India and Pakistan have exchanged detained soldiers

It has become known that India and Pakistan have conducted a mutual exchange of detained soldiers.

This is another sign that the escalation between the nuclear powers has gone down, writes The New York Times.

The exchange took place at the Attari-Wagah border crossing, the main land crossing point between the two countries.

The Indian Border Guard reported that one of its fighters had been returned after three weeks of detention.

In turn, Pakistani authorities handed over to India their border guard, who had been in Indian captivity for nearly two weeks.

Both soldiers crossed the border by accident and were detained shortly before a recent armed clash sparked by Indian airstrikes on Pakistani territory.

The strikes were in response to a terrorist attack in Indian Kashmir that killed 26 civilians.

India blamed the attack on Pakistan, which denies involvement.

The conflict escalated in a matter of days into a fierce four days of fighting not seen in decades.

Only on Saturday, with US mediation, was a truce reached. Now both countries are gradually returning to normalcy.

Commercial flights have resumed, and Kashmiris have begun returning to homes damaged during the fighting.