Tensions between India and Pakistan, two nuclear-armed neighbors with a volatile history, have sharply escalated following a deadly terrorist attack in India’s Jammu and Kashmir union territory. As accusations fly and military posturing intensifies, the risk of a direct confrontation is once again looming large over South Asia.

On April 29, Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar made a dramatic announcement, alleging that India is planning to launch a military strike against Pakistan within the next 24 to 36 hours. “Pakistan has credible intelligence that India intends to launch a military strike, using the Pahalgam incident as a false pretext,” Tarar stated on X (formerly Twitter). He warned that any act of aggression would be met with a “decisive response” and placed full responsibility for any serious consequences on India.

Tarar’s statement came after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi authorized the Indian armed forces with “full operational freedom” to choose the mode, targets, and timing of a response to the terrorist attack on April 22 in Pahalgam, southern Kashmir. That attack, which killed 26 civilians-mostly domestic tourists-was the deadliest incident in the region since the 2019 Pulwama suicide bombing that killed 40 paramilitary personnel.

The recent massacre was carried out at a popular picnic spot and shocked the nation. The Resistance Front (TRF), believed to be an offshoot of the Pakistan-based jihadist organization Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), reportedly claimed responsibility for the attack. In response, New Delhi swiftly accused Islamabad of supporting cross-border terrorism-an........

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