India and Pakistan agree to ceasefire deal after U.S.-led mediation talks

India and Pakistan on Saturday confirmed they’ve agreed to a ceasefire deal after U.S.-led mediation talks to end the conflict between the nuclear-armed rivals.

President Trump announced that the two countries had reached a “full and immediate ceasefire,” after talks mediated by the U.S., saying in a Truth Social post on Saturday morning that the deal came after a “long night of talks.”

“Congratulations to both Countries on using Common Sense and Great Intelligence,” Mr. Trump wrote. “Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

The ceasefire follows weeks of clashes that were triggered by a gun massacre on tourists last month that India blames Pakistan for. It was their most serious confrontation in decades and left dozens of civilians dead on both sides.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he and Vice President JD Vance engaged with senior Indian and Pakistani officials, including Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Shehbaz Sharif, to discuss the ceasefire and to “start talks on a broad set of issues at a neutral site.”

“We commend Prime Ministers Modi and Sharif on their wisdom, prudence, and statesmanship in choosing the path of peace,” he said.

Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar announced the ceasefire on Geo News. He said Saudi Arabia and Turkey played an important role in facilitating the deal.

Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said in a quick press briefing on Saturday that the two sides agreed to “stop all firing and military action from land, air and sea” starting at 5 p.m. local time.

“Instructions have been given on both sides to give effect to this understanding,” he said, adding that top military officials would speak again on May 12.

The ceasefire deal also came hours after India and Pakistan carried out strikes, using drones and missiles fired from fighter jets, in a significant escalation of the military conflict between the two nuclear neighbors. Both nations accused the other of firing first, claiming they had acted in retaliation. Their respective militaries did not specify whether fighter jets had crossed into the other’s territory, but confirmed that aircraft were used in the overnight attacks.

In an early Saturday morning briefing, Pakistani officials said India had launched missiles at three air bases inside the country, but that most were intercepted and that “retaliatory strikes” on India were underway. The Pakistani military said it used medium-range Fateh missiles to target an Indian missile storage facility and airbases in Pathankot and Udhampur.

A few hours later, India accused Pakistan of attacking “the medicare center and school premises at the air bases of Srinagar, Awantipora and Udhampur” using “UCAV, drones, long-range weapons, loitering munitions and fighter aircrafts to target civilian areas and military infrastructure.”

Pakistan Army spokesman Lt. Gen. Ahmad Sharif said in televised remarks that Pakistan’s air force assets were safe following the Indian strikes, adding that some of the Indian missiles also hit India’s eastern Punjab province.

“This is a provocation of the highest order,” Sharif said.

The Indian missiles targeted Nur Khan air base in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, Murid air base in Chakwal city and Rafiqui air base in the Jhang district of eastern Punjab province, according to the spokesman.

India said its armed forces carried out attacks on Pakistan’s technical infrastructure, command and control centers, radar sites and weapon storage areas at Rafiqui, Murid, Chaklala, Rahim Yar Khan, Sukkur and Chunian, using “air-launched precision weapons from our fighter aircrafts.”

India also claimed it targeted Pakistan’s radar sites at Pasrur and Sialkot aviation base using precision munitions.

A heavy exchange of fire was heard along the Line of Control — the de facto border between the two countries in the mountainous Kashmir region — through Friday night, with loud explosions in major towns and cities near the border. India said some civilians were killed in the shelling by Pakistan, without giving specific casualty figures.

“Indian Armed Forces reiterate their commitment to non-escalation, provided it is reciprocated by the Pakistan Military,” Wing Commander Vyomika Singh of the Indian Air Force said in a Saturday morning press briefing.

India also denied Pakistan’s claims to have destroyed an Indian S-400 Air Defense System and Air Force Stations in Sirsa and Surat.

Tensions between the nuclear-armed rivals have soared since the attack at a popular tourist site in India-administered Kashmir left 26 civilians dead, mostly Hindu Indian tourists, on April 22. New Delhi has blamed Pakistan for backing the assault, an accusation Islamabad rejects.

On Wednesday, India conducted airstrikes on several sites in Pakistani territory, which it described as militant-related, killing 31 civilians, according to Pakistani officials. Pakistan said it shot down five Indian fighter jets.

On Thursday, India said it thwarted Pakistani drone and missile attacks at military targets in more than a dozen cities and towns, including Jammu city in Indian-administered Kashmir. Pakistan denied that it had carried out drone attacks.

The rivalry between India and Pakistan over the Himalayan region of Kashmir goes back decades. Both nations claim all of Kashmir as their own territory, but each controls only part of it. Another, northeastern portion of the region is administered by China, which has long been a point of friction between Delhi and Beijing.

contributed to this report.