India Must Ignore U.S. on Af-Pak Strategy

The Pune bombings once again raise the spectre of terrorism in India. While it's as yet unclear who or which group perpetrated the attacks, one thing is for sure: it is time for India to review its policy priorities in Af-Pak. This is all the more necessary, since it is now being targeted in Afghanistan as well as shown by the recent terror attacks in Kabul that killed several Indians.

The Indian government has for far too long left the management of its neighbours to the United States

. A case in point was India's decision not to take any serious action against Pakistan in the aftermath of 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai. Instead, New Delhi continued to rely on American leverage to put pressure on Islamabad to bring the masterminds of those terror strikes to justice. In fact, ever since the US targeted Afghanistan in the aftermath of September 11, 2001, India has failed to evolve its own narrative on Af-Pak, allowing the West and more troublingly Pakistan to dictate the terms of Indian involvement in Afghanistan.

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