Until recently, Pakistan’s most powerful man preferred to stay behind the scenes, tightly controlling his public profile and limiting his pronouncements mostly to choreographed addresses at set-piece military events.

But after the deadly terrorist attack nearly two weeks ago in the Indian-controlled part of Kashmir, Pakistan’s army chief, Gen. Syed Asim Munir, has stepped to the center of sharpening tensions between Pakistan and India.

As pressure has built in India for a forceful response to the attack, which killed more than two dozen Hindu tourists near the town of Pahalgam, General Munir has increasingly shaped Pakistan’s tone with his own tough talk.

On Thursday, standing atop a tank during a military exercise, General Munir addressed troops in the field. “Let there be no ambiguity,” he said. “Any military misadventure by India will be met with a swift, resolute and notch-up response.” That was a reference to Pakistan’s vow to match or exceed any Indian strike.