India and Pakistan have agreed to a ceasefire, seeking to end the most serious military confrontation between the nuclear-armed rivals in decades – but reports of explosions in Indian-administered Kashmir after the deal revealed the situation’s fragility.
Hours after the ceasefire was announced by Donald Trump following US-led talks, blasts were heard in Srinagar and Jammu in Indian-administered Kashmir. Projectiles and flashes were also seen in the night sky over Jammu, according to authorities, residents said.
Indian foreign secretary Vikram Misri accused Pakistan of breaching the agreement, while Pakistan’s foreign ministry insisted they “remain committed to the ceasefire” and blamed Indian forces for initiating a violation.
The ceasefire came after India and Pakistan accused each other of cross-border missile strikes against major military targets on Saturday, with many fearful it would escalate into all-out war.
The fighting this week was first inflamed on Wednesday after Indian missiles struck nine sites in Pakistan, killing 31 people. India has said those strikes were in response to an attack in Indian-administered Kashmir late last month, in which 25 Hindu tourists and a guide were killed. India blamed the attack on Pakistani-backed extremists, an accusation Pakistan denied.
Just as the situation seemed to be spiralling out of control, the US president announced that a ceasefire had been agreed.
“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,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform “Congratulations to both Countries on using Common Sense and Great Intelligence.”
This was soon confirmed by Indian and Pakistani ministers. Pakistan’s foreign minister Ishaq Dar told Geo News that three dozen countries had been involved in the diplomacy that secured the “full-fledged” and “not partial” ceasefire.
The Indian foreign secretary said the two countries’ military chiefs had spoken to each other and agreed that all fighting would stop at 5pm local time (11.30am GMT), without using the word “ceasefire”.
Mr Dar told the broadcaster Geo News that military channels and hotlines between India and Pakistan had been activated, and three dozen countries had helped to facilitate the agreement.
Mr Misri, India’s top diplomat, said the two military chiefs would speak to each other again on Monday.
Before the ceasefire announcement, military jets and missiles lit up the skies through the night across Indian-administered Kashmir and the state of Punjab, with residents reporting deafening blasts in cities including Amritsar, Jammu and Srinagar.
Shelling by Pakistani forces killed at least five people in Jammu and emptied out many villages along the border as people fled to safer areas, officials said.
“Jammu city has never been hit before,” Rajeev Gupta, 60, a resident whose brother was wounded in shelling, told Reuters. “Never thought we would be hit like this.”
In Srinagar, residents said explosions overnight felt unlike previous drone attacks and were concentrated around military installations.
Mohammed Yasin, a resident, told the Associated Press his children were shaken awake by the blasts. “They started crying,” he said.
In Pakistan, officials said Indian missiles had targeted three air bases – Nur Khan in Rawalpindi, Murid in Chakwal and Rafiqui in Jhang district – early on Saturday. A military spokesperson said air defence systems intercepted most of the missiles and no air force assets were damaged.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that he and Vice President JD Vance had engaged with Indian prime minister Narendra Modi and Pakistan’s Shehbaz Sharif, Indian foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Pakistan’s army chief Asim Munir, and the two national security advisers over the course of 48 hours.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Mr Rubio commended Mr Modi and Mr Sharif on the agreement, which he said included not only an immediate ceasefire but also the start of talks on “a broad set of issues at a neutral site”.
India and Pakistan have been locked in a dispute over Kashmir ever since the partition of India at the end of British colonial rule in 1947. Hindu-majority India and Muslim Pakistan both rule part of Kashmir but claim it in full.
They have gone to war three times, including twice over Kashmir, alongside numerous smaller outbreaks of fighting. India blames Pakistan for an insurgency in its part of Kashmir that began in 1989 and has killed tens of thousands. It also blames Pakistani Islamist militant groups for attacks elsewhere in India.
Pakistan rejects both charges. It says it only provides moral, political and diplomatic support to Kashmiri separatists.
