Middle East Forum researcher blames Pakistan's use of terror proxies for India-Pakistan escalation

London [UK], May 9 (ANI): Amid rising tensions between India and Pakistan, Jonathan Spyer, Director of Research at the Middle East Forum, emphasised that much of the media coverage is missing the real reason behind the current India-Pakistan tension. He said the root cause is Pakistan's long-standing practice of using Islamist militant groups as tools of state policy.
Spyer further said that India's strong response is a reaction to this pattern, and while efforts to reduce tensions are important, one should not forget what triggered the conflict in the first place.
In an interview with ANI, Spyer said, "It is clear that there has been a very serious escalation over the last few days, and it is notable that the US administration, now, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, are becoming involved in efforts to de-escalate. I think alarmism would be mistaken, the kind of reports which are saying, well, two nuclear armed powers are now on the edge of warfare, this is exaggerated. We have seen in the past episodes of back and forth, the response between the sides, and this is another of those."
He added, "I think a lot of the coverage is missing -- the origins which led to this escalation, namely the apparent practise by Pakistan of the use of proxy Islamist terror groups actually as tools of policy, and this, I think is what India is reacting against, and I think it's important that that crucial point should not get lost in terms of the way of reporting. De-escalation is good, but it's important to remember also why the escalation is taking place in the first place."
Spyer said that during conflicts, there is often confusion, and it can take time to get a really clear picture of exactly what is going on. He pointed to the Pahalgam terror attack, which started the current crisis and said that it appears that Pakistan continues to use extremist groups as part of its official strategy, which is a major reason behind the escalation.
On India targeting terror infrastructure while Pakistan attacking civilians, Spyer told ANI, "First of all, it's, it's worth noting that Pakistan, of course, is denying that, and Pakistan is also claiming that a mosque has been hit and so on. So there's a certain sense of the fog of war in these situations where it can take some time before we get a really clear picture of exactly what is going on. Having said that, I would like to add that obviously, in the case of Pahalgam terror attack, which triggered this whole episode, there we saw the deliberate targeting of civilians and deliberate butchery and murder of civilians actually and the most brutal of ways, and it does appear that the Republic of Pakistan is willing to make use of these kind of organisations as a tool of policy."
On Thursday night, Pakistan launched a series of coordinated drone and missile attacks along India's western border, targeting regions in Jammu and Kashmir and Rajasthan. According to Indian defence officials, the attacks were intercepted mainly by India's air defence systems, including the S-400 missile defence system, preventing significant damage.
Pakistan strikes were reportedly in retaliation to India's Operation Sindoor conducted earlier this week, which targeted terrorist camps in Pakistan following a deadly terrorist attack in Kashmir that killed 26 tourists on April 22.
The situation remains volatile, with international calls for restraint and diplomatic engagement to prevent further escalation. (ANI)