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Pakistan’s oft-repeated threat to use nuclear weapons in case India reacted to a sub-conventional attack failed to deter an Indian response. This would be a major lesson to the Pakistan Army

and those who plan terror attacks through proxies. This, however, does not mean that the threat has gone away. It will be premature to lower our guard and restore the status quo ante unless

Pakistan takes verifiable steps to dismantle the terror structure. Professor C Christine Fair, a noted commentator on South Asia, who teaches at George Town University, has expressed her

pessimism. The PM said after Operation Sindoor said that the GoI would only talk to Pakistan now about terror and PoK. President Trump has claimed that American mediation stopped the war

between the two nuclear-armed countries. Pakistani Prime Minister promptly thanked Trump. Indian sources have denied any mediation by the US. What is the truth? This is what we know: the

request for discussions between the DGMOs came from the Pakistani side; India agreed to a bilateral agreement. Pakistan sought US mediation after it suffered reverses on the ground and

failed to draw Chinese support.  Pakistan would have gone for the kill if it were on a winning streak. Interestingly, the Chinese statement in support of Pakistan’s sovereignty came after

the agreement to stop military activities had gone into force on the evening of 10 May evening. Pakistan is using the American offer of mediation to revive the Kashmir issue. As Prime

Minister Modi announced in his address to the nation on 12 May, talks and terror cannot go together. President Trump’s statement has provided Munir a face-saving for the time being. As for

India, it now needs to stand with the families of those killed in the Pahalgam terror attack. Perhaps some crowdfunding could be arranged for them? This should, of course, cover the local

Muslim guide who was killed by terrorists. We also need to support the people of J&K who have been victims of Pakistan-supported terrorism for decades. _DP Srivastava is a former

Ambassador to Iran, with years of experience serving in the Indian Consulate at Karachi. He is the former Director of Gail and author of Forgotten Kashmir: The Other Side of the Line of

Control. He is currently working on his latest book 'Pakistan: Ideologies, Strategies and Interests', available on pre-order on Amazon. Views expressed in this piece are personal.

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