Pakistan using proxy war against India for years, says security expert

Commenting on the Pentagon's report, which accuses Pakistan of using militants as proxies against India, security expert Wing Commander (Retd) Praful Bakshi on Tuesday said that Islamabad has been using this method against India for years.

"There is no doubt that Pakistan has realized that since their army cannot confront the Indian Army, they have to use some other methods. But these methods involve terrorist elements based on religious motivation. Pakistan is using those people to launch attacks in India, especially in Jammu and Kashmir," Praful Bakshi told ANI.

Pointing out that it was difficult for the security forces to identify militants who have mixed among civilians, Bakshi said, "Such a situation keeps not only the army and the paramilitary forces on guard, because these attacks are done by people who are in civilian clothes. They create a lot of problems for the Indian Army and it becomes even more cumbersome than war."

"The American report is absolutely right. Pakistan has been doing it for a very long time and they have found that this is the only way they can confront the Indian Armed forces," he added.

The Pentagon, in a report to the US Congress running over 100 pages, charged Islamabad with providing safe havens to terrorist groups, thereby using them as a proxy force to counter India's better military and to offset its losing grip on Afghanistan.

The Pentagon also blamed the militant groups based in Pakistan for the attack on the Indian consulate in Herat.