- Jubilation at a ceasefire between India and Pakistan has been short-lived, with reports of explosions and gunfire in several cities in Indian-administered Kashmir.
- India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri accuses Pakistan of “repeated violations” of the truce, and said the Indian military has been instructed to “deal strongly” with any breaches.
- In response, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry says it “remains committed” to the ceasefire agreement with India and blames India for the violations.
- More than 60 people have been reported killed on both sides of the Line of Control (LoC), the de facto border between the two countries dividing the disputed Kashmir region, since India launched missiles under “Operation Sindoor” on Wednesday
- India has said it was responding to an attack that killed 26 tourists in Pahalgam on April 22, which it blamed on Pakistan-based armed groups.
What are India and Pakistan’s military capabilities?
The India-Pakistan ceasefire has increased hope that the two nuclear-armed countries can step back from the brink of full-scale war.
Such a conflict could be devastating to the region.
While India’s military is far larger than Pakistan’s, both are estimated to have similar numbers of missiles with nuclear warheads.
Both countries are also major arms importers. From 2020 to 2024, India was the second-largest importer in the world, behind Ukraine, getting the largest share of its weapons from Russia.
Pakistan was the fifth-largest importer during that time, getting most weapons from China.
Read our breakdown of both countries’ military capabilities here.
India’s Amritsar ‘still on red alert’
Authorities in the Indian city of Amritsar have issued a red alert, warning residents to stay indoors and away from windows, amid the continued tensions between India and Pakistan.
In a statement, Amritsar’s district collector said the power supply in the city had been restored, “but we are still on red alert”, according to the ANI news agency.
“Please don’t move out of your house; stay indoors and away from windows. We will be informing you when we get the green signal. Please ensure compliance and please don’t panic,” the statement said.
Amritsar is located in the northwestern Indian state of Punjab, about 30km (19 miles) from the border with Pakistan. Blasts had previously been heard there on Friday.
AIndus Waters Treaty remains suspended despite truce: Report
The Reuters news agency, citing four government sources, is reporting that the key water-sharing pact between India and Pakistan remains suspended despite the ceasefire agreement on Saturday.
India had pulled out of the pact, which regulates the division of water from the Indus River and its tributaries, after blaming Pakistan for the deadly attack targeting Hindu tourists in Pahalgam.
An Indian government source told Reuters there was “no change in stand” on the treaty, while another source from Pakistan’s water ministry was quoted as saying, “Indus Waters Treaty was not really a part of [ceasefire] discussions”.
Indian sources also told Reuters that other punitive measures, such as trade suspension and visa cancellations, would remain in place for now.
OIC calls for dialogue to resolve India, Pakistan disputes
The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has released a statement saying it welcomes the truce and appreciates the “efforts of intermediary countries”.
“We call on the international community to encourage Pakistan and India to engage in constructive dialogue to resolve outstanding issues,” said the OIC, which represents 57 states.
“We stress the need for a peaceful resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir issue in accordance with Security Council resolutions to avoid tension between two nuclear powers in South Asia,” the statement added.
“We are concerned about the military escalation in South Asia and call for restraint and the avoidance of destabilising the region.”
How did the fighting begin?
- The countries have fought several wars over the territory, which both claim in full, but administer separate portions of Kashmir since gaining independence from British rule in 1947.
- The ceasefire comes after four days of attacks and counter-attacks by both sides that has killed more than 60 people and forced thousands of civilians flee their homes along their border as well as in divided Kashmir.
- The fighting was touched off by an attack last month in the Indian-administered side of Kashmir that killed 26 tourists, mostly Hindu men, which New Delhi blamed on Islamabad.
- India accused the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba – a UN-designated terrorist organisation – of carrying out the attack, but Islamabad has denied any involvement and called for an independent probe.
- Armed groups have stepped up attacks in Kashmir since 2019, when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu-nationalist government revoked its limited autonomy and took the state under direct rule from New Delhi.
