5 signs that Pakistan is feeling the heat amid rising tensions with India

Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif

From frantic missile tests to appeals before United Nations, Pakistan is torn between trying to prevent a full-scale war with India and preparing for "every eventuality" in the wake of the deadly terror attack in Jammu & Kashmir's Pahalgam – which has clear imprints of Islamabad's involvement.

Over the last few days, Pakistan's civilian and military establishment have done everything possible to put up a brave face and absolve Islamabad of all responsibility of the attack, even though it was carried out by The Resistance Front (TRF), a known proxy of terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba harboured by the neighbouring country.

India's firm and curt response that it will pursue everyone involved in the April 22 attack — the terrorists who carried it out, the supporters who aided them and the plotters who hatched the plan — has put Pakistan directly in the firing line.

It has spent the last few days anticipating a military strike by India and is taking a familiar diplomatic route to rally international support in the wake of tensions, albeit without much success.

Here are 5 signs that Pakistan is feeling the heat amid tensions with India

1. Appeal to UN: The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has agreed to hold closed-door consultations on May 5 amid growing tensions between India and Pakistan. The meeting has been convened at Islamabad's request.

Pakistan's foreign office is planning to raise the developments following the Pahalgam attack and also raise the issue of India's suspension of the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) - which it has described as "water warfare"

Pakistan has a long pattern of turning to international forums—especially the United Nations—whenever tensions with India escalate, particularly over Kashmir. The diplomatic action is aimed at internationalising the issue and drawing global attention to its narrative, often in response to military or political pressure from India.

From the 1948 UN Security Council resolutions on Kashmir to recent letters and speeches following incidents like the 2019 Pulwama attack and the 2025 Pahalgam killings, Pakistan has consistently sought intervention or condemnation from UN. The latest move is also in line with Pakistan's familiar diplomatic approach of trying to portray India as an aggressor, despite New Delhi consistently accusing Islamabad of harbouring and funding terrorists.

2. Missile tests: Pakistan's last major missile test took place in November last year. However, in the last week, it carried out two missile tests and described them as "successful". On Monday, Pakistan conducted a training launch of a FATAH Series surface-to-surface missile which has a range of 120 kilometers. Last week, Pakistan conducted a "successful" test launch of a surface-to-surface missile weapons system called "Abdali Weapon System".

Following the test, it said that it's ready to "thwart any aggression against the territorial integrity". The tests follow past patterns of Pakistan flexing its military muscle and putting up a strong face before its public amid spectre of war with India. Though India's military is far superior in terms of numbers, weaponry, and strength, Pakistan continues to portray itself as a country prepared to counter any retaliation. Interestingly, reports indicate that Pakistan's artillery reserves can sustain just four days of high-intensity conflict.

3. Erasing the evidence: Several Pakistani terrorists holed up at launchpads in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK) near the LoC and international border have reportedly vacated and retreated deeper into PoK or Pakistan following the Pahalgam attack.

Sources told The Times of India that three key launchpads—Shakargarh (near Kathua), Samahni (near Nowshera), and Sukhmal (near Hiranagar)—are now empty. Each previously housed 10–12 terrorists from Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed and other groups awaiting infiltration into India with support from the Pakistan army or Rangers.

“Pakistan is spooked by memories of the 2019 surgical strikes by India on terror camps in Balakot, etc. It is clear that in the wake of the outrage over the Pahalgam carnage, shared by countries across the world, the terrorists have been directed to vacate the launchpads and return to bases deeper in Pakistan, lest their terror hideouts are once again hit in retaliatory strikes by the Indian forces,” a senior intelligence officer told TOI. Heavy firing has also been reported at 65 locations across the LoC, in what officials describe as Pakistan’s aggressive bid to block a potential Indian response.

4. Doubling up food rations: According to various reports, including in Reuters, so-called authorities in PoK have doubled food rations in districts near the Line of Control (LoC) to prepare for any escalation with India.

At a government-run mill in Muzaffarabad, workers were seen loading sacks of flour onto trucks over the weekend as part of the rationing effort. Officials said the flour is being dispatched to storage depots located in areas vulnerable to cross-border shelling.

The directive to locals is to stockpile rations worth nearly two months amid concerns that cross-border escalation can create supply disruptions.

5. 'No longer a secret': Not one, but two of Pakistan's prominent politicians have openly admitted that the country has backed and even funded terror groups in the past. First, defence minister Khawaja Asif told UK's Sky News that Pakistan has done the "dirty work" of supporting terror groups for US and its other Western allies. Later, former Pakistan foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto echoed the remarks, saying that this is "not a secret".

Pakistan has gradually shifted the blame of its own misdeeds to the West, saying that it merely played the role of a puppet for the United States. This was an attempt at playing the victim card, i.e., drag America into the issue and project yourself as a country that has suffered the collateral damage. It was also a way of diverting attention from the fact that the deep state in Pakistan has been using terror groups to cause unrest in Jammu & Kashmir for decades—an argument India has consistently highlighted at global forums to expose Islamabad’s duplicity and undermine its international credibility.