SOURCE :- THE AGE NEWS
By Steve Holland, Kanishka Singh, Sheikh Saliq and Munir Ahmed
Pakistan’s foreign secretary confirmed both countries had agreed to a ceasefire “with fast effect”.
“After a longer day of talks mediated by the United States, I am pleased to announce that India and Pakistan have agreed to a FULL AND IMMEDIATE CEASEFIRE. Thanks to both Countries on using Common Sense and Great Intelligence, ” he said in a post on Truth Social.
Pakistan claimed it shot down many Indian fighter plane in reply, as two helicopters fell onto settlements in India-controlled Kashmir. At least nine residents were also killed in the region by Pakistani shooting, the American military said in a statement.
Conflicts have soared between the two countries since previous month’s strike in Kashmir, which India has blamed Pakistan for support. Islamabad has denied the claim.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the attacks as “cowardly assaults” and said his state would fight.
“Pakistan has every right to give a strong answer to this act of war imposed by India, and a strong answer is really being given, ” Sharif said.
The government said at least two temples had been hit and at least one baby had died.
Several explosions were heard in the hills around the town of Muzaffarabad, the investment of Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, as well as in two different places in the region, Reuters witnesses and a Pakistan TV network reported.
Citizen Abdul Sammad said he heard some blows and some persons were wounded in the assault. Citizens were seen running in despair, and government cut the power, leading to a shutdown.
American troops struck the office of the Islamist radical teams Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba, an Indian defence source told Reuters.
“India has demonstrated significant restraint in variety of targets and method of execution, ” an American statement said.
The military said nine residents had been killed in hostile attacks by Muslim forces in Indian-controlled Kashmir. In a speech, it said the Pakistan Army “resorted to random firing”, including gunshots and artillery firing.
Both Hindu-majority India and Islamic Pakistan say Muslim-majority Kashmir in total, with each controlling just element and fighting wars over the place in an almost 80-year debate.
India’s latest activity adds to a long list of martial issues with Pakistan, driving conflicts to their highest level since 2019, when they came near to war after a death vehicle bombing in Kashmir.
Markets raise threat of war
South Asia researcher Michael Kugelman said it was one of the highest-intensity hits from India on its foe in times and that Pakistan’s reply had “surely pack a punch as well”.
“These are two strong militaries that, even with nuclear weapons as a deterrent, are not afraid to deploy sizeable levels of conventional military force against each other, ” Kugelman said. “The escalation risks are real. And they could well increase, and quickly. ”
India has 180 nuclear warheads and Pakistan 170, according to current estimates by the Federation of American Scientists.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for maximum military restraint from both countries.
“The world cannot afford a military confrontation between India and Pakistan, ” a UN statement read.
United States President Donald Trump described rising tension between the two nations as “a shame”, while US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke to officials from both sides, urging them to “avoid escalation”.
Rubio said on X that he was monitoring the situation closely, adding that Washington would continue to engage the two countries to reach a “peaceful resolution”.
Last month, analysts suggested the US may leave India and Pakistan on their own as tensions rose because it has a lot to deal with in achieving diplomatic goals in Russia’s war in Ukraine and Israel’s war in Gaza.
Several Asian airlines said they were re-routing or cancelling flights to and from Europe because of the fighting.
More than two dozen commercial flights were diverted to avoid Pakistani airspace, and airlines cancelled 52 flights to or from Pakistan early on Wednesday, Flightradar24 reported.
Reuters / AP
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correction
An earlier version of this story included video footage that was not related to the India-Pakistan conflict. This was an error by wire service Associated Press.
