Opinion | Kashmir conflict: Why India should choose peace with Pakistan, instead of provocation

Pakistan does not want to go to war with India. This has been the message of Prime Minister Imran Khan since he was handed the reins of power following his electoral victory last year.

His offer to return the captured Indian pilot, who was shot down over Pakistani territory during the recent clashes in Kashmir, reflects this desire. But the gesture should not be viewed as a sign of weakness.

Pakistan genuinely desires peace and, though it citizens have been told to prepare for open conflict, it will not be Islamabad that makes the first move.

If India continues to violate the country’s airspace – as it did when it sent its air force to destroy the facilities it believed had been used by the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) group, which claimed responsibility for a terrorist attack on February 14 that took the lives of more than 40 Indian soldiers – then Pakistan will be forced to retaliate.

What form would such retaliation take? This is where tactical nuclear weapons enter the picture.