India’s approach at QUAD reveals a multi-pronged strategy focused on three reinforcing fronts:

For decades, India has laboured against the “hyphenation" that yoked it to Pakistan in the minds of Western policymakers. After all, such hyphenation often resulted in frustratingly balanced calls for “restraint on both sides" following terror attacks that were planned, sponsored, and launched from Pakistani soil.

The QUAD joint statement marks the most significant step yet in dismantling this outdated and dangerous framework. In what should be considered a landmark diplomatic outcome for New Delhi, the statement “unequivocally condemns all acts of terrorism…including cross-border terrorism." This specific phrase has long been a cornerstone of Indian diplomatic lexicon. It formally acknowledges the state-sponsored nature of the threat India faces, shifting the global narrative from a vague “dispute" to a recognised act of aggression directed from beyond its borders – often at the behest of religious zealots who command and control the Pakistani military.

In fact, prior to the meeting, Dr Jaishankar told international media that “victims and perpetrators (of terrorism) must never be equated" and that India “will exercise" its right to self-defence. This is significant, given that US Secretary of State and Trump’s national security adviser, Marco Rubio was........

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