New Delhi and Islamabad have announced a truce and will have further discussions on May 12 to formalize the agreement
Following the recent escalation between India and Pakistan, the two nuclear-armed nations announced a ceasefire on Saturday. Both sides have issued directives to enforce the truce, and the director-generals of the two countries are expected to hold further talks on May 12, according to New Delhi.
India continues to maintain a heightened state of alert and operational readiness as ceasefire violations and cross-border tensions persist, the military said.
The ceasefire came into effect at 5:00pm local time. Just three hours later, however, explosions were heard in Srinagar, Kashmir and other parts of India.
“Over the last few hours, there have been repeated violations of the understanding arrived at earlier this evening between the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMO) of India and Pakistan. This is a breach of the understanding arrived at earlier today,” India’s foreign secretary stated at a late night briefing.
“We call upon Pakistan to take appropriate steps to address these violations and deal with the situation with seriousness and responsibility.”
Minutes later, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif addressed the nation, thanking the military for what he called a “historic success” in their operation against India. As a “responsible nation,” Pakistan has given a positive response to the ceasefire proposal, he said.
Islamabad will pursue “the path of negotiations” to ease tensions with New Delhi, Sharif added, without mentioning the ceasefire violations reported by the Indian side.
Shortly before New Delhi and Islamabad announced the truce, US President Donald Trump posted on his Truth Social account that the two nations had agreed to immediately cease hostilities “after a long night of talks mediated by the United States.”
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the two nations were ready to “start talks on a broad set of issues at a neutral site.” While New Delhi has not officially confirmed the US role in mediating the ceasefire, the Pakistani prime minister thanked Trump, among others, including the leaders of China, Saudi Arabia, and Türkiye, for their role in achieving the ceasefire.
Military escalation
The escalation between the two neighbors began on May 7, when India launched Operation Sindoor against non-military and non-civilian targets in Pakistan.
New Delhi said it was targeting terrorist bases in the country in response to a terrorist attack in Pahalgam in India’s Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory in late April that killed 26 tourists. The Resistance Front, believed to be linked to the Pakistani-based Lashkar-e-Taiba, initially claimed responsibility for the attack, but later denied it.
Islamabad denied having any involvement. Indian investigators, however, claim to have identified the attackers’ planners and communication hubs connected to Pakistan.
New Delhi said on May 7 that it struck nine suspected terrorist-linked sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir. “Our actions have been focused, measured, and non-escalatory in nature,” the Indian government stated, adding that it has shown “considerable restraint in the selection of targets and method of execution.”
During the first phase of the operation, India claimed that it struck nine locations in Pakistan. Islamabad, however, claimed that 31 civilians were killed in the initial strike and called the operation an act of “unprovoked aggression,” vowing to respond accordingly.
Hours later, it launched attacks on various locations in Jammu and Kashmir, which New Delhi said resulted in at least 16 fatalities and dozens of injuries.
India stated that on the night of May 8-9, Pakistan launched around 300 drone attacks across 36 locations in India. The targets included cities, military establishments, and religious places, indicating a deliberate attempt by the Pakistan Army to strike a wide range of locations. The drones used in the attacks were reportedly Turkish-made, officials added.
India reportedly used the Russian-made S-400 mobile surface-to-air system to repel the attacks, according to government sources familiar with the situation. “S-400 was a part of the layered air defense of India,” the sources said. “They were used to track aerial threats.”
India responded by targeting air defense radars and systems in various locations in Pakistan, according to the Indian Defense Ministry. The Indian attacks caused damage and wounded soldiers, Pakistani officials were cited as saying by AP.
On May 9, Pakistan launched Operation Bunyan Al Marsoos (unbreakable wall), in what it said was retaliation for Indian strikes on its territory and the Pakistani-controlled part of Kashmir region, which has been claimed by both nations since 1947, when they gained independence from Britain.
Islamabad said the operation aims to “protect Pakistan’s sovereignty, security, and oppressed citizens,” calling it a “befitting” response to Indian “aggression.” The government claimed to have “successfully targeted key Indian military installations,” destroyed a brigade headquarters at G Top, and hit a missile storage site in northern India.
Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said Pakistan had no choice but to retaliate to the Indian attacks, but later signaled willingness to deescalate if India halts further strikes.
India responded with “retaliatory” precision airstrikes on Pakistani air bases and radar sites. The military released time-stamped images of intact air bases and confirmed only limited damage to personnel and infrastructure at Udhampur, Bhuj, Pathankot, and Bathinda.
Indian officials denied Islamabad’s claims of critical infrastructure damage, calling them “lies, misinformation, and propaganda.” The military released time-stamped images of intact air bases and confirmed only limited damage to personnel and infrastructure at Udhampur, Bhuj, Pathankot, and Bathinda. India also denied claims that its S-400 systems and BrahMos base were hit.
India also denied claims that its S-400 systems and BrahMos base were hit.
The Indian Army later stated that it destroyed several terrorist launchpads near the Line of Control in response to the Pakistani strikes, calling them “hubs for planning and executing terror attacks against Indian civilians and security forces.”
Diplomatic standoff
Following the April 2 Pahalgam attack, the two countries took sweeping measures to further downgrade diplomatic and trade ties.
India-Pakistan relations have been strained for decades over Kashmir. The two nuclear-armed neighbors have fought four wars and have had repeated border skirmishes. Relations have been nearly frozen since 2019, after the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government abrogated Article 370 of the constitution, which granted a certain level of autonomy to Jammu and Kashmir.
Reacting to the April 22 massacre, New Delhi reduced the staff at the Pakistani High Commission, expelled Pakistani diplomats, and closed its land border. It also suspended visa services for Pakistani nationals and advised Indian citizens in Pakistan to promptly return home.
Also, for the first time in six decades, India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty, which allows the two countries to share the waters of the Indus River system. New Delhi said the measures would remain in effect “until Pakistan credibly and irrevocably abjures its support for cross-border terrorism.”
Islamabad has denied it had any involvement in the Kashmir attack. It issued a reciprocal response to India’s measures on Thursday, suspending key bilateral agreements and cross-border routes, closing its airspace to all Indian-owned or operated airlines. India later responded with the same measures.
Islamabad was especially outraged over India’s unilateral suspension of the water treaty, warning that if India follows through on its threat to block the rivers, it would take this as “an act of war.”
Neither Islamabad nor New Delhi has issued an official statement on the status of the agreement following the announcement of the ceasefire. Sources in the Indian government on Saturday noted that the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty remains intact. India will not share any hydrological information with Pakistan and will proceed with water infrastructure projects on the three northern rivers, the sources added.
Sources in New Delhi also said that while Washington did not directly mediate the ceasefire, it played a role in deescalation by placing “direct pressure” on Pakistan, linking the provisional release of a $1 billion IMF loan, which New Delhi opposed, to immediate acceptance of the ceasefire. The US also formally acknowledged that New Delhi has revised its war doctrine, under which any future terrorist attack will be treated as an act of war, the sources added.
