A week after the massacre of 26 tourists in Pahalgam, the dust refuses to settle and perhaps that was the point all along. India’s knee-jerk decision to blame Pakistan, with no investigation, no evidence, and no international inquiry, has set the region on edge. It was never just about the attack. It’s about the machinery of statecraft being mobilised for something far graver: a manufactured crisis with the makings of a regional war. On Thursday Federal Minister Attaullah Tarar warned of a looming Indian strike “within 24 to 36 hours.” Pakistan’s military, even as DG ISPR Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, categorically rejected the baseless allegations and offered something India never has in these moments: transparency. But instead of accepting Islamabad’s repeated offers of an independent probe into the tragedy, New Delhi keeps doubling down-suspending the Indus Waters Treaty, deporting Pakistani nationals, gutting diplomatic channels and closing airspace all the while blowing trumpets of war. What India calls retaliation, the international community should recognise as provocation. The suspension of the IWT cannot, under any circumstances, be dismissed as symbolic muscle-flexing. It’s a violation of a decades-old framework that outlasted three wars. If water can now be weaponised, where does India stop? Meanwhile, Indian forces have turned Kashmir into a theatre of collective punishment. Over 1,500 people have been detained. Homes blown up. Families made homeless on suspicion alone. No court orders. No trials. Just dynamite. Even Omar Abdullah, no friend of Pakistan, is now warning of the consequences. But the BJP’s calculus is simple: rage at home needs a target abroad. And Pakistan is always an easy one. The world must not buy into this theatre. This is not 2019. Pakistan has openly invited scrutiny. It has briefed the UN, Gulf states, and global powers and placed its cards on the table. If India is so certain, why not allow an international fact-finding mission? The answer lies in the timing. With Bihar elections approaching, a militant attack on Hindus in Kashmir is politically priceless for the Modi government. But what it may earn domestically, it risks destroying regionally. Pakistan has already signalled its limits. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has made it plain and clear: Pakistan does not want war but it will not be caught sleeping either. The international community cannot afford to treat this as a bilateral spat. The UN Secretary-General has warned of “catastrophic consequences.” The United States, while cautious, is engaged. Gulf states are quietly mediating. But time is running out. India and Pakistan are standing on the edge. The world needs to decide whether it will act now or regret it later. *