Pakistan, left red-faced by India’s precision strikes at its terror infrastructures exposing to the international community how the rogue state has been harbouring terrorism, is making a desperate attempt to escalate the situation. Indian armed forces demonstrated yet another capability of precision, focused and measured response to Pakistan’s misadventure by targeting the air defence radars and systems at a number of locations in the country and reportedly neutralised the air defence system at Lahore. Pakistan attempted to target a number of military targets in Northern and Western India, but those were neutralised by India’s Integrated Counter Unmanned Aerial System Grid and Air Defence systems. Pakistan, by deliberately targeting and killing civilians by intensifying unprovoked firing across the Line of Control using mortars and heavy-calibre artillery in Kupwara, Baramulla, Uri, Poonch, Mendhar and Rajouri sectors in Jammu and Kashmir, has committed a war crime which needs to be treated as an act of terror by the international community. India was compelled to respond to bring mortar and artillery fire from Pakistan to a halt. Pakistan’s unprovoked shelling left 16 Indian civilians, including three women and five children, dead and 59 injured, which exposed its belligerent behaviour after Indian armed forces targeted the terror infrastructure and killed about 100 terrorists during Operation Sindoor. Pakistani Army troops attending the funeral of slain terrorists linked to Lashkar-e-Toiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed and Hizbul Mujahideen and the state funeral being accorded to slain terrorists hasly re-established that the country has become an epicentre of terrorism and is state-sponsored. India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misry, during a media briefing on the evolving situation, has rightly asserted that “Pakistan’s reputation as the epicentre of global terrorism is rooted in a number of instances” and made reference to terrorist outfit Al Qaeda’s founder Osama Bin Laden being traced in Pakistan and Pakistan dubbing him a martyr. US Navy Seals eliminated Osama at his secret hideout at Abbottabad in Pakistan in 2011nearly ten years after the series of coordinated terror attacks by Al Qaeda in the United States claimed nearly 3000 innocent lives on September 11, 2001. India constantly reminding the international community about how Pakistan poses a serious security threat across the globe by continuing to harbour cross-border terrorism with impunity has convinced the majority among the international community that cross-border terrorism from across the border has become a serious security threat to India and other countries and they must unite to counter it. Knowing well that Pakistan’s military strength is no match for India’s, Pakistan is shamelessly spreading fake news about shooting down Rafale jets and alleging escalation by India to play the victim card before the international community. Indian media and people must not allow the rumour mills to be run by Pakistan and prevent the spread of such fake news on social media. A section of Western media seeking to present India’s measured and non-escalatory retaliation in response to the Pahalagam terror attack as escalation in the conflict by both sides is biased and distorts the reporting of the evolving situation. The Ministry of External Affairs increasing the frequency of media briefings on the evolving situation will help effectively counter such propaganda in Western media. The all-party meeting extending full support to the measures taken by the Indian armed forces has sent out a clear message that India is one in the fight against terrorism, and the expression of this national unity will embolden the spirit of the armed forces to carry out their tasks and determined approach to thwart all evil designs by Pakistan and continue a measured, focused but non-escalatory response. The Indian armed forces’ reiteration about their commitment to non-escalation will be subject to Pakistan refraining from any form of escalation. World leaders calling upon both India and Pakistan to de-escalate must ask Pakistan to stop unprovoked firing across the LoC and extend cooperation to India by dismantling all bases of terrorist outfits, handing over to India all terrorists taking shelter in the country who are involved in cross-border terrorism in India, including those involved in the Pahalgam terror attack, and extending cooperation to the United Nations proscribing The Resistant Front (TRF), a proxy of LeT which carried out the Pahalgam attack. Pakistan’s blatant act of opposing the TRF name in the United Nations Security Council statement on the Pahalgam terror attack, even after the terrorist outfit claimed responsibility, exposed its unwillingness to stop sponsoring terrorism. This justifies India’s decision to exercise its right to defend against cross-border terrorism by targeting terror infrastructure inside Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir. Indian armed forces have demonstrated their capabilities to teach Pakistan a tough lesson if it does not stop escalating. Pakistan must realise that it is playing with fire and will have to pay a heavy price and risk further isolation if it does not refrain from escalating the situation and stop indulging in any provocative act against India.