What is the endgame?

Over the years, India has emerged as a rising global power with expanding diplomatic, economic, and military clout. Pakistan, on the other hand, remains trapped in a cycle of political instability, economic fragility, and a strategic fixation on Kashmir, propped up by its military-intelligence establishment.

The India-Pakistan crisis has been a persistent and deeply complex geopolitical challenge for over seven decades. The critical question that looms over policymakers, strategists, and citizens alike is this: what is the endgame? To answer this, one must begin by acknowledging that the India-Pakistan crisis has revolved around number of issues with Kashmir being the bone of contention. At the heart of the crisis lies the asymmetry of options available to both states.

Pakistan’s strategic playbook has long rested on a singular card — terrorism — wielded as a tool of asymmetric warfare to bleed India through a thousand cuts. But while this card has caused undeniable pain, especially in a plural and democratic society like India where every life matters and every terror strike reverberates across the political and media spectrum, it is inherently limited. It cannot compel a change in India’s policy, it cannot deliver political gains in Kashmir, and it increasingly carries costs for Pakistan in terms of international image, diplomatic isolation, and internal security blowback.

India, in contrast, holds a suite of much more potent levers. These include but are not limited to: Water security through the Indus Waters Treaty. Economic pressure, by denying market access or connectivity to Pakistan, and limiting cross-border trade. Regional integration, through partnerships with Afghanistan, Iran, and Central Asia that bypass Pakistan. Global status and institutional influence, with India’s growing voice in forums such as the G20, BRICS, and Quad, and a rising profile at the UN and beyond. Military superiority, both conventional and in counter-terror operations, increasingly sharpened through modernization and doctrinal clarity.

Importantly, India’s most powerful response to Pakistan’s terror strategy is not just military, but developmental. The transformation of Jammu & Kashmir into a a peaceful, prosperous, and integrated part of India is the ultimate rebuke to Pakistan’s narrative.

As New Delhi invests in infrastructure, governance, security reform, and employment in the region, the ideological legitimacy of Pakistan’s claim to Kashmir is steadily eroded.

Trends suggest that Pakistan’s terror card is on a downward slope. International scrutiny, pressure from Gulf partners and China’s growing wariness of instability on its Belt and Road corridors, and the mounting cost of hosting and sustaining terror networks are all limiting Pakistan’s maneuverability. India must continue to play a role in shaping these external pressures, working with partners to shrink the space for state-supported terrorism.

Domestically, India is also evolving. Post-Uri and Balakot, a new doctrine of punitive response has emerged. Counter-terror operations are increasingly integrated with intelligence, cyber capabilities, and surveillance technologies. Political will has become more assertive. This convergence of military modernization and political clarity will, over time, deter adventurism across the Line of Control.

Moreover, India diplomatic success in isolating Pakistan in global forums — whether by blocking SAARC summits or lobbying for Pakistan s grey-listing in FATF — has shown that multilateral instruments can be used to build sustained pressure.

A realistic endgame must recognize that total “victory” or capitulation is unlikely. Instead, the aim should be a managed containment of Pakistan’s disruptive behavior, achieved through persistent use of Indian leverage — economic, diplomatic, military, and informational.

This requires a strategic posture akin to Cold War-era containment doctrines, not in a militarized sense, but through a comprehensive and long-term approach. India’s strength lies in its long game: building national resilience, projecting global leadership, and gradually eroding the foundations of Pakistan’s proxy war model. The India-Pakistan crisis does not lend itself to neat resolutions or dramatic peace breakthroughs. Its endgame lies in strategic maturity — a recognition that Pakistan’s terror apparatus is not an existential threat but a persistent nuisance that can be contained, discredited, and ultimately defeated through a sustained policy of firmness and patience.

India must think beyond the next strike, the next headline, or the next political cycle. It must focus on reshaping the regional architecture, elevating its global standing, and consolidating its internal strength. Pakistan’s terror card will weaken — and is weakening.

In the end, the true victory will not be in military terms alone but in building a confident, secure, and globally respected India that renders the very logic of Pakistan’s hostility obsolete. That is the only enduring endgame worth pursuing.

Sheikh Khalid writes for GK on Politics, Terrorism, Education & Strategic affairs and is presently heading International Centre for Peace Studies.