India and Pakistan ceasefire shaken by border fighting in disputed Kashmir
People on both sides of the line of control, which divides the territory, reported heavy exchanges of fire between Indian and Pakistani troops, though the fighting subsided by Sunday morning.
Advertisement
The two countries agreed to a truce on Saturday after talks to defuse the most serious military confrontation between them in decades, which was sparked by a gun massacre of tourists that India blames on Pakistan, which denies the charge.
As part of the ceasefire, the nuclear-armed neighbours agreed to immediately stop all firing and military action on land, in the air and at sea. They accused each other of repeatedly violating the deal just hours later.
Red projectiles are seen on the horizon in Srinagar, in Indian-controlled Kashmir, on Saturday (Mukhtar Khan/AP)
Drones were spotted on Saturday night over Indian-controlled Kashmir and the western state of Gujarat, according to Indian officials.
In the Poonch area of Indian-controlled Kashmir, people said the intense shelling from the past few days had left them traumatised.
Advertisement
'Most people ran as shells were being fired,' said student Sosan Zehra, who returned home on Sunday. 'It was completely chaotic.'
In Pakistan-controlled Kashmir's Neelum Valley, which is three kilometres from the line of control, people said there were exchanges of fire and heavy shelling after the ceasefire began.
Resident Mohammad Zahid said: 'We were happy about the announcement but, once again, the situation feels uncertain.'
Residents had earlier celebrated following news that India and Pakistan had reached a ceasefire deal (Pervez Masih/AP)
US President Donald Trump was the first to post about the deal, announcing it on his Truth Social platform. Indian and Pakistani officials confirmed the news shortly after.
Advertisement
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a high-level meeting on Sunday with top government and military officials.
India, unlike Pakistan, has not said anything about Mr Trump or the US since the deal was announced. Nor has India acknowledged anyone beyond its military contact with the Pakistanis.
Both armies have engaged in daily fighting since Wednesday along the rugged and mountainous line of control, which is marked by razor wire coils, watchtowers and bunkers that snake across foothills populated by villages, tangled bushes and forests.
They have routinely blamed the other for starting the skirmishes while insisting they were only retaliating.
Advertisement
India and Pakistan's two top military officials are due to speak again on Monday.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
2 hours ago
- Reuters
Zelenskiy says current front lines should be the start for negotiations
KYIV, Aug 17 (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, speaking in Brussels on Sunday, said the current front lines in his country's war against Russia should be the basis for peace talks. "We need real negotiations, which means we can start where the front line is now," Zelenskiy said, adding that European leaders supported this. Zelenskiy was speaking ahead of a virtual meeting with European leaders and before he travels to Washington to meet with Donald Trump following the U.S. leader's summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday. Zelenskiy reiterated his position that it was necessary to establish a ceasefire in order to then negotiate a final deal. "It's important that Washington is with us," the Ukrainian leader said. He will be accompanied by several European allies for Monday's talks with Trump. Zelenskiy said that Ukraine did not yet know all the demands made by Putin at the meeting with Trump on Friday, adding that it would take a long time to go over them -- and that this was not possible under "the pressure of weapons".
Reuters
2 hours ago
- Reuters
India confident of meeting fiscal deficit target, despite planned tax cuts
NEW DELHI, Aug 17 (Reuters) - India is confident of meeting its fiscal deficit target of 4.4% for the current fiscal year, according to a government source with knowledge of the matter, despite its plans to cut consumption tax later this year. In the biggest tax overhaul since 2017, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday announced sweeping changes to the complex goods and services tax (GST) regime which will make daily essentials and electronics cheaper. "India's federal and state governments have options to offset any loss of revenue due to lowering of rates," the government source said without providing further details. The source also said it will end the practice of collecting compensation cess by December. The GST compensation cess is an additional levy imposed on certain items to compensate states for any revenue loss incurred due to the implementation. India's finance ministry did not respond to a request for comment sent outside of office hours.
BBC News
3 hours ago
- BBC News
European leaders to join Zelensky at White House meeting with Trump
European leaders have said they will join Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at his meeting with US President Donald Trump at the White House on travelling include UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Nato Secretary-General Mark comes after Trump failed to reach a deal on ending the war in Ukraine during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on US president has since said he wants to bypass securing a ceasefire in Ukraine in favour of a permanent peace agreement. Securing a ceasefire in Ukraine had been one of Trump's core demands before meeting Putin, but afterwards posted on social media that they "often times do not hold up" and that it would be better "to go directly to a peace agreement".European leaders have reacted with caution to the outcome of the Trump-Putin meeting, seeking not to criticise the change of direction despite their long-held support for a reportedly presented Trump with a peace offer that would require Ukraine withdrawing from the Donetsk region of the Donbas, in return for Russia freezing the front lines in Zaporizhzhia and claims the Donbas as Russian territory, controlling most of Luhansk and about 70% of Donetsk. It also illegally annexed the Crimean peninsula in 2014, eight years before launching its full-scale invasion of BBC's US partner CBS has reported, citing diplomatic sources, that European officials were concerned Trump may try to pressure Zelensky into agreeing to the possible terms discussed in Alaska when they meet on president has previously ruled out ceding control of the Donbas - composed of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions - saying it could be used as a springboard for future Russian attacks. Von der Leyen, who is meeting Zelensky in Brussels on Sunday, wrote on X that she would join Zelensky at the White House at the Ukrainian president's Rutte, Sir Keir, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Italian PM Giorgia Meloni all followed in quick succession. Downing Street said in a statement that it "follows the Prime Minister commending President Trump's efforts to end Russia's illegal war in Ukraine, reasserting his position that the path to peace cannot be decided without President Zelensky".Monday's White House meeting will be Zelensky's first since an acrimonious public exchange in the Oval Office in February, when Trump told him to be more "thankful" for US support and accused him of "gambling with World War Three" in front of the world's unprecedented scenes, Zelensky was told to leave the White House, but European leaders have since worked to repair the relationship. The two leaders appeared to reconcile in April, in what the White House described as a "very productive" 15-minute meeting on the sidelines of Pope Francis's has also signed a minerals deal that gave the US a financial stake in the country, and Kyiv made it clear they were willing to pay for US there will have been concern in Kyiv and other European capitals following the Trump-Putin meeting on Russian president, who is facing an International Criminal Court arrest warrant for alleged war crimes in Ukraine, stepped off his jet and onto a red carpet to be warmly received by Trump, who later said they had a "fantastic relationship". Ukraine's ket demand has been a quick ceasefire so that talks on a longer-term settlement do not take place on the backdrop of continued said following the Alaska summit that a "real peace must be achieved, one that will be lasting, not just another pause between Russian invasions".European leaders have managed to maintain good relations with Trump since his return to the White House, with Sir Keir building an especially warm relationship with the US president.
