Is India backtracking on 'Pakistan-sponsored terrorism'?

Less than two months after India attacked terror targets in Pakistan on 7 May in retaliation for the cold-blooded and measured killing of tourists at Pahalgam on 22 April, India’s allies seem strangely reluctant to name Pakistan while condemning the attack, unlike in the past.

India itself seems to be backtracking by first mentioning Pakistan-sponsored terrorism and then removing all references to it from the official readout of the conversation between Union defence minister Rajnath Singh and US defence secretary Pete Hegseth.

Despite India sending out all-party delegations to 33 countries to highlight the role of Pakistan, and India’s ‘right to defend itself’, something that Indian diplomats routinely repeat at all official meetings, the international reaction has been indifferent.

First the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) — a grouping of 10 countries including Russia, Iran, China and Pakistan besides India and several central Asian countries — gave a jolt to India by including a reference to terrorist activities in Pakistan’s Balochistan but refusing to condemn Pakistan for the Pahalgam attack at the defence ministers’ meet.

The differences in wording over terrorism para in Quad FMM in 2024 and 2025 are stark- no mention of groups, ref to "relevant authorities" ambiguous on UNSCRs. https://t.co/UNxsbAjEec pic.twitter.com/bk6BSDK3al

— Suhasini Haidar (@suhasinih) July 3, 2025

A carrot for Pakistan and a stick for India

Defence minister Singh, media was informed, refused to sign the draft statement, following which no statement was issued after the SCO defence ministers’ meet in China in June. Soon thereafter, the UN Security Council adopted a resolution voicing concern at the growing number of terrorist attacks but omitted naming Pakistan. The omission was attributed to the influence of China, one of the permanent members of the UNSC, though the draft was originally made by another permanent member, the US.

The 1 July Quad statement following a meeting of foreign ministers of the four member states — the US, India, Japan and Australia — has once again been silent on the role of Pakistan in sponsoring terrorism. Though India’s external affairs minister S. Jaishankar in a statement reiterated India’s stand, the statement deviated from the grouping’s earlier statements in 2019 after Pulwama and as recently as 2024.

In the absence of any official explanation from the external affairs ministry, the only conclusion one can draw is that India has been advised to lie low and tone down its rhetoric on Pakistan-sponsored terror attacks. Unlike after the Mumbai terror attack of 2008 and the Pulwama attack of 2019, India appears to have failed to convince allies about the Pakistan connection to the terror attack at Pahalgam.

Joint Statement from the Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Washington - United States Department of State https://t.co/OJz02J2KUh

— Seema Sirohi (@seemasirohi) July 2, 2025

26/11 attackers killed but Pahalgam terrorists at large as govt prepares dossier: Cong

The UNSC’s statement in 2019 had mentioned Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed by name. The Quad foreign ministers’ joint statement in 2024 and the leaders’ joint statement issued again in September 2024 had pointedly mentioned past terror attacks in India in Mumbai (2008) and Pathankot (2016). The statements had also called for action against UN-listed terrorist groups, including Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish.

The latest Quad statement of 1 July does condemn the Pahalgam attack and calls for the perpetrators to be brought to justice, it makes only a vague reference to urging ‘all UN member states’ to cooperate with ‘all relevant authorities’ in this regard.

The section dealing with Pahalgam reads: “The Quad unequivocally condemns all acts of terrorism and violent extremism in all its forms and manifestations, including cross-border terrorism, and renews our commitment to counterterrorism cooperation. We condemn in the strongest terms the terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir on April 22, 2025, which claimed the lives of 25 Indian nationals and one Nepali citizen, while injuring several others.

"We express our deepest condolences to the families of the victims and extend our heartfelt wishes for a swift and full recovery to all those injured. We call for the perpetrators, organizers, and financiers of this reprehensible act to be brought to justice without any delay and urge all UN Member States, in accordance with their obligations under international law and relevant UNSCRs, to cooperate actively with all relevant authorities in this regard.”