This kind of baiting is not sound strategy. Reason is, war is not play, it is unpredictable.. it is sometimes worse than gambling, because in gambling, no one actually has to die.
I am happy they have not escalated it to that level, as hitting population centres with no military significance are considered strategic decisions. Strategic decisions require strategic weapons like Ballistic missiles.
Firing ballistic missiles is a taboo, even in Ukrainian conflict. It is taboo because Ballistic warheads have huge potential, large killing capacities, even in conventional mode. Also, any country going for strategic attack should prepare itself to have the same inflicted upon itself.
Pakistan under no circumstance can survive a strategic attack. So it will never take the bait.
Why do you think it sent terrorists to Pahalgam? To never cross the thresholds. They are morbidly afraid of crossing thresholds.
First, be clear what war really is : war is kinetic diplomacy, when all forms of diplomacy fails.
And while, its technically true- all wars are unpredictable to certain degree, using this to call it gambling/turkey shoot/shy away from it, is incompetent loser talk.
War is an endavour that is often systematically planned for years, with multi-sector complex execution for the competent ones. The likes of Napoleon, Blucher, schlieffen, etc. didnt shy away from war and instigating war while being nearly fully in control, because if you are competent, you can also game the 'uknown' to a large degree.
As for taking bait, pakistan is stuck between a rock and a hard place. We are giving Muneer an impossible choice :
a) take the bait and attack us and lose at least 20 years worth of arms procurement in your current economic condition and then get toppled for being a shittier musharraf.
b) dont take bait and suffer drone strikes and play the strategic game, which means lose severe face inside your highly propagandised 'mard-e-momeen 1 ghazi = 10 kufr soldier' propaganda and then get toppled for being a hijra.
THIS is why we are doing poke poke poke- sit back and lay a trap, poke poke poke, etc.