After Pahalgam, what next for Islamabad?

THE ULTIMATE IRONY WOULD BE IF BEIJING TURNS OUT TO BE THE DE-ESCALATOR, GIVEN ITS CLOUT WITH PAKISTAN

- Tara Kartha

The drums of war are rising in crescendo, as India launched attacks against terrorist camps in not only Pakistan occupied Kashmir, but for the first time since 1971 against Pakistan itself, and that too in the heart of Punjab.

There is a huge potential for escalation, especially since it seems that Pakistan army chief General Asim Munir, has put his reputation on the line by climbing onto a tank at an army exercise and declaring that any Indian "military misadventure" would be met by a "swift notch up response".

But are attacks by India in fact a military misadventure? By any analysis point, it is not. It is a calculated, extremely precise counterterrorism attack: Foreign secretary Vikram Misri said they were "non-escalatory... measured... and did not hit any military target". The message was clear. It was up to Pakistan to decide whether it wanted to hit civilians and the Indian army. After all, there are no terrorist camps here.

There was another type of signalling a day earlier. The ministry of home affairs ordered civil defence drills in 244 districts, indicating that India was readying itself for a complete war. Again, however, this was a defensive measure mobilising only voluntary organisations like the National Cadet Corps, or the National Service Scheme.