India and Pakistan
approved an instant truce on Saturday, surprisingly ending the most intense combat in many decades between the neighboring nuclear powers, precisely as their retaliatory attacks seemed to be escalating out of hand.
Even though US President Donald Trump was the first to declare the ceasefire and took credit for it, conflicting reports have surfaced regarding the degree of US participation in the accord.
Just hours after the announcement there have been reports of violations from both sides, raising questions about how long it will last.
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What led to the ceasefire?
Shortly before 8 a.m. Eastern Time, which was around 5 p.m. in India and Pakistan, Trump declared the ceasefire in a statement posted on Truth Social.
Following extensive negotiations facilitated by the United States throughout the night, I am delighted to report that India and Pakistan have committed to an immediate and comprehensive ceasefire,” Trump stated, commending the leadership of both nations for their “sound judgment and sharp intellect.”
Shortly afterward, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that India and Pakistan had not just consented to a ceasefire but also committed to “engage in discussions on multiple topics at a neutral location.” According to Rubio, this agreement followed his conversations along with Vice President JD Vance over the last forty-eight hours with high-ranking officials from each nation.
A short while later, Pakistan announced that the ceasefire would take effect right away. India followed suit with their acknowledgment shortly thereafter.
India’s Ministry of Information said the agreement was worked out “directly between the two countries,” downplaying US involvement and contradicting Trump’s claim. The ministry also said there was “no decision” to hold further talks.
However, Pakistani authorities have showered compliments on Washington.
“We appreciate President Trump’s guidance and active efforts toward achieving peace in the area,” stated Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
A Pakistani source familiar with the negotiations told WARNEWSthat the US – and Rubio in particular – was instrumental in striking the deal, painting a picture of talks that were in doubt right until the truce was confirmed.
Why the differing accounts?
It should not be surprising that these bitter rivals have given contradictory accounts of how the ceasefire was reached.
India, which views itself as an ascendant superpower, has long been resistant to international mediation, whereas Pakistan, which is heavily dependent on foreign aid, tends to welcome it, analysts say.
“India has never accepted mediation in any dispute, be it India-Pakistan or India-China, or any other,” said Dr. Aparna Pande, research fellow for India and South Asia at the Hudson Institute, a think-tank in Washington, DC.
“Pakistan, on the other hand, has always sought international mediation so they will praise it,” she added, saying it is “the only way it can put pressure on India to discuss and resolve the Kashmir dispute.”
The fighting before Saturday’s ceasefire was marked by claims, counterclaims and disinformation from both sides. Now that the conflict has paused, both sides are ramping up their efforts to shape perceptions of what the fighting achieved and how it ended.
What happened Saturday?
The afternoon’s ceasefire is all the more surprising given the intensity of this morning’s fighting.
In the early hours of Saturday morning, Pakistan said India had launched missiles at several of its key military bases. It said the strikes spanned from sites in Pakistan-administered Kashmir to a military base close to its capital, Islamabad.
In response, Pakistan said it fired back at military air bases in India. “An eye for an eye,” its military said in a statement.
Hours later, explosions were reported in Indian-administered Kashmir, including Srinagar, the region’s largest city, and in the city of Jaamu. Sharif said Pakistan had delivered “a resounding reply” to Indian aggression.
After four days of direct military strikes on the other’s territory, many in the region feared that – in the absence of meaningful international pressure – the tit-for-tat strikes would continue to escalate.
What was the trigger for the crisis?
The current bout of conflict started in Kashmir, an contentious area that has been a critical source of tension between India and Pakistan ever since they achieved independence from Britain in 1947.
Following the violent division of British India, which led to the creation of majority-Hindu India and majority-Muslim Pakistan, both countries assert complete sovereignty over all of Kashmir, even though each controls just portions of it. Shortly after gaining independence, these nations engaged in their initial conflict out of three wars concerning this region.
On April 26, assailants fired upon tourists in Pahalgam, a scenic spot in the mountains of Indian-controlled Kashmir. The attack claimed at least 25 Indian nationals and one Nepalese life.
New Delhi promptly accused Islamabad, alleging that it was backing “cross-border terrorism.” Pakistan has refuted any participation in the incident.
Two weeks following the Pahalgam massacre, India initiated a sequence of assaults on Pakistan and the portions of Kashmir under its control on Wednesday, referring to this operation as “Operation Sindoor.”
Since then, the area affected by the conflict has significantly expanded compared to earlier instances of combat, as each side has launched attacks well within the other’s territorial boundaries.
What was the reason for U.S. involvement?
Only two days back, JD Vance minimized the possible impact of the U.S. in the escalating India-Pakistan conflict.
“What we can do is attempt to persuade these individuals to calm down somewhat; however, we won’t insert ourselves into a conflict that isn’t really our concern and doesn’t have anything to do with America’s capacity to manage it,” Vance stated to Fox News on Thursday.
Vance’s reversal reflects the growing worry within not only the U.S., but also the broader global community, regarding the intensifying confrontation between these two nuclear-armed nations.
Trump administration officials told WARNEWSthat, after receiving alarming intelligence on Friday about the extent to which the conflict could escalate, the State Department felt it had no choice but to play a greater role in talks between the two sides
Will the ceasefire hold?
Although India and Pakistan have stepped back from the brink for now, it remains to be seen whether the ceasefire will hold.
On Saturday, India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri charged Pakistan with multiple breaches of the ceasefire agreement following explosions reported in areas of Kashmir controlled by both India and Pakistan.
Pakistan similarly alleged that India had carried out breaches but emphasized that it “continues to uphold its commitment to faithfully implement the ceasefire agreement.”
Following the tourist massacre, they unveiled several additional retaliatory measures: halting visa issuances, prohibiting trade, with India also deciding to withdraw from an important water-sharing agreement. The possibility of these actions being overturned remains uncertain as of now.
WARNews’ Rhea Mogul, Sophia Saifi, Esha Mitra, Aditi Sangal, Nic Robertson, Alayne Treene, Aishwarya S. Iyer, Kunal Shah, Sophie Tanno, and Mukhtar Ahmad provided reporting assistance.
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