Only hours before the fresh violations on Saturday evening, India and Pakistan had dramatically agreed to stop firing at each other and end the military action of the past four days with immediate effect.
The first announcement of a breakthrough in getting the two sides to talk to each other had come from US President Donald Trump.
“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,” Trump said
in a post.
Neither India nor Pakistan made any mention of a US hand in the agreement between the two countries.
Sources said “the stoppage of firing and military action between India and Pakistan was worked out directly between the two countries”, reaffirming India’s consistent position precluding any mediation of the bilateral issue.
India said Pakistan’s Director-General of Military Operations (DGMO) had called his Indian counterpart in the run-up to the agreement.
Nor did India use the word “ceasefire”, either in the post on X by external affairs minister S. Jaishankar or in the media briefing by foreign secretary Vikram Misri.
“India and Pakistan have today worked out an understanding on stoppage of firing and military action. India has consistently maintained a firm and uncompromising stance against terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. It will continue to do so,” Jaishankar said.
Nothing else changes on the ground for India. The Indus Waters Treaty will remain in abeyance, with all the Indian decisions taken following the Pahalgam attack remaining in place.
Earlier in the day, sources had underscored that India would treat any future terrorist attack as an “act of war”.
In his post on X, Pakistan’s 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!”
Misri came to the day’s second joint briefing with the defence ministry with a terse statement that provided only skeletal details of the agreement.
“The DGMO of Pakistan called the DGMO 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,” Misri said.
“Instructions have been given on both sides to give effect to the understanding. The DGMOs will talk again on the 12th of May at 1200 hours.”
Misri made no mention of where these talks would happen while leaving the room without taking questions.
The DGMOs would not have taken the decision on their own, without authorisation from the two countries’ top leaderships.
Earlier, announcing what Washington is billing as a “US-brokered ceasefire”, secretary of state Marco Rubio had claimed that India and Pakistan had agreed to “start talks on a broad set of issues at a neutral site”.
Sources underscored that Pakistan’s DGMO had taken the first step and insisted that “there is no decision to hold talks on any other issue at any other place”.
Rubio had over the past couple of days spoken twice to Jaishankar — the latest being on Saturday — as well as representatives of Pakistan’s civil administration.
What seems to have made the difference is Rubio’s decision to directly engage with Pakistan’s chief of army staff Asim Munir on Friday. Till then he had been speaking to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. On Saturday, he also spoke to foreign minister Dar.
Successive US administrations have tended to deal directly with the Pakistan army, knowing full well that Rawalpindi — the army headquarters — and not Islamabad is where decisions are made.
The US state department’s readout on Rubio’s conversation with Munir said he “continued to urge both parties to find ways to deescalate and offered US assistance in starting constructive talks in order to avoid future conflicts”.
However, a separate statement on the tele-con with Dar was more assertive. “Rubio reiterated that both parties must find ways to de-escalate the current situation and re-establish direct communication to avoid miscalculation,” it said.
“He also offered US assistance in starting constructive talks in order to avoid future conflicts.”
The readout of Rubio’s conversation with Jaishankar on Saturday dropped the expression “must find ways” — as employed in the readout of the discussion with Dar — in favour of the gentler “emphasized”. The rest of the message was similar.
Rubio further proposed US facilitation of productive discussions to avert future disputes.