India and Pakistan agreed to an immediate cease-fire, US President Donald Trump and officials from both South Asian countries said, after the biggest flare-up of fighting between the nuclear-armed neighbors in years sparked fears of a full-scale war.
"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 said in a post on his Truth Social platform on May 10. "Congratulations to both Countries on using Common Sense and Great Intelligence."
The announcement was subsequently confirmed by Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, who wrote on X that the South Asian archrivals "have agreed to a cease-fire with immediate effect."
Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri told a news conference that a senior Pakistani military official called his Indian counterpart in the afternoon and they agreed "that both sides would stop all firing and military action on land, air, and sea with effect from 1700 hours IST (13:30 CET)."
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the governments of India and Pakistan had also agreed "to start talks on a broad set of issues at a neutral site." In a post on X, Rubio said he and Vice President JD Vance had been in contact with senior Indian and Pakistani officials over the previous 48 hours.
Earlier, Islamabad and New Delhi both suggested they would halt their fiercest fighting in years if the other side did the same, but they continued to trade attacks on May 10 and tension persisted.
Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tarar told the BBC that if India steps back, Islamabad will reciprocate. He spoke after India said it was committed to non-escalation if Pakistan responded in kind.
Dar made similar remarks to the country's Geo News outlet, but he warned that “our response will follow” if India launches any strikes.
The comments came after Pakistan said it launched a military operation against India after accusing it of firing missiles at three Pakistani air bases late on May 9, another escalation.
Pakistani security sources told RFE/RL's Radio Mashaal that the operation is codenamed Bunyanun Marsoos, an Arabic word taken from a verse in the Koran meaning a strong pillar.
Reports said that Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called an urgent meeting of the National Command Authority, which deals with the country's nuclear arms policy, among other functions. But Defense Minister Khwaja Asif said later on May 10 that no meeting had taken place.
Pakistan's Inter-Service Public Relations (ISPR) said that a depot used to store India’s Brahmos missiles had been destroyed. The military said attacks on several other locations, including the Pathankot Airfield and Udhampur Air Force Station, had also taken place. Pakistan also said it fired Fatah 1 missiles on the two Indian air bases.
The Indian Army called Pakistan's actions unacceptable.
SEE ALSO: India And Pakistan Are On The Brink Of Conflict. Here's Why."Pakistan’s blatant escalation with drone strikes and other munitions continues along our western borders. In one such incident, today at approximately 5 a.m., Multiple enemy armed drones were spotted flying over Khasa Cantt, Amritsar," the army said on X. "The hostile drones were instantly engaged and destroyed by our air defense units."
The fresh attacks started hours after Saudi Arabia's foreign minister left Pakistan. Adel Al-Jubeir was in Islamabad to meet with Sharif, according to a statement. He visited India before landing in Islamabad on May 9 for talks with Pakistani leaders.
Pakistani security sources also claimed that a simultaneous cyberattack had been launched and electrical power in several cities had been cut.
The security sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, added that the Pakistani side has decided that if India launched more attacks, they would hit the highways in India.
Pakistan said earlier that missiles, apparently fired by India, had fallen at different locations in Pakistan.
One of the missiles hit the Noor Khan Air Noor Khan Airbase Base in Rawalpindi city. The air base is where the military has its headquarters and is less than 30 kilometers from key buildings, including the Presidential House, the House of Parliament, and the prime minister’s house, in the Pakistani capital city of Islamabad.
Fahim Ahmad, a resident of Rawalpindi city, who lives near the Noor Khan Air Base, told Radio Mashaal, he saw an object blasted out of the air and drop near the air base.
Ahmad said alarm sirens went off, heightening fears of a large escalation just days after Indian air strikes claimed multiple lives in Pakistan, prompting Sharif to vow retaliation.
SEE ALSO: India-Pakistan War Drumbeat Quickens As Islamabad Accuses New Delhi Of Sparking 'Inferno'Speaking at a hastily arranged news conference soon after the missiles were fired on Pakistan late on May 9, the director-general of the ISPR, Lieutenant General Ahmad Sharif, said an attack by India to target the Noor Khan Air Base had been foiled.
Two other missiles were fired at two other air bases -- Murid Air Base and Shorkot Air |Base -- he said. Sharif claimed that India also fired some missiles in Afghanistan.
An explosion was reported in the city of Peshawar in the early hours of May 10, according to Radio Mashaal correspondent Wasim Sajjad.
“We were awakened by the sound of an explosion around 3 a.m. (local time), which was followed by firing from the ground,” Sajjad said. “We saw lights going from the ground toward the sky with sounds of firing that continued for nearly an hour.”
The explosion drew people out of their houses and apartments into the dark night, said Sajjad.
Tensions between the nuclear-armed rivals have soared since an attack at a popular tourist site in India-controlled Kashmir killed 26 civilians, mostly Hindu Indian tourists, on April 22. New Delhi has blamed Pakistan for backing the assault, an accusation Islamabad rejects.
SEE ALSO: Indian, Pakistani Troops Exchange Fire In Kashmir Amid Mounting TensionsAzaz Seyed, author and journalist, told Radio Mashaal that the world is not taking interest in stopping a looming full-fledged conflict between India and Pakistan.
Seyed said only two countries, Saudi Arabia and Iran, were proactively engaged, while the United States has only issued some statements and no proactive diplomacy was visible.
The Group of Seven leading industrialized countries on May 9 urged both India and Pakistan to avoid escalation and called on them to engage in direct dialogue.
The foreign ministers of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United States, and the European Union said they "strongly condemn" a deadly attack on tourists in Indian Kashmir on April 22 and "urge maximum restraint from both India and Pakistan."
"We call for immediate de-escalation and encourage both countries to engage in direct dialogue towards a peaceful outcome," the G7 statement said.
Indian and Pakistani forces on May 7 exchanged artillery fire after Indian air strikes claimed multiple lives. Both sides reported several fatalities in the shelling. Pakistan also claimed to have shot down several Indian jets.
Indian forces on May 6 hit targets across Pakistani-administered Kashmir and Pakistan’s Punjab Province.
India said it carried out “precision strikes” against “terrorists” following the attack in Indian-administered Kashmir two weeks ago that killed 26 Hindu tourists.
India had earlier said that two of three suspects in that attack were Pakistani nationals but had not detailed any evidence. Pakistan denied that it had anything to do with the killings.
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Why Kashmir Remains A Flashpoint Between India, Pakistan, And China
India and Pakistan, which gained independence from Britain in 1947, fought full-scale wars in 1948, 1965, and 1971, and a limited conflict in 1999. The central issue remains the Kashmir Valley, which India regards as its Atoot Ang -- integral part -- while Pakistan sees it as the “unfinished agenda of partition” of the subcontinent.
Kashmir is divided between three nuclear-armed neighbors, with India controlling about 45 percent, Pakistan about 35 percent, and China -- following a brief war with India in 1962 -- the remaining 20 percent.