'Only a matter of time before Pakistan...'

"Addressing the nation, Modi asserted that India's armed forces inflicted such "heavy damage' on Pakistan that Islamabad was compelled to plead for global intervention to de-escalate the conflict. 

"If that was indeed the case, why then did Modi agree to an immediate ceasefire, effectively bailing out Pakistan? This decision risks adding to India's long and frustrating history of squandering military gains in pursuit of political or diplomatic expediency. The recent operation was carefully calibrated and precisely executed, shattering the illusion of Pakistan's immunity under its nuclear umbrella -- an illusion that has long emboldened Islamabad to support cross-border terrorism with impunity. 

"By crossing yet another psychological and tactical threshold, India redrew the boundaries of escalation, sending a powerful signal that proxy warfare would no longer go unanswered. 

"Yet, Modi's decision to halt the operation just three days after its launch risks diluting the impact of this bold step. Internationally, the sudden cessation created the perception of a military standoff that ended in a draw. 

"In Pakistan, just as public discontent with the military was visibly growing -- with more Pakistanis blaming their generals for the country's decline --  India's premature halt of its operation has inadvertently handed a propaganda victory to the Pakistani military. 

Modi now claims that India has only 'paused' its military campaign -- not ended it. But in diplomatic and legal terms, that is the very definition of a ceasefire. Instead of accepting a U.S.-brokered ceasefire, India should have declared a unilateral ceasefire after prolonging its operations over several days and visibly degrading the Pakistani military's capability -- and prestige, especially in the eyes of its own citizens. 

As things stand, it's only a matter of time before Pakistan's military resumes its old playbook of cross-border attacks."