Risk of India-Pakistan War May Hang on the Fate of Downed Pilot
- Escalating tensions lead to worst military standoff in decades
- Narendra Modi finds himself ‘in a bind’ before Indian election
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As Asia’s most acrimonious rivals face off, the fate of a captured Indian Air Force pilot may hold the key to whether -- and how -- each side is able to step back from broader conflict.
India and Pakistan, which have fought three major wars since the bloody partition of 1947, regularly exchange artillery and small-weapons fire across a disputed border. But the situation that flared up earlier this month escalated dramatically into Wednesday, with the loss of an Indian MiG 21 fighter jet and the pilot later paraded on Pakistani television.