Pakistan Army Chief General Asim Munir may have lit the fuse for the deadly terrorist attack in Pahalgam. Just days before the assault, Munir delivered a provocative speech laced with dangerous rhetoric, referring to Kashmir as the “jugular vein” of Pakistan. “Our stance is very clear,” he thundered. “It was our jugular vein, it will be our jugular vein, and we will not forget it. We will not leave our Kashmiri brothers in their heroic struggle.”

This sounded like a clarion call for escalation. In fact, many believe Munir, facing mounting dissent and crumbling credibility within his own country, is desperate for a confrontation with India to distract from the internal rot hollowing out the Pakistani military.

But here lies the deeper question: is the Pakistani military, disillusioned and under siege at home, truly ready for a war its general seems to be lusting after?

A Crisis in the Ranks
The Pakistani military is facing an existential crisis like never before. The once-sacrosanct institution is now openly challenged on the streets and across social media. For the first time in Pakistan’s turbulent history, citizens are not just whispering but shouting against the generals, accusing them of political manipulation, corruption, and repression. This has deeply shaken the army’s image as the untouchable guardian of national security.

Amid this backdrop, rumours of mass resignations and internal dissent have flooded social media. Leaked documents claiming widespread desertions, advisories urging soldiers to stay loyal, and signs of unease within ranks have painted a picture of a fractured force. On April 26, a supposed advisory from Major General Faisal Mehmood Malik, head of ISPR, appealed to troops to “maintain morale” – a sign of desperation if true.

Although some reports have been debunked – Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper flagged linguistic inconsistencies in the documents – there’s no denying that morale is dangerously low. Fake or not, these viral rumours reflect a mood that is hard to ignore.

Disillusionment Runs Deep
General Munir may be beating the drums of war, but on the ground, his soldiers are fighting a different kind of battle, against exhaustion, fear, and betrayal. The military’s aggressive crackdown on PTI supporters after former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s arrest in 2023 alienated vast sections of the public. Civilians stormed military facilities, torched symbols of military power, and openly defied the generals. Over 3,200 citizens have since been subjected to military trials, with some sentenced to up to 10 years in prison – fueling a nationwide perception of authoritarianism.

Within the ranks, many soldiers themselves sympathize with PTI, and by extension, feel conflicted watching the military punish those they consider their own. This ideological rupture between the top brass and the rank-and-file is dangerous. It creates disunity in a force already stretched thin by relentless internal deployments.

Fighting Shadows on All Fronts
While the generals wage political wars in Islamabad, soldiers are being bled dry in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. March 2025 was the deadliest month in over a decade, with 335 people killed in over 100 terror attacks. Islamist extremists and Baloch separatists continue to strike with deadly precision – ambushes, IED blasts, and targeted killings have become routine.

The mental and physical toll on Pakistani soldiers is immense. Constant redeployments, hostile terrain, and lack of clarity in mission objectives are grinding troops down. The fear is not just of the enemy outside, but the enemy within, the betrayal they feel from their own leadership.

A Dangerous Calculus
If General Munir hopes to rekindle insurgency in Kashmir as a strategic distraction, he may be gambling with a force that is near breaking point. The soldiers he wants to use for a proxy war are already under siege from disillusionment, dissent, and death at home.

The Pakistani military is no longer the monolithic, disciplined institution it once was. It is fractured, fatigued, and facing a credibility crisis of historic proportions. If this is the state of the army Munir hopes to march toward conflict with India, then Pakistan may be stumbling into a geopolitical catastrophe, led by a general who may be fighting to save not the nation, but his own grip on power.

Countdown to Conflagration, US Urges Restraint as Pakistan Warns of Imminent Indian Military Strike

Tensions between India and Pakistan, are teetering on the brink of military confrontation following the brutal terrorist attack in Pahalgam. As the possibility of war looms large, the United States has stepped in, scrambling to de-escalate a rapidly deteriorating situation with warnings of Indian military action within the next 24 to 36 hours.

In a press briefing late Tuesday night, US State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce confirmed that Washington is urgently engaging with both India and Pakistan, urging both nuclear-armed neighbours to “not escalate the situation.” Secretary of State Marco Rubio, she said, is expected to speak with the foreign ministers of both countries “as early as today or tomorrow.” Bruce emphasized that intense diplomatic engagement is underway “every single day,” warning that further escalation could trigger dire consequences not only for South Asia, but the world.

The diplomatic scramble follows Pakistan’s stunning claim that it possesses “credible intelligence” of an impending Indian military operation. Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar declared on Wednesday that India is planning a strike under what he called “baseless and concocted allegations” regarding Pakistan’s role in the April 22 Pahalgam attack.

“Pakistan has credible intelligence that India intends carrying out military action against Pakistan in the next 24 to 36 hours,” Tarar posted on X, adding that Islamabad would “respond assuredly and decisively.”

The timing of this declaration is chilling. Just hours earlier, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a high-level security meeting, had granted the armed forces “complete operational freedom” to decide the mode and timing of the country’s response.

India, already fuming after identifying cross-border links to the Pahalgam carnage, has launched a raft of punitive actions against Pakistan.

These include:

–Downgrading diplomatic ties,

–Expelling Pakistani military attachés,

–Revoking all Pakistani visas issued from April 27,

–Shutting down the Attari land-transit post, and

–Suspending the historic Indus Waters Treaty of 1960.

In a last-minute appeal to the global community, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif urgently reached out to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, pleading for international intervention and demanding a “neutral investigation” into the Pahalgam attack. Islamabad continues to deny any involvement, even as its rhetoric grows increasingly defensive and defiant.

Pakistan has warned that the “onus of any escalatory spiral and its consequences shall squarely lie with India.” But with military formations mobilizing, diplomatic channels buzzing, and nerves fraying across borders, the subcontinent stands dangerously close to a flashpoint.

The next 36 hours could determine whether the region steps back from the edge, or plunges headlong into yet another devastating conflict, but for India, this is a crucial moment and one that it should not let slide, given Pakistan’s constant provocation along the LOC and terror attacks.