The Mask Slips Further

Publishing date: 02 November 2025

Published in: The Nation

Once again, Pakistan has brought forward concrete evidence exposing India’s covert operations aimed at destabilising the region. Reports of a Pakistani fisherman being coerced into espionage for Indian intelligence, coupled with recent statements from Pakistan’s defence leadership, have shed light on the increasingly reckless tactics being employed by New Delhi. The strategy is clear: keep Pakistan engaged on multiple fronts while projecting itself as a victim of regional insecurity before the international community.

The charade, however, is wearing thin. The carefully curated image of India as a peace-loving regional power is now contradicted by its own actions, actions that betray a deep-seated obsession with undermining its neighbours rather than fostering cooperation. The persistent pattern of proxy operations, disinformation campaigns, and political aggression has long impeded South Asia’s potential for progress and peace. What could have been a region defined by economic collaboration and shared development has been repeatedly held hostage to India’s ambitions of regional hegemony.

Worse still, the rot is not confined to its external dealings. Within its own borders, the systematic targeting of minorities, stifling of dissent, and normalisation of hate speech point to a nation sliding fast into the abyss of fascism. The world can no longer ignore the dissonance between India’s democratic claims and its authoritarian impulses.

Pakistan’s restraint and diplomatic transparency continue to expose this hypocrisy. The evidence is no longer deniable, nor are the consequences limited to geopolitics. The region’s stability — and the dignity of its people — depends on calling out aggression for what it is. The mask has slipped, and the world must decide whether it will keep pretending not to notice