'Bleed India by a thousand cuts' is Pakistan's doctrine that made it a terror state. But what is its origin story?

Pahalgam terror attack - Indo-Pak war is part of Pakistan's 'bleed India by a thousand cuts' policy. Who is behind it? The April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, Kashmir, is most certainly going to lead to a fifth Indo-Pak war. The attack by Pakistan-based terrorists is the latest instance of Pakistan's military policy of 'bleed India by a thousand cuts'. But what is its origin?

Though Pakistan's former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto didn't actually say 'bleed India by a thousand cuts' in as many terms, that phrase is often attributed to him unofficially by the architects of Pakistan’s strategic military doctrine.

In his 1963 book The Myth of Independence, Bhutto wrote, “Pakistan will wage a relentless struggle against India, exploiting every opportunity to weaken it.” He was advocating a war of attrition aimed at entrapping India in a constant struggle.

Bhutto's speech to the United Nations was about waging 'a thousand-year war' with India. 

The most relevant portion comes from his 22 September 1965 speech. In an address to the United Nations Security Council during the 1965 Indo-Pak War, Bhutto said, “We will wage a war for a thousand years, a war of defence.” 

He was stressing Pakistan’s resolve to continue fighting India despite military setbacks of the 1965 war, amid India’s advances and the global pressure for a ceasefire.

It can be said that Bhutto’s remarks and speeches after the Indo-Pak wars of 1965 and 1971 gave the political fuel and ideological ground for this strategy.

While it's associated with Bhutto’s rhetoric, it was formalised as policy by General Zia-ul-Haq.

Speaking at the Lahore Islamic Summit in 1974, Bhutto again referred to a long-term struggle. “We will fight for our rights and our honour, no matter how long it takes,” he said, while avoiding any calls for terrorism. 

While Bhutto did not endorse terrorism in as many words, his statements, particularly the 1965 UN speech, are often cited as the conceptual precursor to the "bleed India" strategy, which was indeed all about fomenting terrorism in India.

Bhutto's speech at the UN was an example of Pakistan's defiance despite defeat, and a vision of sustained resistance to rally his domestic audience.

It evolved into the "thousand cuts" doctrine, particularly since Pakistan’s defeat and Bangladesh’s creation after the Indo-Pak war of 1971, also known as the Bangladesh Liberation War.

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The strategy is essentially about a prolonged conflict, a covert or proxy war with India.

Pakistan's spy agency, the Interservices Intelligence of ISI, was the main executioner of the policy.

It supported insurgencies in India, particularly in Kashmir and Punjab, and allegedly in the Northeast.

Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, the military chief turned dictator, translated Bhutto’s vision into covert warfare, making it the doctrinal foundation of the policy.

After its heavy defeat at the hands of India and the split of East Pakistan into Bangladesh after the 1971 war, it became clear to Islamabad that conventional warfare was not feasible.

 Zia-ul-Haq, who was Pakistan's president from 1978, shaped Bhutto’s rhetoric into the covert strategy of low-intensity warfare.

Pakistan used insurgency and terrorism to destabilise India, supporting militant groups to wage proxy wars even as it avoided a direct military confrontation. 

The strategy aimed to exploit India’s diversity by instigating, supporting and aiding separatism, terrorism and instability. 

In the 1980s, the ISI set up a Punjab cell to arm Sikh militants involved in the Khalistani separatist movement. 

In the words of former ISI chief Hamid Gul, keeping Punjab destabilised was "equivalent to the Pakistan Army having an extra division at no cost.”

Those who received arms from Pakistan include followers of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, the Khalistani leader.

Many Khalistani militants were trained by Pakistan in camps in Lahore and Karachi.

After the end of the Soviet-Afghan War, Pakistan redirected Mujahideen fighters to Kashmir.

Over the years, Pakistan funded, supported, trained and handled several India-focused terror groups.

They include Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), which is behind some of the worst terror attacks in India, including the 2008 Mumbai attack and the recent Pahalgam attack of April 22.

Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), another terror group backed by Pakistan, was involved in major attacks like the 2001 assault on the Indian Parliament. 

LeT, led by Hafiz Saeed, who continues to live under Pakistan's protection, is an internationally designated terrorist. 

JeM, founded by Masood Azhar, have been linked to ISI backing, with its leader roaming openly in Pakistan.

Hizbul Mujahideen, another group that was active in Kashmir, received ISI support.

Pakistan gave these terror groups arms, training, and safe havens. It enabled cross-border infiltrations of the militants and terror attacks to create an impression of sustained unrest and instability in Kashmir.

The 'bleed India with a thousand cuts' doctrine worked for Pakistan as long as there was no direct military response from India. That changed over time, particularly since the 1999 Kargil War. In that war, Pakistan dressed up its regular army as Kashmiri militants, and India gave a fitting response by repelling the cross-border incursions.

Pakistan's expectation that India would not respond militarily to terror strikes was dashed in 2016, when Indian Army entered Pakistan-occupied Kashmir to destroy terror launchpads behind the Uri attack, in what became known as 'surgical strikes'. India again did a surgical strike, this time using its air force in 2019, after the Pulwama terror attack. 

On the diplomatic front, India exposed Pakistan’s terror sponsor role at the United Nations and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

This military and diplomatic pressure started the process of unravelling the 'bleed India' doctrine, making Pakistani commentator Pervez Hoodbhoy bemoan in 2016 that the policy was “in shambles.” 

The most recent setback to Pakistan -  before it revived terror-sponsoring with Pahalgam attack - came in the form of the grey listing of the country by FATF. 

Pakistan hurriedly jailed or put into house arrest some terror chiefs, in order to show to FATF that it is acting against terror, so that it can come out of the grey list.

Being put on that list had hampered Pakistan's ability to get foreign financial assistance to tide over its dire economic situation.

India’s resilience and global pressure have diminished the impact of the 'bleed India' strategy. 

But attacks and infiltrations were kept up by Pakistan. 

The 2025 Pahalgam massacre is the latest in this series.

This time, however, it faces a war that could uproot the 'bleed India' strategy.