Bhubaneswar: A day after taking credit for India-Pakistan ceasefire, US President Donald Trump on Sunday said that he is looking forward to working with both countries to ‘settle’ ‘1000-year’ Kashmir issue.
“I will work with you both to see if, after a “thousand years,” a solution can be arrived at concerning Kashmir. God Bless the leadership of India and Pakistan on a job well done!!!” he posted on his Truth Social platform.
Defence analysts have dubbed it as a breach of another diplomatic red line drawn by India since Shimla Accord: “No third party mediation on Kashmir”.
This is also a departure from US Vice President JD Vance’s Thursday statement that the India-Pakistan conflict was “not our concern”. Vance had downplayed US involvement in resolving the escalating tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbours in an interview with Fox News.
WHAT LED TO THE CEASEFIRE
According to India, Pakistan suffered “very heavy” and “unsustainable losses” after launching unprovoked attacks on installations in retaliation to Operation Sindoor, in which nine terror camps in the neighbouring country and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir were destroyed. Indian Air Force jets fired BrahMos-A cruise missiles at major Pakistan Air Force bases, including Chaklala near Rawalpindi, Sargodha in Punjab, Jacobabad, Bholari, and Skardu in Pakistan and PoK, the NDTV reported, quoting government sources.
There was reported panic over fears of Indian attacks on nuclear command infrastructure and Pakistan then sought urgent US intervention. The US, already engaging both nations amid rising tensions, urged Pakistan to use the military hotline to de-escalate immediately, effectively directing Islamabad to contact India directly.
According to Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, Pakistan’s DGMO called his Indian counterpart at 15:35 hours, following which both sides agreed to cease all firing and military activities starting from 17:00 hours IST.
“India and Pakistan have today worked out an understanding on stoppage of firing and military action. India has consistently maintained a firm and uncompromising stance against terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. It will continue to do so,” External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar posted on X.
THE CALL TO PM MODI
Vance reportedly made a crucial call to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as part of a discreet diplomatic push by the Trump administration to prevent further conflict between the nuclear-armed neighbours. He told him of “alarming” intelligence suggesting a “dramatic escalation” over the weekend, the CNN reported.
According to New York Times report, when Vance spoke to PM, he committed nothing, agreed to nothing.
“His message was that the United States had assessed there was a high probability of a dramatic escalation of violence that could tip into full-scale war. By the American account, Mr. Vance pressed Mr. Modi to consider alternatives to continued strikes, including a potential off-ramp that U.S. officials thought would prove acceptable to the Pakistanis. Mr. Modi listened but did not commit to any of the ideas.”
He clearly told the US that if Pakistan does something, the response will be more devastating and strong.
Secretary of State and interim national security adviser Marco Rubio then got into action and pressed that there is a strong chance of dramatic escalation. Ceasefire seems to have been agreed upon after Rubio spoke to Asim Munir. “A senior Pakistani intelligence official who was not authorized to comment publicly about the negotiations credited the involvement of the Americans over the last 48 hours, and in particular Mr. Rubio’s intervention, for sealing the accord.”
What got them into action was explosion at Nur Khan base, the garrison city adjacent to Islamabad. “The base is a key installation, one of the central transport hubs for Pakistan’s military and the home to the air refueling capability that would keep Pakistani fighters aloft. But it is also just a short distance from the headquarters of Pakistan’s Strategic Plans Division, which oversees and protects the country’s nuclear arsenal, now believed to include about 170 or more warheads,” the report added.
