The fragile truce between India and Pakistan appeared to be largely holding on its first full day after some initial skirmishing, as both countries turned on Sunday to making the case that they had come out on top in the four-day conflict.
President Trump announced on Saturday that the two sides had agreed to a cease-fire with the help of U.S. mediation. That brought a halt to a military confrontation that had involved drones, missiles and intense shelling, and that had escalated, with strikes on military bases in both countries.
Mr. Trump followed up with a congratulatory note on Sunday, praising the two sides for “having the strength, wisdom, and fortitude to fully know and understand that it was time to stop the current aggression that could have lead to to the death and destruction of so many, and so much.”
He added that he would increase trade “substantially” with both countries, and that he would work with them to see if a “solution can be arrived at” to settle their seven-decade dispute over the Kashmir region.
Pakistan, a onetime close ally of the United States that has faded in importance, praised the American role as a mediator. But in India, the Trump administration’s public descriptions of its role in the mediation seemed to touch some sensitive spots politically.
The Indian government has long framed its relations with Pakistan as a strictly bilateral matter, and in the hours after the cease-fire was announced, India said it had been negotiated directly between Indian and Pakistani officials.
India made no reference to an American role, presumably in part because it hoped to avoid any domestic perception that it had stopped its fight against its neighbor and archenemy under outside pressure.
On Sunday, a senior Indian official offered a timeline of the conflict that acknowledged discussions throughout with American officials but described India as making its own decisions.
In talks with U.S. officials and diplomats from other countries, the official said, India stuck to a single message: that it would respond to every Pakistani attack with a counterattack.
After Pakistan sent waves of drones into India early on Saturday, Indian forces struck hard at some of Pakistan’s key military bases, the official said. At that point, Pakistan expressed a willingness to hold talks through military leaders, the official said, and the two sides agreed to stop firing.
Some supporters of the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi cast the truce as a victory owing to the might of the Indian armed forces. Pakistan, they argued, had been brought to a point where it was forced to seek a cease-fire.
The Indian Air Force, in a post on social media, said on Sunday that it had carried out its mission with “precision and professionalism.”
Triumphant memes were less reserved, and billboards popped up overnight. “Salute to the Indian Army — Our Pride, Our Protectors,” read one.
Some Indian officials said that India’s actions in the conflict illustrated the tougher stance the country had taken on terrorism under Mr. Modi. India struck Pakistan after vowing a serious response to a terrorist attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that killed 26 civilians on April 22.
India accused Pakistan of supporting the attackers — Pakistan denied any role — and two weeks later initiated its cross-border military campaign.
In Pakistan, too, many cast the end of the confrontation as a victory for their country and military.
The television channel Geo News broadcast footage of civilians showering flower petals on military tanks and placing garlands around soldiers’ necks in Sialkot, a city scarred by past military conflicts between India and Pakistan.
Nadeem Farooq Paracha, a prominent columnist in Karachi, said the public mood reflected a sense of confidence not seen in years.
“Pakistan may just have won its first ever war against India,” he said in an interview. “It successfully withstood a major Indian offensive and scored some vital military and diplomatic victories. India, on the other hand, has very little to show for its gambit.”
Sabir Shah, a political analyst based in Lahore, said the Pakistan Air Force had demonstrated operational superiority.
“Indian losses, in terms of military hardware, are surely much higher comparatively,” he said. Pakistan claims that five Indian planes were downed. India has not acknowledged losing any planes, but evidence suggests it lost at least two, according to eyewitness accounts and some government officials.
As both sides tallied their gains and the other’s losses, uncertainty lingered over whether the cease-fire would hold. Soon after it was declared on Saturday, there were reports of cross-border shelling. But the situation appeared calm as of Sunday night.
Sajad Shafi, a local politician from the border town of Uri on the Indian side of Kashmir, said that Sunday so far had been “peaceful.”
“There is a huge sense of relief among people,” he said.
But while civilians were desperate to get back to their homes, Mr. Shafi urged them to stay another day in relief camps out of caution.
“You can’t trust this cease-fire,” he said. “You never know what is next.”
Suhasini Raj contributed reporting from New Delhi.
Source: nytimes.com
