The death toll of soldiers rise to 20 in Uri attack. This attack severed the ties of India and Pakistan.

“I assure the nation that those behind this despicable attack will not go unpunished,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said after Sunday’s early morning raid that is being blamed on Pakistan.

In the run-up to the 2014 election, Modi’s BJP had promised an aggressive stance against Pakistan. With five state elections due early next year, the government can’t appear to be passive against the neighbour.

The immediate impact could be on three events – this week’s UN general assembly (UNGA), November’s Saarc meet and the Heart of Asia conference in December, former foreign secretary Lalit Mansingh said.

“This incident should lead to greater isolation of Pakistan as a sponsor of terrorism… At the UNGA, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif wouldn’t get away with blaming India on Kashmir,” he said.

At the UN, the two countries are expected to raise the alleged rights violations in Kashmir and Balochistan.

“The government will not be found wanting in its response to show Pakistan as a sponsor of terrorism,” a source said.

India hasn’t confirmed if Modi will travel to Pakistan for the South Asian Association for Regional Conference summit. There is no clarity on who Islamabad will send to the Heart of Asia ministerial meeting in Amritsar during which peace effort and reconstruction of Afghanistan would be discussed.

India and Afghanistan coming together to blame Pakistan for terrorism didn’t augur well for Islamabad, Mansingh said.