Indo-Pak fragile ceasefire holds

• Pakistan lost '35 to 40 military personnel': India military
• Indian army chief grants 'full authority' to commanders for counteraction if ceasefire violated
• Pakistan seeks lasting settlement of Kashmir dispute

A fragile ceasefire was holding between India and Pakistan yesterday, after hours of overnight fighting between the nuclear-armed neighbours, as US President Donald Trump said he will work to provide a solution regarding Kashmir.

The arch rivals were involved in intense firing for four days, the worst in nearly three decades, with missiles and drones being fired at each other's military installations and dozens of people killed.

A ceasefire agreement was reached after diplomacy and pressure from the United States, but within hours, artillery fire was witnessed in Indian Kashmir, the centre of much of the fighting.

Blasts from air-defence systems boomed in cities near the border under blackout, similar to the previous two evenings, according to authorities, residents and Reuters witnesses.

By dawn, the fighting and explosions reported overnight had died down on both sides of the border, according to Reuters witnesses.

Power was restored in most areas along India's border towns after a blackout the previous night.

Trump praised leaders of both countries for agreeing to halt the aggression. "While not even discussed, I am going to increase trade, substantially, with both of these great nations. Additionally, I will work with you both to see if... a solution can be arrived at concerning Kashmir," Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

Pakistan lauded the willingness of the United States towards resolving the Kashmir dispute while welcoming Trump's recent statement regarding India-Pakistan tensions, reports Dawn.

Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said the military displayed courage and restraint and has given a befitting reply to Pakistan by attacking many of its military bases, reports NDTV online.

Pakistan army is reported to have lost at least 35-40 personnel, Indian military said in a special briefing on operation Sindoor yesterday.

The Indian Air Force (IAF) identified nine targets in Pakistan after a careful deliberation under Operation Sindoor, and launched the strikes, killing over 100 terrorists on May 7, senior military officers told reporters during the briefing in Delhi.

The Indian navy's deployment in the Arabian Sea during the operation virtually forced the Pakistan Navy to remain in the harbour or near the coast, the Indian Navy said.

Pakistan's Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari has praised the Pakistan Air Force (PAF), saying its achievement forced India to back off from its aggression.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has expressed gratitude to Trump for his "pathbreaking leadership and commitment to global peace and for his most valuable offer to play a greater role in bringing lasting peace to South Asia".

Meanwhile, Indian Army chief General Upendra Dwivedi has given the green light to all Army Commanders in the western borders to launch counteraction if the understanding reached between India and Pakistan's DGMOs on Saturday is violated.

India was set to send a team to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) with the latest evidence of Pakistan's complicity with terrorism, as per ANI sources.

In the border city of Amritsar, home to the Golden Temple revered by Sikhs, a siren sounded in the morning to resume normal activities brought a sense of relief and people were seen out on the roads.

"Ever since the day terrorists attacked people in Pahalgam we have been shutting our shops very early and there was an uncertainty. I am happy that at least there will be no bloodshed on both sides," Satvir Singh Alhuwalia, 48, a shopkeeper in Amritsar told Reuters.

The two countries, born out of British colonial rule in 1947, have gone to war three times - twice over the region of Kashmir.

Hindu-majority India and Muslim Pakistan both rule part of Kashmir but claim it in full.

India blames Pakistan for an insurgency in its part of Kashmir that began in 1989 and has killed tens of thousands. It also blames Pakistani Islamist militant groups for attacks elsewhere in India.

Pakistan says it provides only moral, political and diplomatic support to Kashmiri separatists.

The combined death toll in the recent skirmishes has reached nearly 70, officials have said.