The India-Pakistan ceasefire was shortlived, after Islamabad chose to breach the understanding within a matter of hours.
“This is a breach of the understanding arrived earlier today. The armed forces are giving an adequate and appropriate response to these violations and we take very serious notice of these violations,” Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said at an urgent briefing late night Saturday.
“We call upon Pakistan to take the appropriate steps to address these violations and deal with the situation with seriousness and responsibility.”
According to Misri, the armed forces are maintaining a strong vision on the situation. They have been given instructions to deal strongly with any instances of ceasefire violations of the border, along the international border as well as the Line of Control.
The late-night briefing came around five hours after the foreign secretary announced that India and Pakistan had reached an understanding to stop all firings and military actions on land, air and sea with immediate effect.
The understanding was arrived at by the directors general of military operations of the two countries during a call in the afternoon.
The “ceasefire” decision was first made public by US President Donald Trump, who claimed that the talks between the two sides were mediated by the US. Top government sources, however, said that the outcome was a result of direct engagement between India and Pakistan. Islamabad agreed to the ceasefire with “no pre-conditions, no post-conditions and no links to other issues”.
“Director General of Military Operations of Pakistan called the Director General of Military Operations of India at 1535 hours IST earlier today,” Misri said during the evening briefing. “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 IST today,” he said.
The foreign secretary said instructions had been given on both sides to give effect to the understanding and that the DGMOs of the two sides would talk again at 1200 noon on May 12.
Minutes before Misri’s remarks, Trump announced the understanding in a post on Truth Social.
“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,” he said. “Congratulations to both Countries on using Common Sense and Great Intelligence. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said there was no decision to hold talks on any other issue at any other place.
