A day after Indian foreign minister Mukherjee came close to creating a scare when he declared that India might act on its own if the world failed to get Pakistan to do something, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh intervened to tone down the rhetoric from New Delhi. He clearly said war was not the issue. The leaders in Pakistan and around the world welcomed that statement. However, the same day, a US-based geopolitical intelligence service, Stratfor, claimed that Indian military action against Pakistan was imminent, as Islamabad had done nothing that could substantially reduce the militant threat to India. Meanwhile, the one-month Indian deadline for Pakistan came to an end on December 26. Tariq Ismail Sagar's report on December 24 indicated that Israeli squadrons have reached India to participate in surgical strikes against Pakistan. The Chinese government spokesman's statement urging Pakistan and India to resolve the issue through dialogue and joint investigations also indicated gravity of the situation. Pakistan need not be unnecessarily apprehensive, though. We must be ready for any eventuality. The people of Pakistan must also extend their fullest backing to the Pakistani military in this hour. The politicians must join hands to launch diplomatic and political offensives. The government must dispatch delegations to world centres and apprise the international community of the Indian designs. War may get postponed now but one day we will have to fight against India, come what may. So let us be ready. -F.Z. KHAN, Islamabad, via e-mail, December 24.