If you’re just joining us
Let’s bring you up to speed:
- The India-Pakistan ceasefire agreed on Saturday appears to be holding, with calm reported on both sides of the border hours after the two countries accused each other of violations.
- People displaced by the conflict in Indian-administered Kashmir have begun returning to their homes and say the truce has brought a sense of safety.
- The city of Amritsar in India’s Punjab has lifted a red alert imposed overnight, and officials and residents say the situation has returned to normal.
- Trump has promised to “increase trade substantially” with India and Pakistan after praising their leaders on their “heroic decision”.
- The Reuters news agency reports that punitive measures, including the suspension of visas, trade and the Indus Waters Treaty, remain in place despite the truce.
Timeline: India-Pakistan escalation
Here’s what happened in the brief conflict between India and Pakistan:
April 22: Gunmen kill 26 people in Pahalgam in Indian-administered Kashmir.
April 23: India downgrades diplomatic ties, closes the border, and suspends key water treaty with Pakistan, blaming it for backing the attack. Islamabad denies the charge.
April 24: India and Pakistan cancel visas for each other’s nationals. Pakistan shuts its airspace for all Indian-owned or Indian-operated airlines.
April 25: India says its troops exchanged fire with Pakistani soldiers at the LoC.
May 3: Pakistan test-fires ballistic missile with a range of 450km (280 miles). India bars Pakistani-flagged ships from entering its ports and prohibits Indian-flagged vessels from visiting Pakistani ports.
May 7: India launches missile strikes on what it calls “terrorist infrastructure” in Pakistan. Islamabad says the attack killed 26 civilians and denounces it as an “act of war”. It pledges revenge and claims it’s forces downed several Indian fighter jets.
May 8: India launches drone attacks against Pakistan, accusing Islamabad of targeting its air defence system.
May 9: India suspends IPL, its biggest domestic cricket tournament, for a week.
May 10: Pakistan says it carried out retaliatory strikes after India fired missiles at airbases inside the country.
May 10: Trump says India and Pakistan have agreed to a full and immediate ceasefire. Officials from both nations quickly confirm the deal.
Residents of Pakistan’s Karachi hope ‘sane minds’ prevail
There is a sense of relief in Pakistan post the ceasefire announcement yesterday.
There is not much activity on the streets of the southern city of Karachi, given that it’s Sunday and life takes a late start in this metropolis.
The true cost of the brief yet deadly conflict remains unknown, but people here are adamant that Pakistan ended up as the “winner”.
The sentiment remains the same across the border in India as people on both sides remain satisfied that the rival got a “befitting response” and it was a “lesson learned” for the other side.
“I was happy our forces carried out that large-scale attack yesterday morning. We can’t just take hit after hit and remain defensive without a response,” Ahmed Yar, lining up at a tea stall in Karachi, told Al Jazeera.
“Not much happened in Karachi, so there was not a lot of fear or panic, but now that there’s a ceasefire, I wish it stays in place and sane minds prevail. We all need to go back to normalcy and work on issues plaguing our country.”
India’s Amritsar lifts red alert
Authorities in Amritsar say the city, which was under a red alert overnight, can now return to “normal activities”, ANI reports.
Residents of the city told the agency that people in the city are “leading normal lives”.
“We are getting ration, water and oil normally … I do not want the peace in country to ever be disrupted … No country can progress through wars. People in India want progress,” one man said.
Trump promises to increase trade with India, Pakistan
The US president has again taken to Truth Social, his social media site, to praise the leaders of India and Pakistan.
“I am proud that the USA was able to help you arrive a this historic and heroic decision,” he wrote.
“While not even discussed, I am going to increase trade, substantially, with both of these great Nations. Additionally, I will work with you both to see if, after a ‘thousand years,’ a solution can be arrived at concerning Kashmir,” he added.
