Beheading row: Can Modi retaliate sans derailing political talk with Pak?

Modi needs to pick between public retaliation or letting the army's local commanders sort it out

The beheading of a Border Security Force (BSF) head constable and an Indian army naib subedar by a Pakistani border action team serves multiple aims for the Pakistani army. Firstly, it serves to provoke India, thus dooming re-engagement with Pakistan and blighting any chance of dialogue between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif that could have taken place on the sidelines of the forthcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit. It also signals to Sharif that he may handpick his army chiefs all he wants but they will ultimately be more loyal to the army than their political