India and Pakistan engaged in intense artillery exchanges along their disputed border on Wednesday, following deadly missile strikes by New Delhi on its longtime rival—marking the most severe clash between the nuclear-armed nations in 20 years. At least 38 people were killed: Islamabad reported 26 civilian deaths from Indian strikes and border fire, while New Delhi claimed 12 fatalities from Pakistani shelling. The escalation follows New Delhi’s accusation that Islamabad supported an attack on the Indian-administered side of Kashmir two weeks earlier. The two South Asian nations, born from the 1947 partition of British India, have fought multiple wars since. This latest outbreak of violence surpasses India’s 2019 airstrikes, which targeted what it called “several militants” in response to a suicide bombing that killed 40 Indian security personnel. The South Asian neighbours have fought multiple wars since they were carved out of the sub-continent at the end of British rule in 1947. The latest violence exceeds India’s strikes in 2019, when New Delhi said it had hit “several militants” after a suicide bomber attacked an Indian security force convoy, killing 40. The Indian army said “justice is served”, reporting nine “terrorist camps” had been destroyed, with New Delhi adding that its actions “have been focused, measured and non-escalatory in nature”. Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif accused Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi of launching the strikes to “shore up” his domestic popularity, but said Islamabad had struck back. “The retaliation has already started”, Asif told AFP. “We won’t take long to settle the score.” Military spokesman Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said five Indian jets had been downed across the border. An Indian senior security source, who asked not to be named, said three of its fighter jets had crashed on home territory.