New Delhi, May 11 (EFE).- The first 24 hours after a US-mediated ceasefire between India and Pakistan have been marked by fragile calm following three weeks of intense border clashes and four days of airstrikes that left dozens dead.
On Sunday, India’s military described the recent hostilities as war-like.
Despite some reports of ceasefire violations late Saturday and early Sunday, both nations largely returned to calm, with no further incidents reported throughout the day.
“The activities over the past 3–4 days are nothing short of war,” India’s Director General of Military Operations, Rajiv Ghai, told reporters in a press conference alongside officers from all three branches of the Indian military.
“Under normal circumstances, the air forces of neighbouring countries do not enter each other’s airspace and launch attacks…We have credible information suggesting the involvement of the Pakistani Army in such infiltration, aiming to harm our posts.”
He claimed that the Indian operations had killed at least 100 militants in Pakistan.
Sitting to his right, Indian Air Marshal A.K. Bharti claimed that India had met its objectives by destroying alleged militant camps targeted on May 7.
“Have we achieved our objectives of decimating the terrorist camps? And the answer is a thumping yes, and the results are for the whole world to see,” Bharti said at what was the military’s first exclusive press briefing since the start of the conflict.
“All I can say is that we have achieved our objectives that we selected and all our pilots are back home,” he said at the tri-services briefing.
According to Ghai, India launched strikes against nine locations in Pakistan as part of the Operation Sindoor, in response to a deadly Apr. 22 attack in Indian-istered Kashmir that killed 26 people.
India blamed Pakistan for the assault.
Ghai said the Indian strikes killed “more than 100 terrorists.”
The military showed satellite images of the targeted facilities before and after being hit by Indian drones and missiles, claiming the camps were used to plan attacks inside India.
He added that once Pakistan escalated the conflict by targeting Indian military and civilian infrastructure, India retaliated against Pakistani military bases.
Pakistan, however, claimed the Indian airstrikes targeted civilians. Its official tally said around 30 civilians were killed and more than 50 injured in the May 7 bombings.
As fighting escalated along the Line of Control (LoC), the de facto border in Kashmir, India said it inflicted heavy losses on Pakistani forces, estimating 35 to 40 soldiers killed.
India acknowledged the deaths of five of its own personnel, and mentioned civilian casualties without giving a number.
Asked about damages on Indian soil, military officials said most Pakistani drones and missiles had been intercepted. Those that did land, they added, caused only minor damage.
Like the day before, India made no mention of US mediation in the truce, which President Donald Trump had highlighted in an announcement on his Truth Social.
According to Ghai, the cessation of hostilities came after he received a call from his Pakistani counterpart at 3:35 p.m. local time (10:05 GMT) on Saturday.
While the ceasefire holds, Indian military officials warned they remain on high alert for possible violations and have authorized field commanders to respond if necessary, as they did on Saturday night.
The last full-scale war between the nuclear-armed neighbors occurred in 1999 in the Kargil region of Kashmir.
The disputed Himalayan territory has been the main flashpoint between India and Pakistan since their independence from Britain in 1947, sparking multiple wars and smaller conflicts. EFE
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