The Pakistani government has put forward a tone of measure after activists killed more than two dozen Indian civilians in Kashmir on Tuesday, insisting there is no interest in escalating tensions with India.
But throughout Pakistan, there is increasing concern over the possibility of Indian officials suggesting a possible military strike, with televisions filled with defense analyst warnings that unpredictable consequences should the nuclear-weapon neighbors intensify.
The Indian government has not formally formalized any group as being attacked in a scenic area of ​​Kashmir managed by India. However, it announced a series of punitive measures against Pakistan on Wednesday, including a moratorium on key water treaties to answer Pakistan's support for terrorist attacks in India.
After India's announcement, Pakistan said it arranged a meeting of the National Security Council of the country's highest security and foreign policy decision-making forum to respond.
In the Kashmir attack, one of which claimed and fought a war, triggering a familiar pattern.
Indian news media, in large part, were consistent with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government, quickly pointed a finger to Pakistan. Pakistan denied participation and accused India of trying to shift its focus to safety errors in rest areas.
The last radical attack of this scale in Kashmir's Indian region occurred in 2019, when dozens of Indian security personnel were killed. After that attack, India launched an air battle, which had just stopped a full-scale war.
Some Pakistani analysts warn that the current confrontation could intensify beyond the 2019 standoff. “India's upgrade has begun last night and it will be larger than in February 2019,” Islamabad security analyst Syed Muhammad Ali said on Wednesday.
He claimed that India is using the attack to seek solidarity with the United States and to remove tensions against President Trump’s threat to tariffs and reshape the push to become an independent move in Kashmir.
As of Wednesday, Pakistani officials said they had seen no evidence of India's military mobilization. They said Pakistani troops remained vigilant on the control line of India and Pakistan in Kashmir.
A senior Pakistani security official, who discussed sensitive diplomatic and military affairs under anonymity, said Pakistan would carefully carry out any tit-tat escalation, but would hinder India’s invasion if it happens.
Some military analysts, as well as current and former officials, accused India of conducting the attack and noted that Vice President JD Vance is visiting India.
“They blame Pakistan for not having any evidence,” retired brigade general Ahmed Saeed Minhas said on TV channel Geo News.
He then joked about the 2019 standoff between Pakistan and India, when videos of Indian Air Force pilot Abhinandan Varthaman, wing commander, drinking tea in custody of Pakistan.
“If India tries anything again, they should remember – we have tea to Abinandan in 2019,” said Mr Mihas. “This time, we might even give him cookies.”
The current tensions restore memories of the 2019 plot.
The suicide bombing in Pulwama City in February prompted an Indian air strike in Pakistan, triggering a melee. An Indian jet was shot down, and Wing Commander Varthaman was captured and released later – a gesture that helped ease tensions, even briefly.
Officials say the situation is different from 2019. Despite the radical Islamic group Jaish-e-Mohammed and attacks against security personnel, Tuesday's attack involved unarmed civilians and any claim for liability was vague and unverified.
So far, the Pakistani military has not issued a public statement on Tuesday's attack. The Foreign Ministry condemned the loss of life on Wednesday, denied any role in Pakistan and urged India to avoid “premature and irresponsible allegations”.
Officials and analysts warn that this good fortune may not repeat even though the region avoided disasters in 2019.
“In the last upgrade, both India and Pakistan were lucky enough to get off the ladder,” said former interim information minister Murtaza Solangi.
“This time, we are in a more dangerous stage,” he said. “The breakdown of the global order and the excessive media exchange of India makes it more difficult for Modi to act reasonably. If India does not stop this madness, both countries will be net losers.”
