India and the European Union held their 15th Counterterrorism Dialogue earlier this week, and the discussions carried particular weight in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack.

The meeting underscored a growing convergence between New Delhi and Brussels on addressing terrorism in South Asia, particularly the nexus of cross-border groups and financial networks that sustain them.

Both sides strongly condemned the Pahalgam attack, in which innocents were targeted in Jammu and Kashmir, emphasising that such assaults undermine not only regional stability but also the broader global struggle against extremism.

During the dialogue, Indian interlocutors laid out in detail the linkages between Pakistan-based networks and the attack, highlighting the role of The Resistance Front (TRF), a proxy outfit that has often been described as a front organisation of Lashkar-e-Taiba.

Indian officials were clear in stressing that TRF enjoys state-backed sanctuaries and logistical support across the border, drawing on both local recruitment and external financing channels. India also drew attention to the persistent challenge of terrorism financing, underlining that curbing these flows remains central to meaningful counterterrorism cooperation.

The European Union delegation echoed India’s concerns and expressed solidarity against what it identified as persistent and destabilising cross-border terrorism.

The EU reaffirmed its commitment to supporting India in its fight, with officials emphasising that Europe itself has suffered from terrorism and thus recognises the need to address both the operational and ideological foundations of extremism.

In this context, the EU’s decision to “pull up” Pakistan — effectively urging it to rein in the groups operating under its patronage and to honour its global counterterrorism obligations — was seen as a diplomatic win for India.

The dialogue also included granular discussions on mechanisms to enhance information sharing, tighten oversight of suspicious banking transactions, and improve technological cooperation against encrypted communication and online radicalisation networks.

Against this backdrop of consensus, the political manoeuvring in Islamabad revealed an uneasy contradiction. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, while facing international scrutiny over terror safe havens, simultaneously attempted to project Pakistan’s economic potential by courting former U.S. President Donald Trump with offers of access to the country’s lucrative mineral resources.

These overtures — positioned as an incentive for renewed American engagement — appeared poorly timed when juxtaposed with fresh allegations of Pakistani complicity in supporting cross-border groups that conducted the Pahalgam attack.

The strategy highlighted Islamabad’s bid to shift the discourse towards economic partnerships while deflecting attention from terror-financing concerns repeatedly raised by both India and its Western partners.

For New Delhi, the outcome of the dialogue was both symbolic and strategic. Symbolically, the open alignment of the EU’s position with India’s narrative on Pakistan-sponsored terrorism further legitimised India’s long-standing claims on the international stage.

Strategically, it strengthened the momentum for a collaborative global approach that looks beyond episodic condemnations to institution-level convergence against terror financing, propaganda, and logistics.

The EU’s backing also improves the diplomatic space for India to push for tighter scrutiny of Pakistan in forums like the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), ensuring counterterrorism obligations remain tied to tangible compliance benchmarks.

In essence, the 15th Counterterrorism Dialogue served as a platform where India’s counterterrorism diplomacy yielded dividends, delivering both solidarity and actionable commitments from Europe while exposing Islamabad’s attempt to balance international criticism with economic opportunism.

Together, the developments reinforced India’s effort to isolate Pakistan on the terrorism issue while deepening cooperation with influential global actors.

Based On TOI Video Report