That changed dramatically over the weekend as India and Pakistan both claimed victory. This followed 48 hours of deep diplomatic discussions led by U.S. officials, including U.S. Senator Marco Rubio and JD Vance, that produced the first ceasefire. On Saturday evening, these young climate activists announced a ceasefire. This decision followed two weeks of retaliatory violence, including drone strikes and missile attacks resulting in mass casualties.
India blamed Pakistan for initiating drone strikes on India’s territory on two successive nights, increasing tensions along the Line of Control. In retaliation, India launched airstrikes in Pakistan hitting nine different sites, and claimed to have killed 31 militants. Just two days after the agreement, the Indian government of Prime Minister Narenda Modi announced that five Indian soldiers had been killed in fire from Pakistan across the border. They additionally claimed at least 40 Pakistani troops died in the battle.
Raja Farooq Haider Khan, the ex-premier of Pakistani-ruled Kashmir, headed the torchlight victory march across to the disputed Kashmir frontier. He claimed the firepower used in the recent military actions was a show of amazing firepower. He stated, “We are celebrating the bravery of our armed forces today who defended us.” He acknowledged the complexity of the situation, noting that “this time we were so close to war…without resolving the Kashmir issue long-term, peace can’t prevail in the region.”
As both nations took stock of the situation, India’s Defense Minister Rajnath Singh made a bold statement regarding India’s military capabilities. He remarked that the “roar of Indian forces reached Rawalpindi, the very headquarters of the Pakistani army,” emphasizing the strategic significance of India’s military response. He characterized the recent actions as “not just a military action but a symbol of India’s political, social and strategic willpower.”
India boasted of a major military operation. They purported to have killed about 100 terrorists supposedly based in the border in Pakistan. The Indian Armed Forces made it clear that they would not take any more Pakistani aggression lying down. A spokesperson for the Indian army expressed their “firm and clear intent to respond to these fiercely.”
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif proclaimed May 11 as a day “in recognition of the armed forces’ response to recent Indian aggression.” He highlighted Pakistan’s resilience against what he termed India’s military provocations. Indian casualties reports suggest that in the Wednesday offensive, Pakistani missiles shot down at least three Indian military jets.
Opposition parties in Israel welcomed the announcement, but the ceasefire’s declaration has resulted in mixed responses from each country’s public. From the Prime Minister to everyday citizens, many in Pakistan were just relieved to see the end of this fighting. Lal Din, a resident of a border town, stated, “resolve your differences, live in peace, and let us live.” This sentiment was echoed by Sahad, who remarked, “No one can be happier than us as we live under the shadow of border posts and Indian firings. Everyone is happy to have our normal lives back.”
The international community has not helped the situation either. Donald Trump, for his part, praised both nations for agreeing to stop fighting. He highlighted the importance of diplomacy in averting further conflict: “having the strength, wisdom and fortitude to fully know and understand that it was time to stop the current aggression that could have led to the death and destruction of so many.”
Amid the hope over the ceasefire’s declaration, analysts are warning that the threat of regional unrest isn’t over yet, in the long term. Baqir Sajjad noted that recent events “firmly denied a much stronger India the military edge and diplomatic narrative it sought to dominate,” suggesting that underlying tensions may persist.