New Delhi: India Saturday announced that New Delhi and Islamabad had agreed to “stop firing on land and in the air and sea with effect from 1700 hours”, bringing an end to armed hostilities that escalated after Pakistan responded to India’s Operation Sindoor carried out in retaliation to the 22 April Pahalgam terror attack.
Before India could announce the agreement with Pakistan, US President Donald Trump posted on his social media network Truth Social that “after a long night of talks mediated by the US, I am pleased to announce that India and Pakistan have agreed to full and immediate ceasefire. Congratulations to both countries for using common sense and great intelligence. Thank you for your attention to this matter”.
India, which has always spoken about keeping India-Pakistan issue a bilateral matter, was at pains to distance itself from Trump’s statement and that of Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Rubio posted on X that over the past 48 hours, he along with Vice-President J.D. Vance “have engaged with senior Indian and Pakistani officials, including Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Shehbaz Sharif, External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Chief of Army Staff Asim Munir, and National Security Advisors Ajit Doval and Asim Malik”.
“I am pleased to announce the Governments of India and Pakistan have agreed to an immediate ceasefire and to start talks on a broad set of issues at a neutral site. We commend Prime Ministers Modi and Sharif on their wisdom, prudence, and statesmanship in choosing the path of peace,” he said.
Hours after India and Pakistan announced the agreement to pause hostilities, there were ceasefire violations along the LoC and drones over Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab and Rajasthan, according to a senior government official. Indian air defence activated.
On his part, India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri had read out a short statement in which he did not use the word ‘ceasefire’, saying, “The Director General of Military Operations of Pakistan called the Director General of Military Operations of India at 1535 hours IST earlier today. It was agreed between them that both sides would stop all firing and military action on land and in the air and sea with effect from 1700 hours Indian Standard Time today. Instructions have been given on both sides to give effect to the understanding. The Director Generals of Military Operations will talk again on the 12th of May at 1200 hours,” he said.
Misri left the briefing room after this short statement.
Indian officials underlined that it was Pakistan’s DGMO who called and an understanding was reached directly between the two sides. Explaining further, the officials said there was “no precondition, no post-condition” and the agreement remains a “bilateral understanding”.
They also pointed out that while Trump had used the word “ceasefire”, the statement by the Foreign Secretary did not say so.
Sources also underlined the agreement has been reached just to stop firing and that it has nothing to do with any other issue. They underlined the Indus Waters Treaty will continue to remain in abeyance.
At a military briefing held after the foreign secretary’s statement, Indian Navy Commodore Raghunath Nair said, “We have stopped all military activities and all three armed forces have been instructed to adhere to this understanding.”
He ended the briefing by saying, “We remain fully prepared and ever-vigilant and committed to defending the sovereignty of the motherland. Any future escalation by Pakistan will invite a decisive response. We remain in full operational readiness”.
(Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)