Prime Minister Modi giving complete operational freedom to armed forces to decide their action, timing and target in response to the terror attack on tourists at Pahalgam last week has cleared the decks for a strong and calibrated response to crush cross-border terrorism sponsored by Pakistan. Giving armed forces a free hand is a pragmatic decision, as all three Indian armed forces – the Army, Navy and Air Force – are globally well known for their professional acumen and strategic brilliance. A combination of military response and non-kinetic measures will ensure India’s retribution against Pakistan and compel the “rogue state” to end cross-border terrorism once and for all. India suspending the Indus Water Treaty with Pakistan and downsizing the respective high commission strengths have already set the direction of non-kinetic measures. Political leadership giving armed forces operational freedom is a demonstration of full faith in the professional expertise of the forces in managing the escalation ladder if military response leads to a retaliation by Pakistan. The decision of the central government also sent a clear message that there is no need for any speculation over the action, timing and target of response by armed forces. Unprovoked firing by Pakistan along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir in violation of the ceasefire has only added to the tension, prompting India to issue stern warnings against ceasefire violations. Prime Minister Narendra Modi chairing meetings of Cabinet Committee on Security and Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs on Wednesday close on the heels of announcement of giving operational freedom to armed forces indicated determination of the government to translate into action the announcement by Prime Minister Modi after the dastardly massacre of tourists at Pahalgam of punishing the terrorist “far more severely than they can imagine.” India is also expected to mount pressure on the International Monetary Fund, World Bank and Asian Development Bank to slash funding to Pakistan and flag the neighbouring country’s support to terrorism at the meetings of these multilateral institutions. India convincing these multilateral funding agencies to slash funding to Pakistan will deal a severe economic blow to the neighbouring country, as this funding support, more particularly a three billion dollar bailout package from the IMF, is crucial for Pakistan to save its economy, which is struggling to pay back foreign loans and curb sticky inflation. Financial experts have warned that without the IMF bailout package, currency and inflation will become unmanageable for Pakistan. While armed forces will take the calibrated response in the manner they consider the best for the country’s strategic interest, strengthening counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency operations within the country is critical to stave off external threats. Unabated infiltration across international borders with Myanmar and Bangladesh has posed a grave internal security threat in the Northeast region. Expediting border fencing work along the India-Myanmar border and complete sealing of the India-Bangladesh border is essential to ensure multilayered security measures to prevent anti-Indian forces from intensifying the proxy war in the region. The proliferation of small arms across the porous border for many past decades is part of a conspiracy to keep the armed forces engaged in a proxy war waged in the form of insurgency to fight in the name of an imagined homeland. Despite spectacular success by police forces in the region and central law enforcement agencies in the recovery of illicit drugs and contraband smuggled into the region, unabated drug trafficking through the Myanmar and Bangladesh border and connivance of armed groups in the region highlight the security threat looming over the region and calls for urgent and deterrent action. Public opinion needs to be mobilised in a big way to denounce all armed groups, mount pressure on them to surrender the illegal arms in their possession and raise their demands with the government across the table for their peaceful and expeditious resolution. The region is already sitting on a ticking bomb, with the presence of a large number of illegal Bangladeshi migrants and the alarming rise of Islamist radicals among them in Assam and other states of the region. Unfortunately, while detection and deportation of illegal Bangladeshi infiltrators have remained an unfinished task, a large number of them have managed to enrol as voters, which amplifies the internal security threat and dangerous ecosystem being built in a clandestine manner for making the northeast region the next Jammu and Kashmir, the target of cross-border terrorist activities from launchpads in Bangladesh that may come up in the future. Pakistan and other enemy countries will be desperate to sabotage the growth and development in the northeast region, which has gained momentum after a decline in insurgency in the region, with the central and state governments pushing infrastructure, connectivity and industrial development in a big way to unlock its growth potential. India punishing terror outfits and their collaborators Pakistan also has strategic significance for the country’s security in Northeast frontiers and strengthening internal security in the region.