India-Pakistan ceasefire holds amid mutual accusations of violations

Iran Press TV

Sunday, 11 May 2025 8:03 AM

Despite mutual allegations of violations occurring just hours earlier, the ceasefire agreement between India and Pakistan continues to hold, maintaining a fragile peace amid the ongoing tensions.

The two nuclear powers reached a ceasefire agreement on Saturday after more than 60 people were killed in India and Pakistan over four days of cross-border fighting.

The fighting came after New Delhi launched attacks on what it called “terrorist infrastructure” inside Pakistan, in retaliation for the deadly attack that killed 26 people in Pahalgam in Indian-administered Kashmir last month.

India blames Pakistan-based armed groups for the attack that killed Hindu tourists on April 22, while Islamabad rejects any involvement.

The United Nations and countries around the world, including Bangladesh, Qatar, Turkiye, and the United Kingdom, have welcomed the truce, which was brokered by more than 30 countries.

United States President Donald Trump announced the agreement on Saturday on his Truth Social platform.

Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri confirmed the ceasefire shortly after.

“It was agreed between them that both sides would stop all fighting and military action on land, air and sea with effect from 17:00 Indian Standard Time today [11:30 GMT],” Misri said in a short statement.

“Instructions have been given on both sides to give effect to this understanding. The directors general of military operations will talk again on May 12 at 12:00.”

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the agreement also includes plans for broader talks at a neutral venue, which conflicts with a statement published on social media by India’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting that says, “There is no decision to hold talks on any other issue at any other place.”

In the meantime, violations of the truce were reported later on Saturday as explosions rang out across parts of Indian-administered Kashmir.

Misri has told reporters that Pakistan has violated the understanding arrived at by the two countries and that the Indian armed forces have been instructed to “deal strongly” with any repetition.

However, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry released a statement early Sunday responding to Misri’s comments, saying the country “remains committed to a faithful implementation of the ceasefire” announced with India earlier amid accusations of violations along the Line of Control (LoC).

In the statement, Pakistan also accused India of committing breaches of the truce “in some areas.”

“Notwithstanding the violations being committed by India in some areas, our forces are handling the situation with responsibility and restraint,” it said.

“We believe that any issues in smooth implementation of the ceasefire should be addressed through communication at appropriate levels. The troops on the ground should also exercise restraint,” the statement added.

The spokesman for Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Esmaeil Baqaei, has called on both countries “to use this opportunity to ensure a reduction in tensions and lasting peace in the region”.

The military escalation, deadly cross-border attacks, accusations, and counter-accusations, had raised acute concerns that the two nuclear-armed neighbors would engage in an all-out war for the fifth time since 1947.

There were fears that the two countries might use their nuclear arsenals against each other when Pakistan’s military said a top body overseeing its nuclear weapons would meet.