Matters seem to be getting out of hand because of Indian incompetence. The Indian attempt to investigate the matter and arrest the culprits who committed the Pehelgam attack has run into difficulties, indicating that the Indian criminal justice system is of monumental incompetence, especially in a case where someone (usually one of the victims) has not pointed out the accused. Indian investigators have remained cagey about the perpetrators, probably because they realize that there is no way the hints by the government of Pakistani involvement can be made to stick. However, the information that the Keystone Kops in India received, that the culprit was heading to Colombo, which incidentally would have let Pakistan off the hook, turned out to be incorrect. Even though the Sri Lankan police turned the flight that landed inside out, no arrest could be made. Even a layman knows that as time passes, the chances of solving a crime becomes more and more difficult as well as of making an arrest.
The really frightening thing is that it is on the basis of such bumbling that India not only ‘suspended’ the Indus Waters Treaty but it launched four Rafale fighters against Pakistan on the night of Friday/Saturday. It was only because The Pakistan Air Force not only jammed the Rafales’ sensors, but also launched its own J10 fighters. If the Rafale carried missiles allowing them to hit targets in Pakistan or Azad Kashmir while remaining across the border, the PAF aircraft also had similar missiles which could have taken out the Rafales. They turned tail and fled. It was therefore befitting that Pakistan tested its Abdali missile the next day, thereby demonstrating the strategic punch it has.
This should not be misinterpreted as anything other than a firm resolve to defend the country, but if is kept in mind that the hotheads running India are capable of such a colossal blunder as the Pehelgam attacks, and the even greater one of trying to blame Pakistan, the present situation is not sustainable, as it is likely that one side, probably India, will make a mistake that cannot be recalled. While warfare is increasingly approaching an exact science, the sort of war-scare brinkmanship India is playing at is still unpreictable, and because of that, subject to the risk of human error and miscalculation.
