India-Pakistan ceasefire holds despite alleged breaches
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The news: A ceasefire between India and Pakistan appears to have held, despite the nuclear-powered nations accusing the other of violations and conflicts over what had been agreed on Saturday.
The context: US President Donald Trump announced on Saturday that the countries agreed to a “full and immediate” ceasefire, which he said had been brokered by the US.
Trump said: "While not even discussed, I am going to increase trade, substantially, with both of these great nations.” He also said that the US will work to find a solution to the Kashmir dispute.
Hours after the truce was agreed, Vikram Misri, India’s foreign secretary said that Pakistan had repeatedly violated the agreement, adding that “The armed forces are giving adequate and appropriate response.”
Pakistan said it was committed to the ceasefire and denied any breaches, accusing India of violating the agreement.
However, explosions and gunfire that had been reported overnight night died down by Sunday morning and was holding by Sunday afternoon.
The ceasefire was called after intense fighting had broken out in the disputed territory on Wednesday last week, when India fired missiles and drones into Pakistan in response to an April terror attack in Kashmir, in which 25 Indian tourists were killed. Pakistan denies involvement in the attack.
Following the April Kashmir attack, India pulled out of the key Indus Water Treaty (IWT) which protects hydro flows from the Indus basin into Pakistan. The basin supplies about 80% of Pakistan’s irrigated agriculture, a sector worth roughly 25% of GDP and employs 65% of the country’s labour force. Tens of millions of people rely on the rivers’ waters for their livelihoods and survival.
Despite the ceasefire agreed over the weekend Reuters reports that there is no change in position from the Indian government regarding the IWT. In April, Misri had said that India will hold the treaty in abeyance with until Pakistan “credibly and irrevocably abjures its support for cross-border terrorism.”
The sources: US Department of State, Capital Brief, Reuters
