India's counter-terror strategy shifted from restraint to action, writes analyst

The brief

Context

Twenty-five years after al-Qaeda's September 11, 2001 attacks on the Twin Towers in New York, retired colonel Rajeev Agarwal argues that both global terrorism and India's response to it have changed fundamentally. India, he writes, moved from a passive strategy of warning Pakistan without punishing it to an active one that treats cross-border terrorism as an 'act of war'. The turning point was the change of government at the Centre in May 2014, after which the Uri, Pulwama and Pahalgam attacks each drew cross-border military responses. India unveiled its first comprehensive National Counter-Terrorism Policy and Strategy, 'PRAHAAR', on February 23, 2026.

Key facts

• The March 1993 Mumbai serial blasts killed over 250 people in 13 coordinated blasts; no military action against Pakistan followed.
• In the IC-814 hijack of December 24, 1999, India released Pakistan-based terrorists Ahmed Omar Sheikh and Masood Azhar in exchange for more than 160 hostages.
• The December 13, 2001 Parliament attack by Jaish-e-Mohammed triggered 'Operation Parakram'; after nearly two years of standoff, forces disengaged without direct punishment of Pakistan.
• The September 18, 2016 JeM attack on the Army camp at Uri led to India's first cross-border surgical strikes on September 28-29, 2016.
• After the February 14, 2019 Pulwama attack on a CRPF convoy, the IAF struck a JeM camp in Balakot — the first IAF entry into Pakistani airspace against a terror target.
• The April 22, 2025 Pahalgam attack led to Operation Sindoor on May 6-7, 2025; in 96 hours LeT and JeM leadership and headquarters were destroyed and Pakistani military assets hit.
• India declared three post-Sindoor intentions: the era of restraint is over, cross-border terror will be treated as an 'act of war', and nuclear blackmail will not restrain India.
• 'PRAHAAR', unveiled on February 23, 2026, sets a national framework against terrorism and radicalisation via 'whole-of-government' and 'whole-of-society' approaches.

Timeline

1. May 21, 1991Former PM Rajiv Gandhi assassinated by the LTTE at Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu.
2. March 1993Mumbai serial blasts: 13 coordinated blasts kill over 250 people.
3. February 1998Synchronised blasts across Coimbatore city, Tamil Nadu.
4. December 24, 1999Indian Airlines flight IC-814 hijacked; Pakistan's direct role first exposed.
5. December 22, 2000LeT terrorists attack an Army garrison inside the Red Fort, Delhi; three soldiers killed.
6. September 11, 2001al-Qaeda attacks the Twin Towers in New York.
7. December 13, 2001JeM attacks Parliament in New Delhi; India mobilises under Operation Parakram.
8. October 2005Over 60 killed in serial blasts in Delhi markets including Sarojini Nagar and Paharganj.
9. September 2008Multiple blasts in Delhi's Connaught Place, Greater Kailash and Karol Bagh.
10. November 200826/11 Mumbai attacks — India's '9/11 moment' — but no military action against Pakistan.

Who has a stake

• Government of India — Owns the shift from restraint to active response and must operationalise the PRAHAAR framework across agencies and society.
• Indian armed forces (Army, IAF) — Executed surgical strikes, Balakot and Operation Sindoor; now expected to undertake pre-emptive action against threats across the LoC.
• Pakistan — Named as the source of cross-border terror; faces India's declaration that future attacks will be treated as an 'act of war'.
• LeT, JeM, HUJI and other terror groups — Their leaders and headquarters were targeted in Operation Sindoor; remnants in Kashmir are to be hunted down.
• People of Jammu and Kashmir — Terror incidents have declined drastically, but infiltration risk across the LoC and radicalisation of youth persist.
• International community (SCO, BRICS) — The Delhi Declaration at the 18th BRICS Summit carried an exclusive paragraph on Pahalgam, reflecting a growing global consensus.

Why it matters

The piece maps a doctrinal shift with direct consequences for India-Pakistan escalation: treating terror attacks as acts of war and rejecting nuclear blackmail lowers the threshold for military response between two nuclear-armed neighbours. At the same time, terrorism itself is fragmenting into lone-wolf attacks and drone, cyber and AI-enabled methods, requiring capabilities beyond cross-border strikes. PRAHAAR's 'whole-of-government' and 'whole-of-society' design signals that de-radicalisation and terror financing are now seen as core to counter-terrorism, not peripheral.