At 2.09 a.m. on Saturday, Ahmad Subhan, who lives near an air base in the Pakistan military garrison city of Rawalpindi, heard the first explosion that rattled the windows of his house - and took South Asia to the brink of war.

N ARENDRA MODI, India’s prime minister, sounded as defiant as he did triumphant in speaking to the nation two days after a ceasefire with Pakistan. India’s four-day military operation, he said on May 12th,

India scaled down its diplomatic relations with Pakistan as part of its retaliatory measures. It expelled all Pakistani defence attachés, declaring them "persona non grata" (unwelcome) and announced it would withdraw its own defence advisers from its high commission in Islamabad.