A day following India and Pakistan’s agreement to a truce designed to halt
The most severe violence between these two nuclear-capable adversaries.
In past years, Indian authorities alleged that Islamabad had breached the agreement.
On Saturday morning, they reached an agreement to stop hostilities following what President Trump characterized as a U.S.-mediated accord. However, later in the day, Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misra stated that there had been multiple breaches of the ceasefire attributed to Pakistan.
This violates the previous agreement made today,” he stated. “The military is providing a suitable and fitting reaction.
In comments to a local broadcaster, Pakistan’s information minister, Attaullah Tarar, denied any violation of the cease-fire.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance spearheaded a diplomatic effort to encourage the two nations to ease tensions as the president worried the situation might turn into a nuclear confrontation.
Rubio spoke with his counterparts in both nations on Friday, explicitly urging them to initiate discussions “in order to prevent any misjudgment.”
The cease-fire ends days of clashes in the wake of a militant
attack in Indian-administered Kashmir
New Delhi attributes this to Islamabad, but Pakistan refutes any participation in the incident.
Senior American authorities were alerted on Friday to critical intelligence suggesting that tensions between Pakistan and India could escalate dramatically, said someone privy to the details.
In the last couple of days, Vance and Rubio have been at the forefront, contacting high-ranking officials from both India and Pakistan, pressing for an end to their intensifying conflicts.
On a Friday call with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Vance encouraged the leader to consider de-escalation options and outlined some ideas that Pakistan might agree to, according to a person familiar with the situation. Modi didn’t explicitly say he was open to Vance’s peace outline before they hung up.
U.S. officials then continued to call their counterparts in India and Pakistan to ensure that they would stop fighting within a period of 12 to 18 hours.
On a post made on his Truth Social platform early Saturday, Trump praised both nations for employing “Common Sense and Great Intelligence.”
Intervention from the U.S. has historically made an impact between the two nations. However, experts on politics have cautioned that America’s influence over Islamabad has diminished in recent times as China has drawn Pakistan nearer into its sphere of interest.
The U.S. remains perceived as a reliable mediator by both parties involved. Recently, political analysts expressed concerns that Trump was not sufficiently attentive to the danger of another significant conflict erupting globally, as he shifted his focus towards negotiating trade agreements after announcing tariffs in early April.
Rubio mentioned that both nations concurred with holding discussions regarding the wider concerns impacting their relationship. However, the Indian Foreign Ministry refuted any plans for additional talks.
In recent times, India and the U.S. have become considerably more aligned due to heightened strains with China.
Husain Haqqani, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and a previous Pakistani ambassador to the U.S., stated that Washington’s involvement was crucial.
“There is absolutely no trust between the two parties,” he stated. “In situations where the main participants completely distrust each other, the primary function of a significant nation serving as an intermediary for a truce is essentially to supply that necessary trust to prevent either party from becoming overwhelmed with panic.”
Nonetheless, Tamanna Salikuddin, a previous director for Afghanistan and Pakistan at the National Security Council during the Obama administration, stated that the U.S. seems to undervalue the challenges involved in ensuring a ceasefire holds steady. The tensions between Pakistan and India have been intensified by aggressive posturing from leaders on either side of the border, aiming to bolster domestic backing and demonstrate their supposedly enhanced military capabilities.
Meanwhile, the U.S. has allowed its role as a mediator in the area to weaken, she pointed out, adding that the Trump administration has not yet assigned ambassadors to New Delhi or Islamabad.
Earlier this week, India initiated what they referred to as
retaliatory strikes
for the militant attack last month in its part of Kashmir that left 26 people dead. Pakistan said it shot down Indian jets involved in those strikes. India hasn’t commented on the allegation.
Until the latest flare-up, India and Pakistan had maintained a frosty peace as both sides focused on internal issues, and India largely followed a strategy of not engaging with Pakistan.
But the first direct clashes this week—including the use of new types of weapons and claims by Pakistan that it downed Indian jet fighters—risked the simmering conflict between them erupting into a full-blown war.
India has said the militants involved in the Kashmir attack last month belong to Lashkar-e Taiba, a U.S.-designated terrorist organization based in Pakistan that
executed the 2008 Mumbai assaults
.
India alleges that Pakistan supports the militants involved. However, Pakistan denies having any role in the assault that occurred in April.
Initially, political observers anticipated that the recent conflicts would mirror those seen during a comparable dispute in 2019. This earlier conflict began with a lethal assault on security forces within the portion of Kashmir controlled by India. In response, India carried out strikes they claimed were aimed at eliminating so-called Pakistani terrorist bases across the frontier. At this point, Pakistan retaliated by bringing down an Indian warplane. Tensions eventually subsided once Islamabad returned the captured pilot.
However, during this occasion, both nations utilized kinds of weaponry they had never employed against one another previously, like numerous drones and loitering ammunition, which made the result harder to predict.
The ceasefire was considered a victory for the Trump administration. Halting the recent skirmish between India and Pakistan showcased the continued ability of Washington to impact international disputes.
Harsh Pant, a visiting professor at King’s College India Institute and the vice president for foreign policy programs at the New Delhi-basedObserver Research Foundation, stated that technological advancements on the battleground are altering how disputes arise.
“He mentioned that it adds an additional step to the escalation process.”
In 1947, when the Indian subcontinent gained independence, Kashmir was split between India and Pakistan; however, each country claims the entire Himalayan area. The two nations have engaged in three conflicts over this land, with the latest occurring in 1999.
Clashes this week included cross-border shelling for the first time in years.
India’s Misri stated on Saturday that a local government employee succumbed to injuries after Pakistan fired upon the town of Rajouri in the Jammu and Kashmir area. Pakistan did not promptly reply to requests for comments.
Indian Air Force Wing Commander Vyomika Singh earlier Saturday said that Pakistan attacked civilian sites such as a medical center and a school at several air bases, as well as military targets. Singh said India was targeting only identified military sites.
Singh also alleged that Pakistan’s army had moved soldiers into forward positions closer to India.
Before the cease-fire declaration on Saturday, Pakistan stated that its sole targets were military installations from which India was allegedly initiating assaults against their territory. Pakistan did not reply to requests seeking comments regarding reported troop movements.
A representative from the Pakistan military stated that Indian forces launched ballistic missile attacks targeting three of their airbases during the night, and drones reportedly conducted strikes throughout the nation.
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tripti.lahiri@wsj.com
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