By Gibran Naiyyar Peshimam, Shivam Patel, Charlotte Greenfield, and Aftab Ahmed
ISLAMABAD/NEW DELHI (WARNEWS) – The nuclear-powered rivals India and Pakistan consented to a truce on Saturday following intense U.S.-led diplomatic efforts. This agreement marked an abrupt halt to hostilities that appeared to be escalating dangerously.
The four-day conflict that started on Wednesday was the harshest confrontation between the longtime South Asian rivals in almost 30 years, posing a significant risk of escalating into an all-out war within one of the globe’s most unstable and heavily populated areas.
Initially, concerns arose regarding the potential use of nuclear armaments when Pakistan’s military announced that a key committee supervising their nuclear arsenal was convening for discussion.
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.
India and Pakistan have reached an agreement for an immediate ceasefire,” declared Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on X. “Pakistan remains committed to achieving peace and security in the area while upholding our sovereignty and territorial integrity!
The Indian foreign secretary said the two countries’ military chiefs had spoken to each other and agreed that all fighting would stop at 5 p.m. Indian time (1130 GMT), without using the word “ceasefire”.
President Donald Trump announced: “Following extensive negotiations facilitated by the United States overnight, I’m delighted to share that India and Pakistan have committed to a TOTAL AND INSTANT CEASEFIRE. Kudos to both nations for employing Practical Thinking and High Wisdom.”
HOTLINES AND DIPLOMACY
Dar informed Geo News that communication routes used by militaries of both nations as well as direct contact lines between Indian and Pakistani authorities were operationalized, with around three dozen countries assisting in brokering the deal.
The Foreign Secretary of India, Vikram Misri, who holds the highest diplomatic position in the country, stated that the two top military officials will have another conversation on May 12th.
On Wednesday, India struck back at what they described as “terrorist infrastructure” in Pakistani Kashmir and Pakistan itself, following the deaths of 26 individuals in an assault on Hindu visitors in Indian Kashmir just two weeks prior.
Pakistan refuted India’s claims that it had a role in the assault. This led to days of retaliatory border clashes involving artillery exchanges, drone incursions, and missile strikes from both sides.
Despite the truce, two Indian government sources told WARNEWSthat the punitive measures announced by India and reciprocated by Pakistan, such as trade suspension and visa cancellations, would remain in place for now.
Sources indicated that the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty, an essential agreement for sharing waters which India paused following the Kashmir assault, will stay on hold.
The Indian Ministry of External Affairs did not reply to requests for comments.
The U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that during a span of 48 hours, he and Vice President JD Vance held discussions with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Pakistani leader Shehbaz Sharif, India’s Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Pakistan’s military head Asim Munir, along with both countries’ national security advisors.
DISCUSSIONS TO TAKE PLACE AT IMPARTIAL LOCATION
On a post on X, Rubio praised Modi and Sharif for their agreement, noting that it encompassed not just an instant truce but also the commencement of discussions on “a wide range of topics” at a neutral location.
Jaishankar stated that India has persistently upheld a strong and “unalterable position against terrorism in every form and manifestation,” and this commitment will remain unchanged.
The announcement of the truce brought relief to people on either side of the border, and Pakistan’s airport authorities stated that their airspace had been completely reinstated.
Omar Abdullah, who serves as the chief minister of Indian-controlled Kashmir and has witnessed much of the conflict firsthand, expressed approval for the ceasefire. However, he also noted: “If this agreement had come into effect just two to three days earlier, those lives that were lost might still be with us.”
News outlets in Pakistan broadcasted images of tanks heading back from the frontier.
“Ehsan Malik, CEO of the Pakistan Business Council, stated that both Pakistan and India must improve numerous aspects of socioeconomic development for their substantial populations,” he noted. “We are pleased that a ceasefire will enable both administrations to concentrate on this crucial issue.”
Shuja Nawaz, distinguished fellow at the Atlantic Council’s South Asia Center, said the Indus treaty would figure prominently in the impending talks “after a decent interval, which allows both governments to claim credit for what they’ve achieved until now”.
Since their inception following the end of British colonial rule in 1947, India and Pakistan have been embroiled in a conflict over Kashmir. While Hindu-majority India and Muslim Pakistan each control a portion of Kashmir, both nations assert complete sovereignty over the region.
They have engaged in warfare three times, with two instances specifically involving Kashmir, along with several minor skirmishes.
India accuses Pakistan of being responsible for an uprising in its portion of Kashmir that started in 1989 and has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths. Additionally, India holds Pakistani extremist organizations accountable for various assaults across different parts of India.
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, and Saurabh Sharma with contributions from 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)
