India and Pakistan ceasefire shaken by overnight clashes in Kashmir
India鈥檚 military strikes into Pakistan-controlled Kashmir and Pakistan earlier this week killed more than 100 militants, including their prominent leadership, the head of India's military operations claimed Sunday.
Video above: People who fled Pakistan-administered Kashmir return after ceasefire
Lt. Gen. Rajiv Ghai, the director general of military operations, said India鈥檚 armed forces struck nine militant infrastructure and training facilities, including sites of the Lashkar-e-Taiba group that India blames for carrying out major militant strikes in India and the disputed region of Kashmir.
鈥淲e achieved total surprise,鈥� Ghai said at a news conference in New Delhi, adding Pakistan鈥檚 response was 鈥渆rratic and rattled.鈥�
The two countries agreed to a truce a day earlier after talks to defuse their most serious military confrontation in decades. The two armies exchanged gunfire, artillery strikes, missiles and drones that killed dozens of people.
As part of the ceasefire, the nuclear-armed neighbors agreed to immediately stop all military action on land, in the air and at sea.
Competing claims of how many were killed
The escalation in violence began last week after a gun massacre of tourists in Indian-controlled Kashmir on April 22. India blamed the attack on Pakistan, which denied any involvement.
Ghai said at least 35 to 40 Pakistani soldiers were killed in clashes along the Line of Control, the de facto border that divides the disputed Kashmir region between India and Pakistan. Five Indian soldiers were also killed, he said.
Pakistan鈥檚 Information Minister Attaullah Tarar on Thursday said his country鈥檚 armed forces had killed 40 to 50 Indian soldiers along the Line of Control.
Following India鈥檚 Wednesday strikes, Pakistan sent drones multiple times in many locations in Kashmir and Indian cities that were neutralized, said Air Marshal A.K. Bharti, the operations head of the Indian air force. He said India responded with 鈥渟ignificant and game-changing strikes鈥� Saturday, hitting Pakistan鈥檚 air bases.
Bharti refused to comment on Pakistani claims of shooting down five Indian fighter jets, but said, 鈥淲e are in a combat scenario and losses are a part of combat.鈥� He claimed India also 鈥渄owned (a) few planes鈥� but did not offer any evidence.
The Associated Press could not independently verify all the actions attributed to India or Pakistan.
Saturday's ceasefire was shaken just hours later by overnight fighting in disputed Kashmir, as each side accused the other of repeatedly violating the deal. Drones were also spotted Saturday night over Indian-controlled Kashmir and the western state of Gujarat, according to Indian officials.
People on both sides of the Line of Control reported heavy exchanges of fire between Indian and Pakistani troops. The fighting subsided by Sunday morning.
In the Poonch area of Indian-controlled Kashmir, people said the intense shelling from the past few days had traumatized them.
鈥淢ost people ran as shells were being fired,鈥� said college student Sosan Zehra, who returned home Sunday. 鈥淚t was completely chaotic."
In Pakistan-controlled Kashmir鈥檚 Neelum Valley, which is 3 kilometers (2 miles) from the Line of Control, residents said there were exchanges of fire and heavy shelling after the ceasefire began.
鈥淲e were happy about the announcement, but, once again, the situation feels uncertain,鈥� said Mohammad Zahid.
Indian and Pakistan officials due to speak Monday
U.S. President Donald Trump was the first to post about the ceasefire deal, announcing it on his Truth Social platform. Indian and Pakistani officials confirmed the news shortly after.
Pakistan has thanked the U.S., and especially Trump, several times for facilitating the ceasefire.
India has not said anything about Trump or the U.S. since the deal was announced. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a meeting Sunday with top government and military officials.
A United Nations spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric, said on Sunday that Secretary General Antonio Guterres welcomed the deal as a positive step toward easing tensions. 鈥淗e hopes the agreement will contribute to lasting peace and foster an environment conducive to addressing broader, longstanding issues between the two countries,鈥� Dujarric said.
India and Pakistan鈥檚 top military officials are scheduled to speak Monday.
India and Pakistan have fought daily since Wednesday along the rugged and mountainous Line of Control, which is marked by razor wire coils, watchtowers and bunkers that snake across foothills populated by villages, tangled bushes and forests.
They have routinely blamed the other for starting the skirmishes, while insisting they themselves were only retaliating.
Kashmir is split between the two countries and claimed by both in its entirety.
They have fought two of their three wars over the region, and their ties have been shaped by conflict, aggressive diplomacy and mutual suspicion, mostly due to their competing claims.
____
Hussain reported from Srinagar, India. Saaliq reported from New Delhi.
