Year 2025 began on an ominous note. During the new year celebrations in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, a person named Shamsuddin Jabbar drove a truck into a crowd of people and then carried out a shootout. 14 people were killed and 57 were injured in the first major terror attack of 2025. The attacker had allegiance with the ISIS. Surprisingly, the US did not initiate any major action indicating a dilution of its stance against terrorism.
It was the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22, that caught the international attention. The terrorists of The Resistance Force (a proxy of Lashkar-e-Taiba based in Pakistan) carried out selective killing of Hindu tourists that led to the death of 26 people. The terror attack had unprecedented national outrage and led to a brief military conflict between India and Pakistan from May 7 to May 10. Codenamed Operation Sindoor, India avenged the death of innocent civilians by targeting terror hubs inside Pakistan. When Pakistan escalated the conflict to conventional war, India destroyed the war-waging infrastructure of Pakistan military, forcing it to seek cessation of hostilities with India.
India did well to send seven all-party delegations to the various parts of the world in May-June this year, to highlight the threat of terrorism globally, with particular reference to Pakistan as its epicentre. The government of India could display political solidarity to the world and India succeeded in bringing the focus once again to global terrorism. But the global arena was too busy thereafter with Russia-Ukraine war, Israel-Hamas conflict and Israel/US conflict with Iran. All these conflicts, along with unstable security situation in the Middle East in some way diluted the focus of the international community towards global terrorism.
India once again was the target of terrorism when a car laden with explosives blew up near Red Fort in New Delhi on November 10, which killed 15 people and injured more than 20. The car was being driven by Dr. Umar Mohammed, who was from Pulwama and was working in Al-Falah University in Faridabad. Just prior to the blast, 2900 kg of explosives were recovered in Faridabad. The initial investigation points to a larger network of doctors and professionals, with links in Kashmir, Faridabad and their foreign handlers. NIA is handling the investigations and reportedly some links with Pakistan based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) have emerged. But the most worrying sign is the radicalisation of educated people towards terror acts, also called ‘white collar terrorism’.
The terrorism in the year 2025 hit a full cycle when two gunmen killed 15 people and injured 40 at Bondi Beach in Sydney Australia on December 14. It was a deliberate attack on the Jewish people during a Hanukkah celebration being attended by one thousand people. In some ways, the terror attack was similar to the Pahalgam terror attack where the terrorists singled out and killed Hindu people. The terror attack at Bondi beach has been attributed to the Islamic State terror network. With Australia on the radar of terrorism, all the geographical continents are now afflicted with the scourge of extremism. That should be an issue of major concern for the security agencies globally in the next year 2026.
One of the main reasons for the revival of terrorism in the year 2025 is the inward approach of major powers, particularly the US. Under President Trump, the US has not given much attention to its global war on terrorism. In fact, President Trump has gone towards deployment of National Guard troops to several cities in the US, including Washington DC. The National Guard consists of state-based troops, generally utilised to fight natural disasters and major protests. In the past, National Guard troops have been rarely used for controlling law & order situation. The example of National Guard clearly shows that the US is not much interested in the global fight against terrorism.
President Trump’s patronage of Pakistan, particularly the Pakistani Army Chief Asim Munir is baffling. The embrace of Pakistan started with an unprecedented lunch hosted by President Trump for Asim Munir at the White House on June 18. President Trump has bypassed the elected government in Pakistan and he is now dealing with Asim Munir to deploy Pakistani troops for the proposed International Stabilisation Force in Gaza. The backing of Pakistan by the US obviously is music to the ears of terror groups like JeM and LeT, operating from Pakistan. The Islamic State would also be emboldened to carry out terror attacks across the world. The revival of Al-Qaeda is also a distinct possibility now.
The way forward to deal with terrorism as a global threat presents new challenges. A large number of UN bodies dealing with terrorism, namely UN Security Council ‘s Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC), UN Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT), Counter -Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) etc. have proved to be largely ineffective in preventing violent extremism and terror financing. It would be more appropriate that the global security agencies give a de novo look to the new challenges of terrorism, particularly ‘white collar terrorism’ and cyber threats. India can take the lead to initiate renewed focus on combating terrorism. India’s stand on cross-border terrorism during Operation Sindoor can be a guiding force to deal with the revival of terrorism globally. If urgent steps are not initiated globally, then the year 2026 may be another lifeline to revival of global terrorism, 25 years after the 9/11 attacks of the year 2001.
