The fact is that the exercises were a signal, not so much to Pakistan, but to India. We want to strengthen our ties with that country and joint military exercises are a way to reinforce the fact that the respective militaries are friendly with each other. It's just possible that they might have to cooperate on the battlefield someday.
This author assumes that it would be on the battlefield against Pakistan, I think. That's certainly not going to be the case. US policy is to be allies with both Pakistan and India despite how much they may hate each other. That drives both countries absolutely nuts, but when it comes their stormy relationship, "nuts" is the norm.
You finally get it :-)
But seriously, I think you've managed to grasp the Indian mentality quite well. In Indian and Pakistani cultures, if two families are at odds, then the only way a third family can be "friends" with both is if the third family is infinitely more powerful than the two families. India has a superpower complex, and can't accept the military and economic superiority of the United States, and that's the crux of the problem. They're arrogant and petulant. The Pakistanis, OTOH, refuse to accept that India is both militarily and economically superior to them, and that aggravates the Indians too - and it causes Pakistan to constantly act up, and makes them bite a helluva lot more than they can chew.... Or, like you said, they're both just nuts.