With the extremist elements in Pakistan expanding their sphere of influence, an American think tank on Friday warned that there could be another major terrorist attack inside India by these militants.
In its intelligence analysis after the first phase of Lok Sabha elections, Texas-based global intelligence agency Stratfor said India is watching fearfully as the jihadist insurgency in neighbouring Pakistan has spread to India's doorstep in Pakistan's Punjab province.
These attacks, Stratfor said, have revealed a trend in which the Kashmiri Islamist militant proxies formerly controlled by Pakistan's ISI are now moving into the jihadist orbit under Al-Qaida and the Taliban to carry out more complex and deadly attacks.
"Since these are the same militants who traditionally have had their sights on India, it is very likely that India will witness another large-scale attack," Stratfor said.
Under Congress rule, it said, India restrained itself from attacking Pakistan following the November 2008 Mumbai attack.
"New Delhi's restraint arose from fears of destabilizing Pakistan further and granting the militants' wish for a cross-border conflict to divert the Pakistani military's attention from the Afghan-Pakistani border region toward India," it said.
