Cross-border terrorism: The case of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir

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Abstract

Cross-border terrorism has been present in the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir since 1947, when both the dominions of India and Pakistan were created. One of the first documentations of the phenomenon was Maharaja Hari Singh’s letter addressed to Lord Mountbatten, dated 26 October 1947, which accompanied the Instrument of Accession and cited the need for protection against ‘soldiers in plain clothes, and desperadoes with modern weapons,’ which resulted in ‘wanton destruction of life and property’ (Singh, 1947). Over seven decades later, we can see that despite the logic of terrorism remaining the same – to destabilise India – the operations have grown more complex and the destruction more radical. Drug trafficking is also an old phenomenon in the region, as the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir is close to the main drug-producing areas of the world. What is relatively recent is the international recognition of the fact that terrorist groups with links to the Pakistani state are also trafficking drugs. This paper seeks to first investigate how cross-border terrorism works on the ground; then examine recent trends in the production and trafficking of drugs; and, lastly, to explore how closely the two criminal areas are linked. In doing so, our starting point shall be hitherto SADF research on both topics, as both drug trafficking and terrorism have been examined extensively