MADRAS, India -- Maybe the world is breathing easier now. There will probably not be a nuclear conflict between the two long warring Asian rivals, India and Pakistan. There are distinct signs of de-escalation between their armies, which have stood in a defiant eye-to-eye confrontation for several months.
India has just ended a five-month ban on Pakistani aircraft entering its airspace. It also has withdrawn its navy from waters near Pakistan, and has named an ambassador to Islamabad.
Admittedly, a million soldiers on either side of the border keep their fingers on the triggers of their guns, but there is some softening in their stance for the first time since December, when Islamic terrorists from Pakistan attacked India's Parliament in New Delhi.