On top of the apathy, those Pakistanis who’ve lost loved ones to terrorist attacks sound a lot more like Pranab Mukherjee than Hamid Gul. My first television reporting assignment last year was to interview bereaved parents of police men who were killed by blast on Mall Road during Muharram. People mourning outside the city morgue placed the onus of the blame on Pakistan’s government and the “agencies”. They were already convinced that some in the army and government cooperated with terrorists.

It’s unlikely that many Indians wish to see a war break out either. They are likely as suspicious as Pakistanis are of the military. Nearly a year ago, Pakistanis showed self-determination and turned out in droves to vote out General Musharraf’s Q-league. There was dancing in the streets then, but the military on the move has dampened the mood since. One newspaper vendor shared his thoughts, “When I see the Pakistani jets in the sky, they’re not flying to warn India. They’re flying to warn me.”

The writer is a Pakistani musician