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The Citizen
10-05-2025
- Politics
- The Citizen
India and Pakistan agree to ceasefire after days of attacks
Officials from Islamabad and New Delhi confirmed the development minutes after Trump posted the announcement on his Truth Social network. A security personnel stands guard near the Karachi Port in Karachi on May 9, 2025, amid the ongoing border tensions between India and Pakistan after the Kashmir tourist attack. Picture: Rizwan TABASSUM / AFP Pakistan and India agreed Saturday to a full and immediate ceasefire after days of deadly jet fighter, missile, drone and artillery attacks. US President Donald Trump surprisingly announced the news and congratulated them on using 'common sense.' Officials from Islamabad and New Delhi confirmed the development minutes after Trump posted the announcement on his Truth Social network, as the conflict between the nuclear-armed neighbours appeared to be spiralling towards a full-blown war. '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 on using common sense and great intelligence,' Trump posted. Indian foreign secretary Vikram Misri said both sides would 'stop all firing and military action on land, air and sea' with effect from 5 pm. In a statement on X, Pakistan Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said: 'Pakistan and India have agreed to a ceasefire with immediate effect.' 'Pakistan has always strived for peace and security in the region, without compromising on its sovereignty and territorial integrity,' he added. An Indian government source told AFP that the ceasefire had been worked out bilaterally. 'The stoppage of firing and military action between India and Pakistan was worked out directly between the two countries,' the source told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity. Attacks and counter-attacks The ceasefire comes after four days of attacks and counter-attacks by both sides that killed at least 60 people and saw thousands of civilians flee their homes along their border as well as in divided Kashmir. The fighting was touched off by an attack last month in the Indian-administered side of Kashmir that killed 26 tourists, mostly Hindu men, which Delhi blamed on Islamabad. India accused the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba — a UN-designated terrorist organisation — of carrying out the attack, but Islamabad has denied any involvement and called for an independent probe. Militants have stepped up operations in Kashmir since 2019, when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu-nationalist government revoked its limited autonomy and took the state under direct rule from New Delhi. The countries have fought several wars over the territory, which both claim in full but administer separate portions of since gaining independence from British rule in 1947. Positive step 'The ceasefire is a positive step,' said Bilal Shabbir, an IT consultant in Muzaffarabad, in Pakistan-administered Kashmir. 'In war, it's not just soldiers who die, it's mostly civilians — and in this case, it would have been the people of Kashmir.' In Srinagar, Indian-administered Kashmir, resident Sukesh Khajuria was more cautious. 'The ceasefire is welcome, but it's difficult to trust Pakistan. We have to be vigilant,' he said. Both sides will pay a high price economically for the conflict. Pakistani military sources claimed its forces had shot down at least 77 Israeli-made hi-tech drones; the debris of some was seen by AFP reporters, while Indian officials said they had destroyed hundreds of Pakistani drones, many Turkish-made. Pakistan also says it downed five Indian warplanes, including three multi-million dollar French Rafale fighter jets, although New Delhi has not confirmed any losses. Independent verification of claims by either side has been difficult. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the ceasefire came about after he and Vice-President JD Vance engaged with senior officials on both sides. '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,' he said on X. Vance posted on the same platform: 'My gratitude to the leaders of India and Pakistan for their hard work and willingness to engage in this ceasefire.' News of the ceasefire was welcomed in Britain, the Indian subcontinent's former colonial master and home to a huge diaspora from both countries. 'Today's ceasefire between India and Pakistan is hugely welcome,' Foreign Secretary David Lammy wrote on X. 'I urge both parties to sustain this. De-escalation is in everybody's interest.' © Agence France-Presse
eNCA
08-05-2025
- Politics
- eNCA
Pakistan and India accuse each other of waves of drone attacks
India and Pakistan accused each other Thursday of carrying out waves of drone attacks, as deadly confrontations between the nuclear-armed foes drew global calls for calm. Pakistan's army said it shot down 25 Indian drones, while New Delhi accused Islamabad of launching overnight raids with "drones and missiles", and claimed it destroyed an air defence system in Lahore. The fighting comes two weeks after New Delhi blamed Islamabad for backing an attack on the Indian-run side of disputed Kashmir, which Pakistan denied. The South Asian neighbours have fought multiple wars over the divided territory since they were carved out of the sub-continent at the end of British rule in 1947. At least 45 deaths have been reported from both sides following a sharp escalation on Wednesday, when India launched missiles it said targeted "terrorist camps", and Pakistan retaliated with a barrage of artillery strikes. AFP | Rizwan TABASSUM "Pakistan attempted to engage a number of military targets... using drones and missiles," India's defence ministry said in a statement Thursday, adding that "these were neutralised". The defence ministry said earlier its military had "targeted air defence radars and systems at a number of locations in Pakistan", adding it had been "reliably learnt that an air defence system at Lahore has been neutralised". - Blasts heard in Lahore - Residents reported hearing the sound of blasts from the city, and aviation authorities briefly shut down operations at the main airport there and in the capital, Islamabad. Karachi airport was also closed and remained so on Thursday evening. Earlier, Pakistan's military said in a statement that it had "shot down 25 Israeli-made Harop drones" at multiple locations across the country. AFP | Sajjad HUSSAIN "Last night, India showed another act of aggression by sending drones to multiple locations," Pakistan's military spokesman Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said from the army's headquarters in Rawalpindi, where a drone was downed. Crowds gathered at crash sites, some close to army installations, to gaze at the debris. Emergency responders who were called by the public to the scene in Rawalpindi urged the public "not to panic". "Let the authorities take care of it. Stay inside," said one emergency worker, 32-year-old Wajid, who only gave one name. Speaking after the Wednesday missile strike, India's Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said New Delhi had a "right to respond" following the attack on tourists in Pahalgam in Kashmir last month, when gunmen killed 26 people, mainly Hindu men. New Delhi blamed the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba -- a UN-designated terrorist organisation for the Pahalgam shooting, and the nations traded days of threats and diplomatic measures. Pakistan has denied any involvement and called for an independent investigation into the April 22 attack. - Global pressure - Pakistan's military said on Wednesday that five Indian jets had been downed across the border, but New Delhi has not responded to the claims. An Indian senior security source, who asked not to be named, said three of its fighter jets had crashed on home territory. Diplomats and world leaders have pressured both countries to step back from the brink. AFP | Aamir QURESHI "I want to see them stop," US President Donald Trump said Wednesday. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on Thursday in New Delhi, days after visiting Pakistan, as Tehran seeks to mediate. In Poonch, a town in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir that was bombarded on Wednesday, and bore the brunt of shelling by Pakistan, Madasar Choudhary said his sister saw two children killed by shells. "She saw two children running out of her neighbour's house and screamed for them to get back inside," said Choudhary, 29. "But shrapnel hit the children -- and they eventually died." Based on past conflicts, analyst Happymon Jacob -- director of the New Delhi-based Council for Strategic and Defence Research, said the latest would "likely end in a few iterations of exchange of long-range gunfire or missiles into each other's territory". But in an editorial on Thursday, the Indian Express wrote "there is no reason to believe that the Pakistan Army has been chastened by the Indian airstrikes". "India must be prepared for escalatory action" by Pakistan, it said. In a late Wednesday TV address to the nation, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif warned they would "avenge" those killed by Indian air strikes. AFP | Sajjad QAYYUM Indian Foreign Minister Jaishankar warned Thursday that any Pakistan military action would be met with "a very, very firm response".
