Ultimately, military's goal is to enforce a nation's interest and diplomacy using kinetic force. So yes, India will do that. Because that puts Delhi's position in Kashmir's peace in question, so rest assured they will do that. They do not have much option there. The question is of scale. Will it be full fledged destruction of Pakistan's war fighting capability? Will it be selective destruction of terrorist support in Pakistan? That is to be seen.
My view is it will be partial destruction of terrorist support infrastructure in Pakistan using military force, very very publicly so Pakistan can not deny that this time.
What terrorist Infrastructure are you going to destroy ? Post Balakot you think Fauji Foundation will repeat the same mistake twice ? They've disappeared from all those seminaries or training grounds as soon as or just before the outrage in Pahalgam.
In fact if we go on to target "terrorist infrastructure " now you can bet GoI or Leaderji to be specific is indulging in eyewash.
You won't see Hapig Saeed or NoSood for I'm Muslim Azhar for months possibly years in public.
Our best bet remains sinking most of PN assets now scattered across the IOR . We mustn't target Karachi only the PN assets there if we can & all this must be accomplished in one fell swoop in a few hours or the element of surprise is lost .
Entice PAF into taking baits & take down a significant number of their FAs. This can't be done in a single strike or even within a day . Easier said than done , I know. But the objective is to seriously damage Paxtan's war fighting machinery.
Once it is determined we've dealt a huge blow to both the PAF & PN we can declare mission accomplished & call for an unilateral CF .
We should keep Fauji Foundation outside the realms of retribution as of the present. That should be incentive enough for them not to escalate.
Once the unilateral CF is achieved , start turning the LoC hot in graduated measures such that not just mortars & heavy gun fire but artillery barrages become common place alongside the ubiquitous drones. Incidentally drones will play a huge part in whatever we're planning , during & post the conflict. On both sides.
In fact in air duels if we suffer some losses which is to be expected , this is the Carte Blanche GoI needs to go on to ink a G2G contract with France for 114 nos Rafales in double quick time before the end of this calendar year .
I'm surprised RST with his febrile imagination couldn't think this one up while I'm doing his job for him out here . Instead he's engaging Wumaos & a tired plus retired maamu penning lengthy heart felt rebuttals before going off for a nap in preparation to play the owl all night long doing duty here. Tsk Tsk !!
