Key points
- From 2015–2024, Pakistan faced 5,720 civilian deaths due to terrorism—2,500pc more per capita than India
- India’s foreign policy mirrors Chanakya and Machiavelli’s ruthless realpolitik
ISLAMABAD: Over the last 10 years, Pakistan has weathered a brutal storm of terrorism, leaving behind a tragic toll of thousands of innocent lives.
As per data from the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), between 2015 and 2024, nearly 5,720 civilians in Pakistan lost their lives to terror-linked violence.
In a striking contrast, India reported only 1,323 civilian fatalities during the same timeframe—a disparity that underscores the far heavier burden Pakistan continues to bear.
According to SATP, Pakistan has endured a staggering 5,720 civilian deaths from terrorism-related violence between 2015 and 2024. The bloodiest year was 2015, with 1,064 casualties, followed by a gradual yet troubling persistence: 788 in 2016, 655 in 2017, 566 in 2019, 271 in 2020, 331 in 2021, 348 in 2022, and a sharp rise again with 607 in 2023 and 506 in 2024—a grim reminder of a threat that refuses to fade.
In contrast, India reported a total of 1,323 civilian deaths in the same period—significantly lower. The highest number occurred in 2017 with 188 deaths, while other years saw figures like 176 in 2015, 122 in 2016, 156 in 2018, 166 in 2019, and decreasing numbers thereafter: 94 in 2020, 109 in 2021, 110 in 2022, 104 in 2023, and 98 in 2024.
The contrast in scale highlights the disproportionate impact terrorism has had on Pakistan compared to its larger neighbour.
Deeply revealing disparity
This disparity is not just numerical—it is deeply revealing. Despite having a population only 20 per cent the size of India’s, Pakistan has suffered more than five times the number of civilian deaths, translating into a 2,500 per cent higher casualty rate per capita.
These figures make it abundantly clear: Pakistan is the victim of an orchestrated campaign of terror, much of which is believed to be sponsored and abetted by India through its covert support to militant groups such as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), BRAS, and BLF.
The years 2023 and 2024 saw a worrying resurgence in terrorist activities in Pakistan. In 2023 alone, there were 1,514 terror attacks, resulting in 2,922 casualties, including 358 civilian deaths. This spike points to a coordinated effort to destabilise Pakistan internally—an effort that many analysts and officials attribute to Indian intelligence networks operating through proxies in Afghanistan and other border regions.
Scourge of terrorism from India
While Pakistan has suffered the scourge of terrorism from India, the burden borne by Pakistan is exponentially greater. These figures are not just statistics—they represent thousands of shattered families, communities living in fear, and a country continually battling to defend its sovereignty and security.
In light of these undeniable facts, Pakistan stands as the clear victim, and India emerges as the aggressor in this asymmetrical war of covert terrorism. The international community must acknowledge this reality and hold those accountable who use terrorism as a tool for regional hegemony and destabilisation.
India’s Machiavellian approach
It is a common belief among political analysts and regional observers that India’s approach towards Pakistan reflects a strategic mindset deeply rooted in the philosophies of Chanakya Kauṭilya and Niccolò Machiavelli. Chanakya, an ancient Indian philosopher and political strategist, authored the Arthashastra, a treatise that advocates realpolitik—emphasising cunning diplomacy, manipulation, espionage, and the use of power for statecraft and national interest.
Similarly, Machiavelli, the Renaissance-era Italian thinker, is best known for The Prince, where he argues that rulers must often use deceit, ruthlessness, and manipulation to maintain power and achieve political goals. Both ideologies justify the use of immoral means if they serve the interests of the state, particularly in dealing with rivals.
India’s support to militant groups
India’s support to militant groups such as TTP, BLA, BRAS, and BLF, often cited in security reports and intelligence findings, is seen by many as an embodiment of these Machiavellian-Chanakyan principles. Through covert operations, strategic misinformation, and proxy warfare, India is executing a long-term strategy aimed at destabilising Pakistan internally while maintaining plausible deniability internationally. Since the partition in 1947, the rivalry between the two nations has evolved beyond conventional warfare into a complex theatre of hybrid and psychological warfare—where India, guided by ancient and modern doctrines of statecraft, is seen as exploiting terrorism as a tool to achieve its geopolitical objectives at the expense of regional peace and Pakistan’s sovereignty.
