U.S. President Donald Trump says India and Pakistan have agreed to a ceasefire after U.S.-mediated talks, but neither country has immediately confirmed a deal.
It follows weeks of hostilities between the nuclear-armed rivals, who have traded missile strikes, drone attacks and artillery fire and is their most serious confrontation in decades. Tensions have flared since a gun massacre last month that India blames on Pakistan.
Pakistan’s foreign minister said his country would consider de-escalation if India stopped further attacks. However, Ishaq Dar warned that if India launched any strikes, “our response will follow.”
Dar told Pakistan’s Geo News that he also conveyed this message to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who contacted him after Rubio spoke to New Delhi earlier.
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“We responded because our patience had reached its limit. If they stop here, we will also consider stopping,” Dar added.
India said it targeted Pakistani air bases after Islamabad fired several high-speed missiles at military and civilian infrastructure in the country’s Punjab state early Saturday.
Pakistan earlier said it intercepted most missiles and responded with retaliatory strikes on India.
Rubio spoke to his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and emphasized that “both sides need to identify methods to de-escalate and reestablish direct communication to avoid miscalculation,” State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said Saturday, and offered U.S. support to facilitate “productive discussion.”