Nuclear-armed Pakistan and India have agreed to extend the US-brokered ceasefire until May 18, confirmed Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) Ishaq Dar on Thursday.
Addressing the Senate, Dar, who also holds the foreign affairs portfolio, said that the development came during a hotline contact between the director general of military operations (DGMO) of the two sides on May 14.
After the US brokered a ceasefire between the nuclear-armed countries, Pakistan’s Director General Military Operations (DGMO) Major General Kashif Abdullah and his Indian counterpart Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai held the first round of talks via hotline on May 10.
“During the DGMOs’ conversation, the ceasefire was extended until May 12. When the DGMOs spoke again on May 12, the ceasefire was extended until May 14. Further talks on May 14 led to the ceasefire being extended until May 18,” the DPM told the upper house.
In a bid to clear the confusion surrounding the recent US-brokered ceasefire between arch-rival nuclear powers Pakistan and India, DPM Dar said that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the evening of May 10 told him that New Delhi was ready for a ceasefire.
Addressing the Senate, Dar, who also holds the foreign affairs portfolio, said: “On May 10 at around 10:15am, I received a phone call from the US secretary of state, who informed me that India is ready to agree to a ceasefire.”
“At that time our phase-I operation was nearing completion,” the DPM said, adding that he told the top US diplomat that if New Delhi was ready to ceasefire then Pakistan was also ready to do so.
During the telephonic conversation, the minister said he made it clear that the war was not initiated by Islamabad. Dar further told the House that the top US diplomat told him that he would inform the Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, about the development.
The latest escalation in the decades-old India-Pakistan rivalry began on May 7 when at least 31 civilians were martyred in unprovoked Indian strikes in different areas of Pakistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK). In retaliation, Pakistan downed its five fighter jets, including three Rafale, and dozens of drones. During the four-day standoff, at least 11 troops and 40 civilians were martyred at the hands of India.
— This is a developing story and is being updated with more details.
