Ashok K Mehta, a retired major General of Indian Army and a commentator and columnist on Indian defence and security issues in his recent writes:

Cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan has been an existential threat for two decades now. As Blast in Pune showed, this will not go away in a hurry. It will get enmeshed through Lashkar-e- Tayyeba’s proxies like the Indian Mujahideen in local sub-optimal attacks with maximum deniability for Pakistan. Just the threat of an improvised explosive device exploding in a busy shopping centre is enough for travel advisories and a deterrent to foreign investment. Three deadly attacks directly targeting Indian interests in Kabul over two years (the last just a few days ago) are warning signals that the new strategy will steer clear of mass casualty-high profile attacks but bleed India through a thousand cuts at home and abroad.

Pune is demanding hard measures against terrorism. Exercise Vayu Shakti last week demonstrated in the ‘Pokhran wastes’ deadly air strikes against imaginary terrorist camps. The over-cautious, frugal, almost saintly Defence Minister AK Antony was emboldened to note after the air show that Pakistan still has 42 terrorist camps. He emphasises that ‘wether this will translate into an air raid in the event of the next Pakistan-sourced terrorist attack is extremely doubtful.’