TACKLING OR DETERRING TERROR?

In his address to the nation last week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said 'Operation Sindoor' is still on. India, he underscored, “will not tolerate any nuclear blackmail” while acting against terror that it accuses Pakistan of sponsoring.

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Mr. Modi has also given the army a free hand in preparing for a robust military response. While many hailed PM Modi’s political resolve, questions over his apparent silence on U.S. President Donald Trump’s claims of averting a nuclear conflict could not be contained, despite denials by the Ministry of External Affairs.

Did Mr. Trump cross a line on the Kashmir issue? Read this explainer by our Diplomatic Affairs Editor Suhasini Haidar. “As India and Pakistan have learned over the decades, not talking [bilaterally] has not resolved the perennial issues between them, and the absence of direct talks often causes a vacuum that other countries seek to fill by offering to mediate,” she writes.

Another important question to ask is whether deterrence has really been ensured. Do listen to G. Sampath’s podcast with strategic and national security affairs expert Sushant Singh, who breaks down ‘Operation Sindoor’ and PM Modi’s three-point doctrine, raising significant questions in the military, geopolitical, and diplomatic domains.