Nothing seems to get in the way of the long-standing enmity between India and Pakistan, not even a global pandemic. In early May, Jammu and Kashmir's Handwara witnessed 5 security personnel including two senior officers- a colonel and a major- martyred in line of duty after being fired upon by terrorists. The anti-terrorist operation conducted by the Indian Army, took place in Kupwara district, around 70 km north of the capital Srinagar to rescue civilian hostages taken by the terrorists, while two terrorists were killed. Since April 2020, around 20 security personnel have lost their lives in operations which play a part of a much bigger picture in India and Pakistan’s territorial disputes.

In mid-May, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) foreign ministers met virtually for a summit, where Indian and Pakistan ministers used the international platform to take indirect digs at each other, raising accusations of Islamaphobia and terrorism, as they try to taint each other’s global image at the first meet since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Warnings and threats from senior officials on both sides raise questions of further possible clashes between the nuclear-armed neighbours, as India continues to fight terrorism across the border. It is believed that Pakistan’s new terror strategy as mentioned in The Green Book 2020, a leaked confidential Pakistani Army document, could threaten information warfare.

It is unlikely that high or low intensity insurgency and infiltration operations will cease between the neighbours, but questions do arise of reevaluating counter-infiltration strategy with the urgent need for India to keep the pressure high along the border. Does Pakistan’s support for current terrorist incidents indicate its continued prosecution of terrorist strategy despite India’s clear message through Balakot strike last year or is an escalation of conflict a possibility?

Written by

Shavonne J, Research Analyst

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