NEW DELHI / ISLAMABAD: India continued its sabre-rattling against Pakistan, with the country’s army chief comparing the May conflict to a ‘trailer’ rather than a full-length movie.

“I’d like to say that the movie hasn’t even started — only a trailer was shown, and, after the trailer, it was over within 88 hours,” General Upendra Dwivedi told a defence conference in New Delhi on Monday.

“So, we’re fully prepared for the future, and if Pakistan gives us such an opportunity, we’d like to provide them with a thorough education on how a responsible nation should behave with its neighbours,” he told participants of the Chanakya Defence Dialogue.

The Indian army chief’s remarks come a week after an explosion near the Red Fort in New Delhi on November 10, leaving 12 people dead in the first such explosion in the Indian capital since 2011.

Pakistan became ‘extremely relevant’ on global stage after May conflict, says Tarar

The conflict between the two countries in May was sparked by an attack in India-held Kashmir, which New Delhi blamed on Pakistan, without evidence. Islamabad strongly denied responsibility and called for a neutral investigation.

New Delhi then launched deadly air strikes in Punjab and Azad Kashmir on May 7. After tit-for-tat strikes on each other’s airbases during the four-day escalation, it took American intervention on May 10 for both sides to finally reach a ceasefire.

In his remarks, the Indian army chief said: “Deterrence works when there is political will, trust in military power, and the required military capability. As of now, we have all three.”

He also claimed that the situation in occupied Kashmir and Manipur — two restive parts of the country that have witnessed unrest in recent years — had improved.

Although there was no immediate response from the Foreign Office, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar recalled how, after the Pahalgam incident, PM Shehbaz Sharif made an open offer for an impartial and fair investigation, calling it a “turning point”.

“We were often blamed for terror acts that were not our fault, and in fact, being the biggest victims of terrorism, there was a propaganda against Pakis­tan, blaming us for terrorism,” he said while speaking at an event in Islamabad.

He contended that Pakistan had become “extremely relevant” on the global stage after its performance during the military conflict against India in May.

“In a very short span of time, we have become extremely relevant in our foreign policy. We have seen in the past two years, and especially after the May war, I think that has redefined who we are,” the information minister said.

Referring to India, he said “you can’t be a victim and an aggressor at the same time — it’s an oxymoron, an inherent contradiction, it’s just not possible”.

Published in Dawn, November 18th, 2025