The Assam Tribune: India should adopt two-pronged strategy to deal with Pakistan, says ex-envoy Bisaria

India should adopt a two-pronged strategy to deal with Pakistan-military action against terrorism together with calibrated diplomatic moves, former Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan, Ajay Bisaria said. In an interview with The Assam Tribune, Bisaria also expressed the view that Pakistan would continue to harbour terrorists, at least for some time to come. Following are the excerpts:

The Assam Tribune: After learning a lesson recently, do you think that Pakistan will continue to help terror ists?

Bisaria: Pakistan has been providing, shelter, safe haven and support to terrorists for more than 45 years to launch a proxy war against India. I do not believe that Pakistan will stop such activities now. But the cost of supporting terror proxies has esca lated, as India hit back hard after the Pahalgam attacks.

AT: Several top terrorist leaders are still in Pakistan is not it?

Bisaria: Yes. That is a hard fact. For example, Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar, Laskar-e-Toiba chief Hafiz Sayeed, and Hizbul Mujahideen chief Sayed Salauddin brazenly roam around in Pakistan. They are kept in ISI safe houses.

AT: Do you think sending teams of Members of Parliament to different countries to expose Pakistan will help India in any way?

Bisaria: Look, everyone in India now knows that terrorists flourish in Pakistan and the Government uses them as instruments of state policy. Sending MPs to different countries will increase diplomatic pressure on Pakistan. Pakistan came under pressure from the world community in 2011 after the killing of Osama Bin Laden near an Army base in Pakistan. But the pressure eased out. India should make all efforts to increase diplomatic pressure on Pakistan.

AT: What should be the way forward for India?

Bisaria: India should adopt a two-pronged strategy. First is military action whenever required. India took kinetic military steps in 2016, 2019 and now in 2025. The last one has sent the strongest message to Paki stan. But at the same time, India should keep making diplomatic efforts to put Pakistan on the grey list of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). If Pakistan is placed on the grey list of the FATF, international aid to Pakistan will also be impacted, putting a further cost to the support of terror.

AT: But there were some countries which were in favour of Pakistan during the war, were they not?

Bisaria: Turkiye sent some drones to Pakistan during the war, but 80 per cent of its weapons are made in China. This issue should also be highlighted to the world community. Some persons in Bangladesh spoke in favour of Pakistan during the war. However, the Bangladesh Govern ment did not directly help Pakistan.

This Interview was published in the print edition of The Assam Tribune.