Showtime: India and Pakistan

Indian warplanes bombed an alleged training camp run by Jaish-e-Muhammad Islamists in Pakistan today, retaliating for an attack that killed some 40 soldiers in Indian-administered Kashmir two weeks ago. Unofficial Indian sources estimated that perhaps 300 jihadists were killed. Pakistan denies any casualties. The discrepancy is part of a game whereby India’s government, with elections looming, will put on a patriotic show of the incident, while Pakistan, whose army pretends it does not sponsor terror groups when everyone knows it does, will minimise its importance. Whatever its true scope, the strike represents a significant shift in the fraught relations between the countries, which have fought two major wars and several smaller ones across a 2,000-mile-long border. India has, in effect, thrown down a gauntlet. The message is that Pakistan can no longer hide behind its nuclear deterrent while allowing its proxies to take potshots at a much bigger and richer neighbour.