10-05-2025
Pakistan is on the precipice — China can help it get back from the edge, stop unreasonable aggression
In the days since the horrific attack at Pahalgam by Pakistan-sponsored terrorists, India has signaled clarity on two fronts: One, it would raise the level of deterrence that it put in place with the Balakot strikes after the attack in Pulwama, scale up the reprisals after every act of terror. Two, its response would be precise, calibrated, and proportionate. Operation Sindoor targeted terror infrastructure in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir and Pakistan — it did not target government or military infrastructure or civilians. India did not step onto the escalatory ladder. It chose its targets carefully, and the ball is in Pakistan's court to dial down on its misbehaviour and transgressions. In sobering contrast, the military leaders at the Pakistan Army GHQ and the ISI have continued to blunder and overstep. The attempted drone and missile attacks on military installations in Indian cities — thwarted by Indian air defence systems, including the S-400 and indigenous Akash — ceasefire violations along the LoC and foiled attacks on Bikaner and Jaisalmer, are irresponsible provocations. In response, India has taken out the air defence system in Lahore, while continuing to refrain from targeting civilian areas.
In every communique and briefing by the Ministry of Defence and Ministry of External Affairs, India has underlined that its armed forces have only responded to attacks by Pakistan. India needs and wants nothing from Pakistan except an end to its support of terror on its soil. Even as it does not seek a military confrontation, however, it has made it clear that it will not shy away from responding to Pakistan's brazen provocations. Unfortunately, the garrison state of Pakistan has acted recklessly even by the low standards it has set for itself. After all, with its economy in shambles and its polity gripped by dysfunction, it has little to gain, and much to lose, from a prolonged conflict with India.
The shadow of war may arguably encourage General Asif Munir and the military establishment he leads to believe that they have gained a reprieve from the restiveness they have been facing on the domestic front. The jailed former PM, Imran Khan, continues to be popular, the puppets Rawalpindi has propped up in Islamabad enjoy little credibility and, in recent years, the army has had to bear the brunt of widespread protests. It confronts the Frankenstein's monster of extremist groups, while it deals with major insurgencies on the border with Afghanistan and in Balochistan. The US, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar, have asked for an end to the escalation with India. But that will not be enough. The world's capitals must send out a firm message — it is time they assign responsibility for the conflict where it belongs. China has the greatest leverage and highest stakes in Pakistan — it is the largest investor in the country, Pakistan is its client state. The unrest in Balochistan is already a thorn in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. Beijing has said that it does not want its neighbours locked in a prolonged conflict. If so, it should make that desire clearer to the country that fired the first shot and keeps its finger on the trigger.
