There is a certain symmetry to the way things stand in the highly strung conflict between India and Pakistan – as of Wednesday night, we should add, given just how fast the situation is developing.

On Tuesday morning, India took the unprecedented step of launching airstrikes at what it said were militant targets in Pakistani territory across the Kashmir line of control.

Hours later, the Indian foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale appeared on national TV to talk down the action, explaining that the country meant to target only “the menace of terrorism” and not the state of Pakistan or its citizens – indeed, chastising Pakistan for not taking similar action itself.

On Wednesday morning Pakistan said it had launched its own airstrikes, targeting and then firing away from Indian military assets so as to demonstrate its defensive capability. Chaos only ensued when India scrambled its jets in response, and in the dogfight that followed one Pakistani and at least one Indian jet were shot down.

Then it was the turn of Imran Khan, the Pakistani prime minister, to go on TV and play down his country’s part in the skirmish. His air force had only set out to give India a warning, he said, before things got out of hand. He repeatedly used the phrase “miscalculation” and said such unforeseen events had led to “all wars” in the past.

Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Show all 28 1 /28 Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Activists of Al-Badr Mujahideen, an islamic militant group, burn an effigy of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during an anti-India protest in Peshawar, Pakistan AFP/Getty Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures A Pakistani girl holds a light candle during a vigil for peace in Lahore on March 3 AFP/Getty Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures School children react as they celebrate the release of Indian Air Force pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman by Pakistan at a school in Ahmedabad Reuters Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Indian pilot, Wing Commander Abhinandan, stands under armed escort near Pakistan-India border in Wagah Reuters Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Indian Border Security Force soldiers patrol along the border with Pakistan EPA Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures A videograb allegedly shows the captured Indian Air Force pilot in the custody of Pakistani military SWNS Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Pakistani civil society activists hold anti-war signs during a peace rally in Islamabad AFP/Getty Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Pakistani civil society activists hold anti-war signs during a peace rally in Islamabad AFP/Getty Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Activists of Al-Badr Mujahideen, an islamic militant group, burn an effigy of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during an anti-India protest in Peshawar, Pakistan Reuters Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Kashmiri villagers look on at the smouldering wreckage of an Indian fighter jet after it was shot down by the Pakistani military AP Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Indian soldiers and Kashmiri onlookers stand look on as an Indian army helicopter lands near the site where an Indian Air Force jet was shot down by the Pakistani military AFP/Getty Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures An Indian soldier gestures near the wreckage of an Indian Air Force fighter jet that was shot down by the Pakistani military AFP/Getty Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Supporters of a Pakistani religious group Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba brand Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi a terrorist at a rally to condemn Indian aggression AP Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Indian soldiers and Kashmiri villagers look on at the smouldering wreckage of an Indian fighter jet after it was shot down by the Pakistani military AFP/Getty Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures India's Border Security Force soldiers patrol along the fenced border with Pakistan on February 26 Reuters Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Protesters in Pakistan march against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the Indian airstrike on allege Pakistan terrorist camp EPA Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Supporters of India's ruling Bhartiya Janta Party workers hold Indian flags as they celebrate the Indian airstrike on allege Pakistan terrorist camp AP Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Protesters in Pakistan march against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the Indian airstrike on allege Pakistan terrorist camp EPA Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures People in India burn an effigy that represents Pakistan as they celebrate the Indian airstrike on allege Pakistan terrorist camp Reuters Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Indian soldiers and Kashmiri villagers look on at the smouldering wreckage of an Indian fighter jet after it was shot down by the Pakistani military AFP/Getty Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Bhartiya Janta Party workers hold Indian flags as they celebrate the Indian airstrike on allege Pakistan terrorist camp EPA Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Pakistani Kashmiris in the border town of Chakoti walk past India-bound cargo trucks that are parked as the road to India is closed AP Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Pakistani Army soldiers escort journalists to the scene where Indian fighter jets struck in a violation of Pakistani airspace EPA Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Pakistani Army soldiers escort journalists to the scene where Indian fighter jets struck in a violation of Pakistani airspace EPA Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Pakistani Army soldiers escort journalists to the scene where Indian fighter jets struck in a violation of Pakistani airspace EPA Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Workers enter a concrete bunker that they have built in a residential area near the border Reuters Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Pakistani soldiers and journalists gather at the site where Indian fighter jets struck in a violation of Pakistani airspace AFP/Getty Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Pakistani soldiers and journalists gather at the site where Indian fighter jets struck in a violation of Pakistani airspace AFP/Getty

And so, having shot down one aircraft each (though Pakistan still claims two) and conducted one round of airstrikes each across the line of control, where do the two sides go from here?

In his statement, Mr Khan invited his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi to “sit down and talk”. Clearly it is Pakistan’s view that the violence should end with today’s misadventures.

The Indian government, however, has made plain that it does not see any equivalence between Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s events. In the government’s latest statement, the foreign ministry said Pakistan’s ambassador here in Delhi had been summoned in protest at the “unprovoked act of aggression” by the Pakistani air force.

But while the statement also said India “reserves the right to take firm and decisive action” going forwards, there were two glimmers of hope for observers – the international community included – who want to see a de-escalation of tension.

One was that India said it had handed over a dossier to the Pakistani envoy detailing intelligence regarding both militant camps in Pakistan and “specific details of JeM [Jaish-e-Mohammed] complicity in the Pulwama terror attack” – the deadly car bombing in Kashmir on 14 February that, after all, set this whole situation going.

Mr Khan had already urged India to share any information it has on militant groups so they can “talk about the terrorism that effects us both [sic]”. Publicly seizing on the intelligence shared by India would be one way of reopening paths of cooperation.

Secondly, the Indian foreign ministry confirmed a man shown in videos released by Pakistan is indeed one of its air force pilots, captured after the Indian fighter jet came down in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.

India bemoaned the use of the pilot in the “vulgar display”, saying it contravened the Geneva Conventions, and demanded he come to no harm and be granted “immediate and safe return”.

The pilot certainly “complicates the picture” regarding India’s next steps, one analyst told me. His detention may act as an effective deterrent to any further military action, particularly given the already deafening clamour on Indian social media channels for his safety to be assured.

There are other options India can pursue. As the larger and more robust economy, the country can continue steps it has already been taking since 14 February to diplomatically isolate and – in its view – punish Pakistan for its perceived role in militant attacks in Kashmir.

For the Indian government, hitting back at Pakistan militarily may be seen as a popular move – but with hashtags like “SayNoToWar” and “pakindiaceasefire”, there were plenty of calls from ordinary people on both sides of the border to show restraint.