It's time to wake up and smell the new normal.

Pakistan and India have remained locked in a mutually hostile relationship which has now turned a new corner. But many here at home remain wedded to archaic doctrines steeped in a conservative approach and a defensive mindset. We need to shed the old ways and adopt a fresh, proactive and clear-headed attitude towards India grounded firmly in the post-Maarka-e-Haq victory realities.

This week Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif stated unequivocally in Quetta that our "eastern neighbour" was sponsoring terrorism in Pakistan. A day earlier, Director General ISPR Lt Gen Ahmad Sharif Chaudhry echoed similar sentiments. Good. Clarity starts with identifying the culprit. A plan of action must now follow. Such a plan must outline what Pakistan will do if India does not desist from using proxies to wage a campaign of terror on our homeland.

This is where we tend to falter.

We falter for two reasons: first, we have lacked consistency in our approach towards India; second, our commentators and analysts are so welded into the traditional India policy that they are unwilling to critique it on merit. One major factor for our success over India in Maarka-e-Haq was this: our response to blatant Indian aggression defied our default approach which prioritised avoidance of escalation. The new 'Quid Pro Quo Plus' retaliation set new standards of conventional deterrence.

But now this approach needs to be distilled into a coherent doctrine which standardises our approach to India on all issues – including the Indus Water Treaty. Fortunately, we do not have to reinvent the wheel. One of our most respected and acclaimed strategists has already........

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