India and Pakistan maintain ceasefire despite accusations of attacks

BarcelonaThe ceasefire between India and Pakistan appears to remain in effect this Sunday, despite the confusion caused by cross-accusations of attacks just hours after the agreement was announced on Saturday. According to local media, calm returned to border towns in Kashmir this Sunday morning, and civilians who had been displaced are preparing to return home. However, there are still doubts about whether the agreement will be effective. will it mean long-term peace or if it is still too fragile.

The announcement of the agreement came this Saturday after Pakistan bombed several Indian military positions in early morning in response to attacks launched by New Delhi last Wednesday. The first announcement of the truce was made by US President Donald Trump, with 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." It was 2:00 p.m. (Catalan time). And just three hours later, India accused Pakistan of violating the truce with attacks on Srinagar, the main city in Indian-administered Kashmir. Islamabad denied this and made the same accusations against the Indian army. However, during the day, the situation appears to have stabilized.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has announced that this Sunday will be Youm-e-Tashakur, or Thanksgiving Day, across the country to express gratitude to "Allah Almighty for success" and the "appropriate response to Indian aggression."

Doubts about Washington's role

On Saturday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio explained that both he and Vice President JD Vance had held talks with senior officials from India and Pakistan. He also announced that the two governments will now begin talks on "a broad range of issues" at a neutral venue.

This Sunday, Trump praised the leaders of both countries for reaching an agreement to halt the aggression and said he would "substantially" increase trade with them, although that "was not even discussed." "I will work with both to see if a solution can be reached regarding Kashmir," he wrote in a post on Truth Social.

Pakistan's Foreign Ministry has expressed its gratitude for Washington's mediation efforts: "We appreciate President Trump's expressed willingness to support efforts toward resolving the Jammu and Kashmir dispute," it said in a statement.

On the other hand, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not commented, while the opposition demands details about the US mediation. And the official version of the Indian army omits Washington's role. Lieutenant General Rajiv Ghai of the armed forces has attributed the agreement to direct communication between the military commanders of both countries. "I received a message on the hotline from my Pakistani counterpart requesting my willingness to communicate," he said at a press conference. He explained that the call took place at 3:35 p.m. local time, which led to an immediate cessation of hostilities as of 5:00 p.m. the same day.

Pakistan has always called for international mediation to resolve the Kashmir dispute, while India has rejected the involvement of a third country.

A conflict between nuclear powers

This Saturday, Pakistani forces claimed responsibility for 16 attacks on various Indian military locations in an operation dubbed Bunyanun Marssos (Iron Wall). According to the Pakistani version, the bombings destroyed several missile depots, two air bases, and several military supply depots. Furthermore, Pakistan claims it destroyed India's S-400 air defense systems. The Indian military confirmed the attacks, although it asserted that its forces had "successfully neutralized" the bulk of the attack.

Despite the rising tension, both sides had issued early messages indicating their willingness to halt the escalation. The greatest fear of an armed conflict between India and Pakistan is the possibility of nuclear weapons being used, especially in one of the most populated areas in the world. However, this Saturday, Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif called it "a very remote possibility." "We shouldn't even discuss it in the immediate context [...] Before we get to this point, I think the temperature is going to drop," he said.

If the situation eventually stabilizes, it will end the worst escalation of violence between India and Pakistan in more than two decades, an escalation that has left hundreds dead in just a few days.

The origin of the escalation

The operation by Pakistani forces was a response to the missile attack launched by India early Wednesday morning. on at least nine locations in Pakistan and Kashmir which, according to New Delhi, targeted "terrorist infrastructure" linked to the Islamist militant groups Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba. At least 31 people were killed and 57 others were injured by the projectiles. For India, the attack responded to a "planned strategy" and was limited to locations that supported terrorist groups politically, logistically, or economically, specifically the group responsible forThe attack that killed 25 Indian tourists and one Nepalese tourist in late April at the Pahalgam hill station in Kashmir.

Indian authorities have attributed the attack to two Pakistani citizens. But Pakistan has distanced itself from the insurgent militias blamed for the attack and denies Indian accusations of supporting cross-border terrorism. On Thursday, the Pakistani president promised a response and said India should "pay for its mistake."

Exchanges of fire on the Line of Control in Kashmir, the military border de facto between the two countries, has not stopped since the attack on April 22.largest escalation between the two nuclear powers in the last 25 yearsThe last major military conflict between India and Pakistan was the Kargil War—also in this historically disputed region of Kashmir—in 1999, a year after both countries formally became nuclear states.