INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Nuclear-armed neighbours India and Pakistan agreed to a ceasefire on Saturday after U.S
pressure and four days of fighting, but within hours explosions rang out in border cities and towns and India accused Pakistan of violating
the pact, Reuters reported.
Artillery fire and attack drones were witnessed in Jammu and Kashmir, the centre of much of the fighting, while
blasts from air-defence systems boomed in cities under blackout, similar to the previous evening, according to authorities, residents and
Reuters witnesses.
Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri told reporters that Pakistan had violated the understanding arrived at by the two
countries earlier in the day, and that the Indian armed forces had been instructed to “deal strongly” with any repetition.
“We call
upon Pakistan to take appropriate steps to address these violations and deal with the situation with seriousness and responsibility,”
Misri told a media briefing.
In response, the foreign ministry of Pakistan said the country was committed to the ceasefire and blamed India
“Our forces are handling the situation with responsibility and restraint,” it said.
The ministry also called on troops on the ground to
exercise restraint and said that any issues in the implementation of the ceasefire should be addressed through communication at appropriate
levels.
Pakistan’s military spokesperson did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The fighting has been the worst between the
old South Asian enemies in nearly three decades and threatened to erupt into a full-scale war in one of the world’s most volatile and
densely populated regions.
There were briefly fears that nuclear arsenals might come into play as Pakistan’s military said a top body
overseeing its nuclear weapons would meet.
But the defence minister said no such meeting was scheduled, hours after a night of heavy
fighting in which the two countries targeted each other’s military bases and the combined civilian death toll rose to 66.
“Pakistan and
India have agreed to a ceasefire with immediate effect,” Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar posted on X
“Pakistan has always strived for peace and security in the region, without compromising on its sovereignty and territorial
integrity!”
Misri had earlier said the chiefs of the two countries’ military operations had spoken to each other and agreed that all
fighting would stop at 5 p.m
Indian time (1130 GMT).
U.S
President Donald Trump posted: “After a long night of talks mediated by the United States, I am pleased to announce that India and
Pakistan have agreed to a FULL AND IMMEDIATE CEASEFIRE
Congratulations to both Countries on using Common Sense and Great Intelligence.”
Dar told the broadcaster Geo News that military channels
and hotlines between India and Pakistan had been activated, and three dozen countries had helped to facilitate the agreement.
On Wednesday,
India had attacked what it said was “terrorist infrastructure” in Pakistani Kashmir and Pakistan, two weeks after 26 people were killed
in an attack on Hindu tourists in Indian Kashmir, read the report.
Pakistan denied India’s accusations that it was involved in the attack
Days of cross-border fire, shelling and drone and missile attacks followed.
Despite the truce, two Indian government sources told Reuters
that the punitive measures announced by India and reciprocated by Pakistan, such as trade suspension and visa cancellations, would remain in
place for now.
The sources also said the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty, a critical water-sharing pact that India suspended after the Kashmir
attack, would remain suspended.
The Indian foreign ministry did not respond to a request for comment.
U.S
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that he and Vice President JD Vance had engaged with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and
Pakistan’s Shehbaz Sharif, Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Pakistan’s army chief Asim Munir, and the two national
security advisers over the course of 48 hours.
In a post on X, Rubio commended Modi and Sharif on the agreement, which he said included not
only an immediate ceasefire but also the start of talks on “a broad set of issues at a neutral site.”
News of the ceasefire was greeted
with relief on both sides of the border and Pakistan’s airport authority said its airspace had been fully reopened.
But the subsequent
violations sparked alarm in India.
“What the hell just happened to the ceasefire? Explosions heard across Srinagar!!!”, Omar Abdullah,
chief minister of Indian Kashmir, posted on X
The air defence units in the middle of Srinagar just opened up.”
India and Pakistan have been locked in a dispute over Kashmir ever since
they were born at the end of British colonial rule in 1947
Hindu-majority India and Muslim Pakistan both rule part of Kashmir but claim it in full.
They have gone to war three times, including twice
over Kashmir, alongside numerous smaller outbreaks of fighting.
India blames Pakistan for an insurgency in its part of Kashmir that began in
1989 and has killed tens of thousands
It also blames Pakistani Islamist militant groups for attacks elsewhere in India.
Pakistan rejects both charges
It says it provides only moral, political and diplomatic support to Kashmiri separatists, Reuters reported.
The post Explosions reported
after India and Pakistan agree to ceasefire first appeared on TINS News | Afghanistan News.
