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Former Pentagon official Michael Rubin supports India’s military response to the Pahalgam terror attack, urging the US to label Pakistan as a state sponsor of terror. He criticised Pakistan’s track record on minorities and terrorism.
New Delhi:
Amid heightened tensions between India and Pakistan after Operation Sindoor, former Pentagon official Michael Rubin has defended New Delhi’s military response to avenge the Pahalgam terror attack and criticised Pakistan for its alleged role in “sponsoring terror”. According to Mr Rubin, the US should “unequivocally” side with India.
“The United States has previously designated individual terrorist groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba, but we haven’t designated Pakistan itself as a state sponsor of terror. It’s time to stop designating the tentacles of the octopus and designate its head. The United States should side unequivocally with India,” the senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute said.
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He added, “The job of any democratic leader is to protect their citizens. What we see PM Modi and others across the Indian political spectrum doing is rallying to the realisation that all Indians are under threat.”
Citing Pakistan Army Chief General Asim Munir’s remarks on Hindus and Muslims living in one country together, Mr Rubin said, “The fact of the matter is that they live together successfully in India. The only reason why they no longer live successfully together in Pakistan is that Pakistan has systematically driven its minorities out of the country.”
The former Pentagon official called Pakistan a “failed state”.
“Every time Pakistan fails inwardly, in terms of corruption, economy, society, or its leadership, it turns its guns on its minorities to distract the Pakistani people from the government’s failings. That is the playbook of a failed state. Fortunately, India has a different playbook in which all Indians thrive and openly discuss their issues,” he said.
#WATCH | Washington, DC | Former Pentagon official and a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, Michael Rubin, says, “… The United States has previously designated individual terrorist groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba, but we haven’t designated Pakistan itself as a… pic.twitter.com/Ki6OJ3kBVn
— ANI (@ANI) May 8, 2025
Mr Rubin, earlier, had condemned the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people died, and highlighted Pakistan’s long-standing role in harboring terrorist groups.
“We know that Pakistan is home to a myriad of terrorist groups, including Lashkar-e-Taiba. Unfortunately, because of a lack of concerted counter-terror action, because Pakistani diplomats are playing the West for fools, we now have an expansion of the problem, not only in Pakistan but frankly in Bangladesh as well. What India now needs to do is to cut Pakistan’s jugular. There’s no ifs, ands, or buts. There are no shortcuts anymore,” he had said.
India on Tuesday night carried out 24 missile strikes in 25 minutes across nine locations in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir, killing 70 terrorists and injuring another 60. According to government sources, the attack was more than a military response and was synchronised to avoid detection and maximise damage.
Pakistan, in response, resorted to ‘arbitrary and indiscriminate firing’ and artillery shelling across the LoC, killing at least 16 civilians in Jammu and Kashmir.. The Indian Army is retaliating in a befitting manner.
In view of the rising tensions, Indian aviation authorities shut 24 airports including Chandigarh, Srinagar, Amritsar, Ludhiana, Shimla, Jodhpur, Jammu, and Pathankot. Many schools across Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan have also been closed till Saturday.