The perpetually fractious relationship between India and Pakistan reached a particularly low point two years ago, after dozens of Indian paramilitary personnel were killed in a suicide attack in Pulwama in the mountainous terrain of Kashmir.
India blamed the attack on Pakistan and bombed what it believed was a terrorist training camp in Balakot across the border. The Pakistani air force retaliated by shooting down an Indian air force plane in a dog-fight, with the pilot having to eject on enemy soil. The airman was returned; but the downward spiral in ties accelerated with the two countries withdrawing their high commissioners and suspending bilateral trade altogether.
Now, the endless volley of heavy artillery along a United Nations-mandated Line of Control in Kashmir (which has been claimed by both countries since 1947) has suddenly transformed into a ceasefire. Meanwhile, several confidence-building measures and restorations of status quo ante on a number of fronts are being discussed in back channels.
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