India-Pakistan military conflict: what we know so far

The US president, Donald Trump, on Saturday announced a ceasefire agreement between India and Pakistan after deadly attacks between the nuclear-armed rivals. Within hours, violations were reported from the main cities of Indian Kashmir, the territory that had borne the brunt of four days of fighting. Blasts were heard in Srinagar and Jammu and projectiles and flashes were seen in the night sky over Jammu, similar to the events of the previous evening, according to authorities, residents and Reuters witnesses. The Indian foreign secretary, Vikram Misri, said armed forces were responding to ceasefire violations by Pakistan. Pakistan’s information minister claimed there had not been any violations of the ceasefire. The earlier ceasefire announcement, confirmed by both countries, came after India and Pakistan fired volleys of missiles across their borders on Saturday as they escalated their worst fighting in nearly three decades. The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, said the agreement came after extensive negotiations by him and the US vice-president, JD Vance, with the Indian and Pakistani prime ministers, Narendra Modi and Shehbaz Sharif, and other top officials. Both sides had earlier said they would be willing to de-escalate the conflict if the other side was willing to do the same. Rubio, posting on X, said both sides would now start talks on a broad set of issues at a neutral site. Pakistan’s foreign minister, Ishaq Dar, told broadcaster Geo news on Saturday that three dozen countries were involved in the diplomacy that secured the “full fledged” ceasefire. Earlier on Saturday, Pakistan military officials told state-run media it had launched a retaliatory operation, targeting several bases including a missile storage site in northern India. Officials said the attack was called Operation Bunyan Ul Marsoos, an Arabic phrase meaning “wall of lead”. Pakistan’s offensive came shortly after it said India had fired missiles from fighter jets at three airbases earlier on Saturday, including one close to the capital, Islamabad. Pakistan said its air defences had intercepted most of them. Among the targets was Nur Khan air base in Rawalpindi, where the Pakistani military has its headquarters, which is about 6 miles (10km) from Islamabad. The strikes caused panic in the densely populated area, with loud explosions sending people running into the streets. In the aftermath of the strikes, Pakistan shut down its airspace. India’s attempted strikes on Rawalpindi and other key military bases – and the launch of Pakistan’s counterattack on Saturday – marked the steepest escalation in their confrontation yet, bringing the two countries the closest they have been to war in decades. Locked in a longstanding dispute over Kashmir, the two countries have engaged in daily clashes since Wednesday, when India launched strikes inside Pakistan on what it called militant bases. At least 48 people have been killed since Wednesday, according to casualty estimates on both sides of the border that have not been independently verified. The dramatic flare-up was sparked by a deadly attack on Hindu tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir last month, when 26 civilians were killed. India has accused Pakistan of supporting militants behind the attack.