Sadly, when Pakistan claimed the same series of events, some Indians ridiculed the idea. Distortion of facts to justify the narrative can also be witnessed here in this report. While it is reported that Pakistan and India came close to exchanging missile strikes, it is highlighted that India decided to initiate the strike only because ONE pilot was in Pakistani custody. It is not believable, since war calculus accounts for dozens of pilots being lost behind enemy lines.
What possibly happened in my personal opinion, is that the Indian military was given a free hand to go up a rung of the escalation ladder. Since Pakistan had struck in close proximity of IA installations, an escalatory response was required. For this purpose, BrahMos is the ideal weapon since, in addition to its qualities, at the moment Pakistan lacks a proportionate and survivable counterpart of BrahMos. Therefore, Pakistan threatened with the next best thing in its inventory, and communicated the same to India and the international community. Thankfully, the situation was resolved due to presence of open communication lines between both sides and the international community.
In the present hysteria found on both sides of the border, I don't think anyone realizes that Pakistan and India just had an equivalent of the peak moment of the Cuban missile crisis. Maybe a decade or two down the line, military/civilian veterans from both sides will write stories about the night parts of Pakistani and Indian Strategic Forces Commands first heard "This is not a drill.", as part of their orders.
But then, it might be just a figment of my imagination.
