India and Pakistan have agreed to a “full and immediate ceasefire”, US President Donald Trump announced on Saturday in a post on Truth Social.
Meanwhile, the ceasefire crumbled within hours as Pakistan violated the truce and India retaliated.
Just hours after India and Pakistan reached a military understanding to halt ongoing hostilities, Pakistan violated the ceasefire, prompting retaliation from the Indian Army, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said on Saturday night.
“An understanding was reached this evening between the DGMOs of India and Pakistan to stop the military action that was going on for the last few days,” Misri stated. “For the last few hours, this understanding is being violated by Pakistan. The Indian Army is retaliating and dealing with this border intrusion.”
Calling the fresh provocation “extremely condemnable,” Misri said Pakistan bears full responsibility for breaking the ceasefire deal that had been finalised through direct military engagement earlier in the day.
“We believe that Pakistan should understand this situation properly and take appropriate action immediately to stop this intrusion,” he said.
In Srinagar, multiple blasts were reported, leading to the imposition of a red alert and a complete blackout. Drones were shot down in Rajasthan’s Pokhran and Baramulla in Kashmir. Ceasefire violations were reported in Akhnoor, Rajouri, RS Pura, and Palanwalla sectors in Jammu, where the Pakistan Army resorted to artillery shelling. In Punjab, drone sightings were reported in Gurdaspur, Ferozepur, Pathankot, Hoshiarpur, Jalandhar, and Faridkot. The district administrations in Jalandhar and Ludhiana urged residents to stay indoors and observe voluntary blackouts. Gujarat home minister Harsh Sanghavi also confirmed drone activity in Kutch, announcing a complete blackout as a precaution. In Baramulla, a drone was shot down while other suspicious UAVs were spotted, prompting security forces to enforce a blackout. An air raid siren was also heard in Samba, while aerial activity led to a blackout in Katra, the base for the Vaishno Devi pilgrimage.
After four days of hostilities, the ceasefire came as a result of “long night of talks”, mediated by the United States.
“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 for using Common Sense and Great Intelligence. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” Trump had posted on Truth Social earlier today.
India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri had confirmed that both India and Pakistan would “stop all firing and military action on land, air and sea” with effect from 17:00 IST (12:30 BST).
Misri confirmed that the Directors General of Military Operations of India and Pakistan will talk again on the 12th of May at 1200 hours.
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar had also told Geo TV that the deal with India was a full-fledged ceasefire understanding between the countries.
Tensions escalated between India and Pakistan after a terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam claimed 26 lives last month.
India retaliated with ‘Operation Sindoor’ targeting nine terrorist bases in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir killing over a 100 terrorists, according to the government.
Residents of villages located near the Line of Control (LoC) in three districts of Kashmir left their homes in droves when Pakistan intensified its shelling of civilian areas over the last four days. Nearly 1.1 lakh people living along the LoC in Baramulla, Bandipora and Kupwara districts have moved to safer places as dozens of houses and government buildings have been hit by Pakistani shells.
“It is not easy to leave behind a place where you have spent all your life. I would not leave my home if the threat to my life and that of my family was not so high,” Irshad Ahmad Khwaja, a resident of a border village, told PTI.
Currently, border states including Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan, and Gujarat have reported cross-border shelling, drone sightings, and enforced blackouts in vulnerable districts.
Members of the Indian Sikh Community have firmly rejected Pakistan’s propaganda that Indian forces themselves attacked Gurudwaras in India. In Poonch, J&K, the General Secretary of Saheb Mahant Sahib Ji Gurudwara, Balbir Singh, stated, “The army of Pakistan could not stoop any lower…I was present in the Gurudwara when a Pakistani bomb touched the boundary wall of our Gurudwara…They are carrying out a propaganda… Not one, they (Pakistan) have hit three of our Gurudwaras…The Pakistan Army is infamous in the entire world. They are carrying false propaganda and are saying that the Indian Army is carrying out these attacks…”
(Agencies, Picture Courtesy:AP)
