By Gibran Naiyyar Peshimam, Shivam Patel, Charlotte Greenfield, and Aftab Ahmed
ISLAMABAD/NEW DELHI (WARNEWS) – On Saturday, U.S. President Donald Trump stated that India and Pakistan had committed to a complete and instant cessation of hostilities following four days of reciprocal attacks on each other’s military bases.
Pakistan’s foreign minister also said both countries had agreed to a ceasefire “with immediate effect” and India’s foreign ministry said it would start at 5 p.m. Indian time (1130 GMT).
Following extensive negotiations facilitated by the United States throughout a lengthy night, I am delighted to report that India and Pakistan have concurred upon an immediate and complete ceasefire. Kudos to both nations for employing sound judgment and remarkable wisdom,” stated Trump in a posting on Truth Social.
The sudden announcement came on a day when fears spiked that the countries’ nuclear arsenals might come into play as Pakistan’s military said a top military and civilian body overseeing its nuclear weapons would meet.
However, Pakistan’s defence minister subsequently stated that no such meeting had been planned.
Meanwhile, representatives from both parties indicated a readiness to retreat slightly after the day’s discussions, with the total number of civilians killed on both sides climbing to 66.
“Pakistan and India have reached an agreement for an immediate ceasefire,” tweeted Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar. “Pakistan has consistently pursued peace and security in the area while upholding our sovereignty and territorial integrity!”
The Indian Ministry of External Affairs stated that the chief of Pakistan’s military operations contacted his Indian counterpart on Saturday evening. Both parties concurred that they would cease all hostilities.
The two leaders will converse once more on May 12, the ministry further stated.
The conflict started on Wednesday as India conducted airstrikes targeting what they claimed was “terrorist infrastructure” within Pakistani Kashmir and Pakistan itself. This action came two weeks following an incident where 26 individuals were murdered in an assault on Hindu visitors in Indian Kashmir.
Pakistan refuted India’s claims that it had a role in the assault on tourists. Following Wednesday, both nations engaged in reciprocal border skirmishes involving artillery fire and missile launches, as well as sending drones over each other’s territory.
The countries have been locked in a dispute over Kashmir since they were born after the end of British colonial rule in 1947. Hindu-majority India and Islamic Pakistan both claim Kashmir in full but rule it in part.
They have engaged in warfare three additional instances since then, with two of those conflicts centered around Kashmir, along with multiple smaller confrontations.
India attributes the insurgency in its portion of Kashmir, which started in 1989 and resulted in tens of thousands of deaths, to Pakistan. Additionally, India holds Pakistani extremist groups responsible for various assaults within India itself.
Pakistan denies both accusations. It maintains that it offers only moral, political, and diplomatic backing to Kashmiri separatists.
(Reported by Gibran Peshimam, Charlotte Greenfield, and Saeed Shah in Islamabad; Ariba Shahid in Karachi; Asif Shahzad in Muzaffarabad; Shivam Patel in New Delhi; Aftab Ahmed in Jammu; Fayaz Bukhari in Srinagar; Saurabh Sharma in Amritsar; and Rishabh Jaiswal in Bangalore. Written by Charlotte Greenfield, Gibran Peshimam, Krishna N. Das, and YP Rajesh. Edited by Jacqueline Wong, Edmund Klamann, and Mark Potter.)
