Narendra Modi and Imran Khan may be tempted to escalate the hitherto limited warfare in disputed Kashmir, both to distract public opinion away from domestic governance failures, and to reinforce their ideological claims to power.
"New Pakistan" has been Khan's catchphrase since he re-entered politics, promising to change the status quo. His new interior minister Ijaz Shah is a retired brigadier and ex-spy chief whom slain former PM Benazir Bhutto regarded as a deadly enemy.