Pakistan’s decision to stop trading pharmaceuticals and other goods with India wasn’t just another policy change; it felt like drawing a line in the sand. After decades of leaning on India – from the medicines people depend on daily, to the raw materials (like APIs) factories need, and even things like clothes and electronics – Islamabad decided it was time for a fundamental shift. Think about it: until 2019, India supplied a massive chunk, sometimes up to sixty percent, of vital ingredients for Pakistan’s medicines. This move was about Pakistan trying to steer its own ship, aiming for real economic independence and the ability to ensure its own security.

However, a grim realization dawned upon Pakistani analysts and policymakers, increasingly supported by intelligence findings: this trade was not merely an economic exchange. Every rupee spent on Indian imports, they argued, effectively became an investment in a hidden proxy war conducted within Pakistan’s own borders. It became a painful realization for Pakistan: the revenue flowing to India through trade wasn’t simply about economic benefit for New Delhi. Evidence began to paint a grim picture, suggesting these funds were being channeled – whether directly or indirectly – to bankroll terrorist outfits. Tragically, these were the same groups unleashing violence through bombings, assassinations, and sabotage, leaving behind a devastating toll of hundreds of innocent Pakistani lives lost on their own soil.

Intelligence briefings and journalistic investigations painted a disturbing........

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