up against an enemy and Pakistan is going to give a "Persian response" this time if the intention was to intimidate its army. According to Bhadrakumar, Pakistan's calculated response following the attack stops short of directly terminating its participation in the war although in essence, this event may push Pakistan's army "within inches of doing that" in the long-term scenario. A report published in the newspaper Pakistan Observer claimed that some military and defence observers at Islamabad believed NATO was playing a double game and was in league with the Tehrik-i-Taliban; according to the report, there was a theory being circulated which suggested that the attack carried out by NATO came just when some Tehrik-i-Taliban (TTP) militants from Afghanistan who had entered the region had been completely encircled by Pakistani forces and were about to be eliminated "within the next few hours". These check posts were there to check them and prevent from crossing the border into Pakistan. Pakistani monitors and experts on Afghanistan believed that at least two Afghan military officials deployed on the border, Brigadier General Aminullah Amarkhel and Colonel Numan Hatifi (of the 201st Silab Corps), have anti-Pakistan sentiments and links to anti-Pakistani elements. An article published in People's Daily, China's top state newspaper, accused the United States and NATO of flouting international law and fanning terrorism. Simultaneously, many Chinese scholars, analysts and members of leading think tanks also expressed strong criticism of NATO's attack. A former spokesperson for the US state department said China, which is a close ally of Pakistan, "sees this as a target of opportunity, both to tweak the US and to subtly suggest to Pakistan that if it really sours of its relationship with the US, it has an alternative". Writing for the Pakistani newspaper Express Tribune, Indian blogger Sanjay Kumar said the attack had elicited various reactions in India, with some vocal sections who saw Islamabad in "the prism of prejudice and paranoia" expressing glee and delight at the discomfort and supposed humiliation of their arch-rival western neighbour. Kumar opinionated that "such sick thought has many takers in this healthy democracy which prides itself as the voice of the third world countries". An opinion piece by Abdul Rauf Colachal published on the Indian Muslim Observer titled "NATO terrorism in Pakistan" said that Pakistan's leadership was "interested mainly in promoting US imperialist goals and western capitalist interests" rather than protecting the interests