An Indian fighter pilot captured by Pakistan earlier this week after his aircraft was shot down in an aerial dogfight over disputed Kashmir state, returned home on Friday. In response, India launched a punitive air strike on Tuesday against a JeM militant training camp inside Pakistan, which in turn triggered a retaliatory attack by the Pakistan Air Force that ended with Mr Varthaman’s capture. Mr Modi is expected to benefit in the upcoming general elections from his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government’s militarily pro-active response to Pakistan. India claimed the air strikes killed “a very large number” of militant fighters, but Pakistan said there had been no casualties. “We have a right to this information.”The BJP chief and Mr Modi’s closet aide, Amit Shah, responded by saying that people should decide if they trusted the Indian military or not to undertake its duties.

Source: The Irish Times March 01, 2019 16:29 UTC