In a major diplomatic breakthrough, US President Donald Trump announced on May 10, that India and Pakistan have agreed to a full and immediate ceasefire following a rapid escalation of military hostilities earlier in the week. Trump credited a “long night of talks” mediated by Washington for brokering the truce between the two nuclear-armed neighbors, hailing it as a victory for “common sense and great intelligence” on both sides.

The announcement was made via Trump’s official Truth Social account on May 10, just hours after Indian and Pakistani officials confirmed that a ceasefire had taken effect at 5.55 pm local time. The White House revealed that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance had engaged in intense negotiations with senior Indian and Pakistani leadership over the preceding 48 hours to avert further bloodshed.

According to Secretary Rubio, discussions involved direct engagement with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, and Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir. Rubio stated that both sides had agreed not only to halt military activities but also to begin broader diplomatic talks at a neutral venue, signaling hope for a potential thaw in their long-fraught relations.

The ceasefire comes at a crucial juncture. Over the past week, India and Pakistan appeared perilously close to the brink of full-scale conflict following a terrorist attack in India’s Jammu and Kashmir territory in April that killed 26 civilians. The attack was claimed by “The Resistance Front” (TRF), a group Indian authorities have linked to the Pakistani-based terrorist organization Lashkar-e-Taiba, responsible for numerous past attacks.

In response to the atrocity,........

© Blitz