about the tragic loss of human lives in the barbaric attack in Pahalgam, the Global Human Rights Defence (GHRD) held a poster exhibition at the symbolic Broken Chair in Geneva, opposite the United Nations Human Rights Council building where the 60th Session of the UNHRC is being held. The exhibition highlighted life stories of victims, who tragically bore the brunt of the hatred spewed by the terrorists and their sponsors. It highlighted how such tragedies work to reinforce our belief that peace and harmony come at a cost.
Ankit2841@protonmail.com
Asst Professor in International Relations, National Defence University , Gujarat, India
The views expressed here are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the organization’s.