ISLAMABAD (AP) — India and Pakistan agreed to a ceasefire Saturday after U.S.-led talks to end the most serious military confrontation between the nuclear-armed rivals in decades but accused each other of violating the deal just hours later.
had been expected to bring a swift end to weeks of , including , triggered by last month that India blames on Pakistan, which denies the charge. But multiple explosions were heard in two large cities of Indian-controlled Kashmir hours after the countries agreed to the deal.
Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said late Saturday that “there had been repeated violations of the understanding arrived between the two countries” and accused Pakistan of breaching the agreement.
The ceasefire deal follows weeks of clashes, missile and drone strikes across their borders that were triggered by a gun massacre of tourists last month that India blames on Pakistan, which denies the charge. Dozens of civilians have been killed on both sides. (AP Video / May 10, 2025)
“We call upon Pakistan to take appropriate steps to address these violations and deal with the situation with seriousness and responsibility,” he said at a news conference in New Delhi. Misri said the Indian army was “retaliating” for what he called a “border intrusion.”
In Islamabad, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry blamed Indian forces for initiating the ceasefire violation. The ministry said Pakistan remains committed to the agreement and its forces were handling the situation with responsibility and restraint.
“We believe that any issues in the smooth implementation of the ceasefire should be addressed through communication at appropriate levels,” the ministry said.
came from U.S. President Donald Trump, who posted on his Truth Social platform that India and Pakistan had agreed to a full and immediate ceasefire: “Congratulations to both Countries on using Common Sense and Great Intelligence. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said in a speech Saturday that his country agreed to the ceasefire in the larger interest of peace in the region and hoped all the outstanding issues with India, including the over the Kashmir region, would be resolved through peaceful dialogue.
Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that Islamabad has responded positively to a proposed ceasefire with India in the larger interest of peace in the region. India and Pakistan agreed to a ceasefire Saturday after U.S.-led talks to end the most serious military confrontation between the nuclear-armed rivals in decades but accused each other of violating the deal just hours later. (AP Video / May 10, 2025)
Misri said the head of military operations from both countries spoke Saturday afternoon and agreed “that both sides would stop all firing and military action on land, and in the air and sea.”
However, hours after the agreement, explosions heard by residents in Srinagar and Jammu in Indian-controlled Kashmir were followed by blackouts in the two cities. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
Omar Abdullah, the region’s top elected official, said in a post on social media: “What the hell just happened to the ceasefire? Explosions heard across Srinagar!!!”
Working toward a broader agreement
Conflict between India and Pakistan is not rare, with the two countries having periodically engaged in wars, clashes and skirmishes from British India in 1947.
The ceasefire in the latest hostilities came after the countries fired volleys of cross-border missile strikes Saturday, when India said it targeted Pakistani air bases after Islamabad fired several high-speed missiles at military and civilian infrastructure in Punjab state. Pakistan said it responded with retaliatory strikes.
(AP video by Muhammad Farooq / May 10, 2025)
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he and Vice President JD Vance had engaged with senior officials from both countries over the past 48 hours. They included Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Sharif, India’s External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and the Pakistani Chief of Army Staff Asim Munir.
Rubio said the two governments agreed to “start talks on a broad set of issues at a neutral site.”
Though Pakistanis had initially celebrated their army’s retaliation, they were later jubilant about the truce, saying it was a moment of national pride and relief after days of tension.
In Islamabad, Zubaida Bibi expressed her joy at .
“War brings nothing but suffering,” she said. “We are happy that calm is returning. It feels like Eid to me. We have won.”
A civil administrator was killed and two others wounded in Pakistani shelling in a frontier town near the highly militarized Line of Control in Indian-controlled Kashmir, officials said on Saturday. (AP Video / May 10, 2025)
Trading strikes before the ceasefire
Tensions have soared since in Indian-controlled Kashmir left 26 civilians dead, mostly Indian Hindu tourists, on April 22.
Before the ceasefire was reached, India’s military said Pakistan had targeted health facilities and schools at its three air bases in Kashmir early Saturday and India had launched missile strikes in response. They targeted Nur Khan air base in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, near the capital Islamabad, Murid air base in Chakwal city and Rafiqui air base in the Jhang district of eastern Punjab province, according to Pakistan’s military spokesman.
Pakistan’s military said it launched retaliatory strikes against a Indian missile storage facility and air bases in the cities of Pathankot and Udhampur.
The Associated Press could not independently verify all the actions attributed to Pakistan or India.
After the announcement of Pakistani retaliation, said they heard loud explosions at multiple places, including Srinagar, Jammu and Udhampur.
“Explosions that we are hearing today are different from the ones we heard the last two nights during drone attacks,” said Shesh Paul Vaid, the region’s former top police official and Jammu resident. “It looks like a war here.”
Pakistan's military released video on Saturday that it says shows a Fateh One missile system 'engaging Indian targets'. In the video several missiles are fired from a mobile launcher. The AP cannot independently verify the date, location or conditions under which this video was shot. (AP Video / May 10, 2025)
Residents living near Srinagar’s airport, which is also an air base, said they were rattled by the explosions and booming sound of jets.
“I was already awake, but the explosions jolted my kids out of their sleep. They started crying,” said Srinagar resident Mohammed Yasin.
Omar Abdullah, Indian-controlled Kashmir’s top elected official, welcomed the ceasefire. But he said had it happened two or three days earlier “we might have avoided the bloodshed and the loss of precious lives.”
Blasts and gunfire were heard in the northwest Pakistani city of Peshawar Saturday morning. A security official said a local air base had activated its defense system to take down a drone. (AP video by: Muhammad Arif / May 9, 2025)
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Hussain reported from Srinagar, India, and Roy reported from New Delhi. Associated Press writers Sheikh Saaliq in New Delhi, Babar Dogar in Lahore, Pakistan, Asim Tanveer in Multan, Pakistan, Munir Ahmed in Islamabad and Riaz Khan in Peshawar, Pakistan, contributed to this report.
