India and Pakistan exchanged fire hours after the ceasefire
The US-brokered deal was jeopardized overnight with exchanges of fire across the Line of Control dividing the disputed region, while civilians reported shelling.
A ceasefire to end the conflict between India and Pakistan was shaken by overnight clashes on the border in the disputed region of Kashmir .
India’s foreign secretary said it had retaliated after Pakistan’s “repeated violations” of the truce , while Pakistan said it “remains committed” to the ceasefire and that its forces were handling Indian violations with “responsibility and restraint.”
People on both sides of the Line of Control , which divides the territory, reported intense exchanges of fire between Indian and Pakistani troops. The clashes subsided by Sunday morning.
The two countries agreed to a truce the day before after talks to defuse the most serious military confrontation between the two in decades, following a serious armed attack on tourists that India blames on Pakistan, which denies the accusation.
Drones were spotted over Indian-controlled Kashmir and the western state of Gujarat on Saturday night , according to Indian officials.
In the Poonch area of Indian-controlled Kashmir, people said they had been traumatized by the intense shelling of the past few days.
“Most people ran while projectiles were being fired,” said university student Sosan Zehra, who returned home on Sunday. “It was completely chaotic.”
In Pakistan-controlled Kashmir’s Neelum Valley , which is three kilometers from the Line of Control, people reported exchanges of fire and heavy shelling after the ceasefire began.
“We were happy with the announcement, but once again, the situation seems uncertain ,” said resident Mohammad Zahid.
US President Donald Trump was the first to announce 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 senior government and military officials.
India, unlike Pakistan, has said nothing about Trump or the United States since the deal was announced . Nor has it acknowledged anyone’s involvement beyond its military contact with the Pakistanis.
The two armies have been engaged in daily clashes since Wednesday along the rugged, mountainous Line of Control , which is marked by barbed wire, watchtowers and bunkers that snake through hills populated by villages, tangled bushes and forests.
The two sides routinely blame each other for starting skirmishes while insisting they are only responding to aggression.
The top two military officials from India and Pakistan are expected to speak again on Monday.
“Vigilant”
The conflict erupted last month with an attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that killed 26 people, mostly Indian tourists, which New Delhi blamed on Islamabad.
India has accused Lashkar-e-Taiba , a UN-designated terrorist organization based in Pakistan, of carrying out the attack, but Islamabad has denied any involvement and called for an independent investigation.
The insurgents have stepped up their operations in Kashmir since 2019 , when Modi’s Hindu nationalist government revoked its limited autonomy and brought the state under direct rule from New Delhi.
The countries have fought several wars over the territory , which both claim in its entirety but administer separate portions since gaining independence from British rule in 1947.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the ceasefire came after he and Vice President J.D. Vance held talks with senior officials from both sides.
Rubio also stated on Day X that they had agreed to “begin conversations on a broad set of issues in a neutral location.”
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Monday that his country, which has long sought international mediation in Kashmir, “appreciates” the US intervention.
However, India has consistently opposed mediation , and observers were skeptical of the truce.
The news of the ceasefire was greeted with relief by countries such as Britain and Iran , as well as the United Nations.
China , which borders India and Pakistan, said Beijing was “willing to continue to play a constructive role” and remained concerned about any escalation, according to the state news agency Xinhua .
(with information from AP and AFP)
