Donald Trump says it was an American effort
Venkat Raman
Auckland, May 11, 2025
India and Pakistan have agreed to a ceasefire, stopping, for the time being at least, military action.
US President Donald Trump said in an earlier tweet 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, he said on ‘Truth Social.’
He congratulated 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.
India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said at a briefing that the Director General of Military Operations of Pakistan called the Director General of Military Operations of India at 3.35 pm (IST) (10.05 pm NZT).
“It was agreed between them that both sides would stop all firing and military action on land and in the air and sea with effect from 5 pm IST (11.30 pm NZT) today (Saturday). Instructions have been given on both sides to give effect to this understanding. The Director General of Military Operations will talk again on May 12 at Noon IST (6.30 pm NZT),” he said.
A New York Times report said that on Saturday (May 10) morning, the confrontation that began four days ago had escalated into missile strikes on air bases in both India and Pakistan. Several countries with close ties to both 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 with the Foreign Ministers of India and Pakistan on Saturday 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.
“The two countries had been under diplomatic pressure to de-escalate their conflict, which started on Wednesday (May 7) and quickly ratcheted up. On Thursday, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries sent diplomats to meet with leaders from both sides. Gulf states, including Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, have close ties with Pakistan and India.
“The cease-fire announcement came after a night of some of the heaviest military engagement between the two sides since the rising tensions broke into a military confrontation. Following two nights of heavy drone warfare that tested each other’s defence systems, both sides appeared to have inflicted heavy damage early Saturday as they targeted each other’s military bases,” the New York Times reports said.
