As India marks the 17th anniversary of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, one of the bloodiest assaults ever carried out on Indian soil - NatStrat, an independent centre for strategic and security research, has released a sweeping historical record of Pakistan-sponsored terrorism against India since 1947. The report, Chronology of Pakistani Terror Attacks on India (1947-2025), spans eight decades of cross-border terror, proxy warfare, and covert aggression - an unbroken chain of violence that, as the report notes, remains rooted in Pakistan's "consistent strategic behaviour" towards India.
Speaking to NDTV on the eve of the anniversary, Ambassador Pankaj Saran, former Deputy National Security Advisor of India and Convenor of NatStrat, said the project was driven by an urgent national need to document this history:
"When we in NatStrat started work on analysing the sources of terrorism in India, we realised we were looking at a pattern of Pakistani behaviour that has been consistent since 1947 - one designed to hurt and harm India through non-military means based on deniability and subterfuge."
He added that the present generation "should not forget this history," which dates back to the tribal invasion of Kashmir in October 1947 and continues through modern hybrid warfare. The study, he emphasised, is "a tribute to the memory of those who lost their lives and loved ones" and a reminder of India's resilience.
Pakistan: From 1947 Tribal Raiders to the Global "Mothership of Terrorism"
NatStrat's report establishes that Pakistan adopted terrorism as state policy from the very moment of its creation. The first major attack on India 1947 tribal invasion of Jammu and Kashmir - was not an organic uprising but a Pakistani military-led operation, planned by officers like Major General Akbar Khan, who later documented the conspiracy in his book Raiders in Kashmir. The invasion marked the beginning of Pakistan's strategy of using irregulars and proxies while maintaining deniability.
Over subsequent decades, the ISI expanded this model into a vast network of terrorist groups, training camps, and radicalisation pipelines across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The report documents Pakistan's direct role in:
Khalistani militancy (1980s), with ISI-run training camps in Lahore and Karachi, arms pipelines, and infiltration networks.
The Kashmir insurgency post-1989, fuelled by Afghan war veterans, Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Hizbul Mujahideen, and later Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM).
Major terror strikes across India, including the 1993 Mumbai blasts, 2001 Parliament attack, 2006 Mumbai train bombings, 2008 Indian Embassy attack in Kabul, and finally the 26/11 Mumbai attacks.
Recent attacks such as Pathankot (2016), Uri (2016), Pulwama (2019), and the 2025 Pahalgam terror attack were traced to ISI-backed groups.
Internationally, many of these organisations - including LeT's Hafiz Saeed and JeM's Masood Azhar - are designated under UN Security Council resolutions. Pakistan was also placed on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list for terror financing, reaffirming its global reputation as the "mothership of terrorism," a term famously used by India's External Affairs Minister in 2016.
The 26/11 Template: Pakistan's Proxy War at Its Most Brutal
The Mumbai attacks of November 26, 2008, remain the most glaring example of Pakistan's deep entanglement with UN-designated terror groups. Ten LeT terrorists were trained, armed, and guided in real time from Pakistan by handlers linked to the ISI. Their assault on India's financial capital killed 166 people, including foreign nationals, and exposed the sophistication of Pakistan's proxy infrastructure.
NatStrat's timeline of attacks shows that 26/11 was not an aberration but part of a long-running pattern - from the 1999 IC-814 hijack orchestrated by Pakistan-based Harkat-ul-Mujahideen, to the Parliament attack in 2001 carried out by LeT and JeM, to the Pulwama suicide bombing in 2019, where Jaish claimed responsibility.
A Systemic Pattern With a Military-Terror Nexus
The report concludes that Pakistan's Army and ISI have, for decades, exercised control over jihadist organisations as instruments of state policy. The civilian leadership, it notes, is routinely kept in the dark. Multiple incidents, including the Kargil War, planned by a small clique of generals without political approval-demonstrate how militant and military strategies are intertwined at the highest levels.
From providing weapons and safe havens to enabling global fundraising, Pakistan's military establishment remains, as the report underscores, an architect of transnational terror networks.
India's Response: Resilience in the Face of Repeated Assaults
Despite the human toll - tens of thousands of civilians and security personnel over 78 years - India has repeatedly strengthened its intelligence, diplomatic, and military posture.
The report notes:
India has exposed Pakistan's terror links at the UN and global forums.
The armed forces have conducted cross-border operations against terror infrastructure. Domestic security reforms have tightened counterterror capabilities.
Ambassador Saran asserts that the chronicle is "a reminder of the strength and resilience of India that has withstood the continuous onslaught on its social and political fabric."
A Living History, A Continuing Threat
NatStrat's document is not just a historical account; it is a warning that Pakistan's proxy warfare doctrine remains intact. As India remembers the victims of Mumbai 26/11, the report stands as an invaluable reference for scholars, policymakers, and citizens, a record of the cost India has borne, and a reminder that the struggle against cross-border terrorism is far from over.
