AHEAD of Indian participation in the three-day Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council of National Coordinators meeting in Islamabad and immediately after the rebuke to Pakistan at United Nations General Assembly session in New York, Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Mr. Rajnath Singh have made statements with loaded meaning for the neighbour. Their statements about war and Operation Sindoor have prepared grounds for pressure on Pakistan as it assumes 2026-27 chairmanship of the SCO Council of Heads of State. It was a subtle play of assertive postures through indirect methods, setting stage for another round of fireworks when the Indians and Pakistanis come face to face at a common forum.

 

Prime Minister Mr. Modi chose his monthly broadcast ‘Mann Ki Baat’ to reiterate India’s hard policy against terrorism while Defence Minister Mr. Singh sent out a veiled warning to Pakistan that India is always prepared for war on every battleground. Mr. Modi’s invoking of the 2016 surgical strikes, the Balakot air strikes and Operation Sindoor through the broadcast was a reminder of the pain India can inflict on Pakistan in case of any misadventure. The PM specifically praised the Indian forces for carrying out surgical strikes on terrorist hideouts in Pakistan. The sum of all these statements by the Prime Minister is a smart message sent to Pakistan before it chooses the SCO platform to peddle another nonsensical campaign against India. Mr. Modi’s statement has come against the backdrop of the speech by Pakistan Prime Minister Mr. Shehbaz Sharif at the UN where he tried to put India in poor light over the Indus Water Treaty but got a mouthful from the Indian side and External Affairs Minister Mr. S Jaishankar in the right to reply. Pakistan was handed a humiliation at the UN. Almost at the same time, Mr. Rajnath Singh exhorted the forces to prepare for war to maintain peace in the future.

 

The import of his comment can be interpreted as a warning to Pakistan about India’s readiness for a combat in anticipation of its covert activities along the Line of Control (LoC) and the repeated attempts to provoke India through terror proxies. Mr. Singh made all the right noises at the Defence Conclave suggesting the war-preparedness of the Indian Armed Forces and hinting at another bigger operation against terrorist groups operating out of Pakistan. India has played wisely through the calibrated comments to keep the forces in a positive mental space and also putting Pakistan on notice ahead of the diplomatic engagements that are increasingly being used by Islamabad and its close allies like Turkey to rake up the Kashmir issue and blaming India for terrorist attacks happening in Pakistan’s restive provinces. It has become a practice for Pakistan to accuse India of supporting rebel groups in Balochistan and other provinces like Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The latest attempt came at the UNGA but was demolished by Indian diplomats with their rasping responses.

 

The snapping by EAM Mr. Jaishankar at a Pakistani journalist summed up Islamabad’s embarrassment at the top international forum. India has taken the other way round to send a message to Pakistan that any further stupid move at world platforms will have severe military consequences. By letting out another reminder about India’s zero-tolerance policy against terrorism ahead of the 10th anniversary of the surgical strikes, India has also started preparing grounds for preventive actions against infiltration as well as unrest in the Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir territories. The boiling public anger against Pakistani forces and government in Gilgit-Baltistan is assuming dangerous proportions. Civilians are up in arms against the use of brute force by the security forces. Spillover of the unrest can affect the Indian side and can also be used by terrorists for transgression. These circumstances make it absolutely necessary for India to take preventive steps in PoK. The two statements by the PM and the Defence Minister point towards a new military strategy against Pakistan.