(MENAFN) US President Donald Trump has announced that India and Pakistan have agreed to a full and immediate ceasefire, following a night of intense talks mediated by the United States. Trump praised both countries for their "common sense and great intelligence" in reaching the agreement. While Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar confirmed the deal, he did not mention US involvement. India stated that the ceasefire began at 5 pm local time.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also confirmed the agreement, noting that both nations have agreed to start talks on a broad set of issues at a neutral location. Rubio, along with Vice President J.D. Vance, had been involved in discussions with high-ranking officials from both countries, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, India’s Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, and Pakistani Army Chief Asim Munir.

India’s Foreign Ministry reported that the ceasefire came after the heads of military operations from both sides spoke by phone, with Pakistan initiating the call. The announcement of the truce followed a brief but intense military escalation between the two nuclear powers. This conflict had erupted when India launched ‘Operation Sindoor’, a series of strikes on suspected terrorist targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir, in retaliation for a terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir in April that killed 26 civilians.

India blamed the attack on “The Resistance Front,” a group with ties to the Pakistani-based terrorist organization Lashkar-e-Taiba. Pakistan has denied any involvement and called for an impartial investigation into the incident. In response to India’s actions, Pakistan condemned the strikes as a “heinous provocation” and retaliated with shelling and drone strikes along the Line of Control in Kashmir. Later, Pakistan launched a large-scale military operation named ‘Bunyan Al Marsoos’ (Unbreakable Wall) targeting Indian military sites in retaliation.

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