These are exactly the points I made in an analysis I did a few pages back. I completely agree with you!If retaliation does not occur, larger terrorist attacks are likely to happen in the future. Continuous terrorist attacks cause far greater loss of life and economic damage than a full-scale war ever would.
India must target and destroy all of Pakistan’s nuclear installations; that is the only way to ensure long-term peace in the region.
And I am certain that kinetic action is coming. Everything that Modi and his men have been doing since that attack points to only one thing. But it also shows that whatever is going to happen is going to be a highly calibrated and well-thought-out operation.
I want to reiterate that the speed and accuracy of the escalation are paramount here. It's two nuclear powers going head to head. So it is better to take a cautious approach to it than to try and contain a nuclear fallout later.