Solve Kashmir, End Pakistani Terrorism

Pakistan should not be viewed as a unitary state when analyzing its strategy toward India. Within Pakistan, loci of power compete to establish agendas that are at times divergent or even contradictory. Currently, Pakistan’s balance rests with powerful and entrenched interests that have not renounced terrorism as a strategy toward India. To protect itself from future terrorist attacks, India must focus on tilting Pakistan’s balance of power away from those who would support or accept terrorism as a means of achieving Pakistan’s interests. A resolution for Kashmir lies at the heart of such an effort. If a comprehensive agreement were reached on the status of Kashmir, it would remove the primary motivation for the Pakistani security services to maintain a terrorist infrastructure aimed at India. Only by changing the incentives of the Pakistani security services can the current balance be altered.