India’s defence minister hails nuclear tests of 1998
India’s Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has shared a post celebrating the Indian scientists who contributed to the country’s nuclear tests on National Technology Day.
“We proudly recall the exceptional efforts of our scientists that led to the successful Pokhran tests in 1998,” he wrote on X.
“It was a defining moment in India’s history,” he added.
Calm returns to cities in Indian-administered Kashmir: Reports
Earlier, we brought you testimony from a journalist in Srinagar in Indian-administered Kashmir who said the guns have fallen silent there for the first time in two weeks.
Now, India’s ANI and PTI news agencies are reporting that the situation appears to have returned to normal in a number of locations across Indian-administered Kashmir this morning.
ANI reported that the “situation seems normal this morning” in Poonch “after days of heavy shelling by Pakistan”.
“No drones, firing or shelling was reported overnight,” in Poonch, as well as Samba and Kupwara, ANI said.
PTI also reported that situation seems to be normal in other locations, including Budgam, Akhnoor and Mendhar.
‘Situation is peaceful’ at Amritsar airport
Yadwinder Singh, an Indian official, has told the country’s ANI news agency that the “situation is peaceful” this morning at the ACP airport in Amritsar, about 30km (19 miles) from the border with Pakistan.
Singh said that “some rumours are being spread, but there is adequate security” and “it is peaceful now”.
“There is no drone activity,” he added. “People should not panic.”
Singh also appealed to the media to “verify the reports coming to them” in light of “false rumours being spread by people”.
The report came hours after authorities said the city remains on “red alert”.
EU’s top diplomat welcomes ceasefire
Kaja Kallas says she spoke with both India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar after the ceasefire was announced.
She described the deal as “a vital step toward de-escalation” and said “all efforts must be made to ensure it is respected”.
“The EU remains committed to peace, stability, and counter-terrorism in the region,” she said.
India accuses Pakistan of violating truce
The optimism around the ceasefire was shortlived because India is now accusing Pakistan of violating the ceasefire.
Just hours before, both countries had agreed to a land, sea and air ceasefire.
Then, the chief minister of Indian-administered Kashmir, Omar Abdullah, tweeted to say that there were drones spotted. He said there have been explosions in Jammu and Srinagar, and asked what has happened to the ceasefire?
And India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri has reacted, accusing Pakistan of violating the ceasefire, and saying the Indian armed forces have remained vigilant and have been asked to respond to any violations appropriately.
The ceasefire announcement itself was sudden.
It was announced by US President Donald Trump during the day, saying that India and Pakistan had agreed to the ceasefire and details of it would be worked out.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that both countries would hold talks in a more neutral place.
Well, of course, there’s no official word whether India has agreed to those talks. What we know, the official word is India agreed to the ceasefire, and now India is accusing Pakistan of those ceasefire violations.
A recap of recent developments
- Loud explosions have been heard in Srinagar, in Indian-administered Kashmir, hours after India and Pakistan agreed to an immediate ceasefire following days of deadly cross-border attacks.
- India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri accuses Pakistan of violating the understanding arrived at by the two countries, and says the Indian armed forces have been instructed to “deal strongly” with any repetition.
- In response, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry says the country was committed to the ceasefire and blames India for the violations.
- Earlier, politicians and residents of India and Pakistan, as well as the areas in Kashmir that each country administers, welcomed the news of the ceasefire, which was first announced by US President Donald Trump.
- US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has commended Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pakistan’s Shehbaz Sharif on the agreement, and said the deal also included the start of talks on “a broad set of issues at a neutral site”.
- Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has said that more than 30 countries had helped to facilitate that agreement.
Welcome to our live coverage
Hello, and thank you for joining our coverage of tensions between India and Pakistan after the deadly attack in Pahalgam in Indian-administered Kashmir last month.
Follow this page for up-to-the-minute updates on the latest developments, along with context and analysis.
You can find all our updates from Saturday, May 10, here.