Familiar Challenges, New Level of Response

Operation Sindoor redraws India's terms of engagement with terror while sending a message of justice and reassurance to its citizens

- Jawed Ashraf

The Pahalgam attack on April 22 crossed a new line. It was more than an act of terror linked to Kashmir. It aimed to incite a war of religions. Now, 14 days later, Operation Sindoor combines a strong military message with a deeply emotional symbolism. India's military retaliation following the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) being kept in abeyance, has justifiably risen to a new level. Neither the military step, nor its scale and depth, should come as a surprise after Prime Minister Narendra Modi repeatedly laid down the objectives of our response, the impact of Pahalgam on our national psyche and Pakistan's brazen reaction. It also followed a natural course of increasingly more aggressive counter-terrorism measures in response to the relentless campaign of terror, in which Pathankot, Uri and Pulwama were high water marks.

Among the targets, Muridke and Bahawalpur stand out. For decades, they have been the main nurseries of terrorism against India. They are the pride of Pakistan's army, among the hubs protected even from US pressure to dismantle these centres as part of the conditions for assistance to Pakistan.

The strikes did more than hit the heart of the terrorism ecosystem in Pakistan. They sent a message of justice and reassurance to the people in India. It was a signal to Pakistan's military that India would not be deterred by its threats and will retaliate beyond the boundaries of war-gamed steps. It showed political and military readiness to take acceptable risks. It was a message to the neighbourhood about India's willingness to use strength to secure its interest and to the world that India was prepared to act on its own. What India has done is not just redraw the pattern of response but take the levers of control on post-attack developments and pre-empt international intervention for de-escalation, which, in the past, left Pakistan free after cosmetic steps to address terrorism.