Ending the India-Pakistan Crisis Requires a Courageous Narendra Modi

The standoff between India and Pakistan would be hard enough to resolve if the two countries did not have nuclear weapons. That’s before you factor in a jingoistic media scene, the rapid spread of rumors and disinformation on messaging and social-media apps, and the fact that India’s nationalist prime minister is heading into parliamentary elections.

The result: the worst military crisis between the countries in nearly two decades. Stepping back from the brink now will require political courage in New Delhi and reciprocity in Islamabad.

This latest dispute has several causes. First, there’s the historical, territorial, and fundamental national-identity issues that remain unresolved between them. Then there’s the Pakistani military-intelligence complex’s use of non-state actors against India over a span of several years. And finally, there’s the proximal cause of today’s crisis—that after years of absorbing terrorist