India and Pakistan ceasefire shaken by overnight border fighting in disputed Kashmir region
A ceasefire to end the conflict between India and Pakistan was shaken by overnight border fighting in the disputed Kashmir region.
People on both sides of the Line of Control, which divides the territory, reported heavy exchanges of fire between Indian and Pakistani troops. The fighting subsided by Sunday morning.
The two countries agreed to a truce a day earlier after talks to defuse the most serious military confrontation between them in decades following a gun massacre of tourists that India blames on Pakistan, which denies the charge.
As part of the ceasefire, the nuclear-armed neighbors 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.
Drones were spotted 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 traumatized them.
'Most people ran as shells were being fired,' said college student Sosan Zehra who returned home Sunday. 'It was completely chaotic.'
In Pakistan-controlled Kashmir's Neelum Valley, which is three kilometers 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.'
U.S. 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.
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 Trump or the U.S. since the deal was announced. Nor has India acknowledged anyone beyond its military contact with the Pakistanis.
Pakistan has thanked the U.S and especially Trump several times for facilitating the ceasefire.
On Sunday, U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said Secretary General Antonio Guterres welcomed the deal as a positive step toward ending current hostilities and easing tensions. 'He hopes the agreement will contribute to lasting peace and foster an environment conducive to addressing broader, longstanding issues between the two countries,' added Dujarric.
India and Pakistan 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 themselves were only retaliating.
India and Pakistan's two top military officials are due to speak again on Monday.
Kashmir is split between the two countries and claimed by both in its entirety.
They have fought two of their three wars over the region and their ties have been shaped by conflict, aggressive diplomacy and mutual suspicion, mostly due to their competing claims.
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