India Pakistan Ceasefire LIVE updates: Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security on Wednesday, the first since the pause in hostilities between India and Pakistan triggered by last month’s Pahalgam terror attack. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Union Home Minister Amit Shah were also present in the meeting, details of which are yet to be known.
Earlier in the day, India and Pakistan handed each other’s border-guarding personnel captured by the Border Security Force (BSF) and the Pakistan Rangers, respectively, at the International Borders (IB) between the two countries, officials said. BSF jawan Purnam Kumar Shaw was handed over to India, 21 days after he was apprehended by the Rangers from along the IB in Punjab.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump’s claim of mediation between India and Pakistan to halt the hostilities has been rejected by India. Despite India’s rebuttal, Mr Trump again claimed his government “brokered a historic ceasefire” between the two countries.
On the intervening night of May 7 and 8, India launched Operation Sindoor to target terror bases in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir, in response to the Pahalgam attack that claimed 26 lives. The operation escalated bilateral tensions as it led to strikes and counter-strikes between the two nations. On Saturday, India and Pakistan reached an agreement to stop all firing and military action on land, air and sea, with effect from 5pm. Pakistan, however, violated the agreement within hours of it coming into effect.
