US President Donald Trump said yesterday that India and Pakistan had agreed to a cease-fire, after four days of the most widespread fighting between the nuclear-armed neighbours in decades.
“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 posted on Truth Social, congratulating India and Pakistan on using “Common Sense and Great Intelligence.”
Indian and Pakistani officials confirmed the cease-fire in social media posts, though neither immediately mentioned an American role.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement that he and Vice President JD Vance had engaged with senior officials from both Pakistan and India, including their Prime Ministers, over 48 hours. In addition to the cease-fire, India and Pakistan also agreed to “Start talks on a broad set of issues at a neutral site,” Mr. Rubio said.
However, the Indian Government contradicted Mr. Rubio, saying the cease-fire was worked out directly between India and Pakistan, and that there had been no decision to hold talks on any other issue at any location.
On Saturday morning, the confrontation that had begun four days earlier escalated into missile strikes on air bases in both India and Pakistan. Several countries with close ties to India and Pakistan, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, had been working for days to try to cool the conflict.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke to the Foreign Ministers of India and Pakistan yesterday morning, urging both sides to find a way out of the crisis and “Avoid miscalculation,” according to readouts of the calls from the State Department. Pakistan’s Foreign Minister, Ishaq Dar, described his call with Mr. Rubio as “very reassuring.”
Hours later, Mr. Trump made the cease-fire announcement. (NYT)
