Pakistan violates ceasefire with artillery fire along LoC hours after agreement

New Delhi: In a provocative move, Pakistan violated the ceasefire along several sectors of the Line of Control (LoC) on Saturday, resorting to artillery firing just hours after a US-mediated truce was announced.

There were drone attacks launched on Srinagar which were effectively responded by Indian air defence system.

The violation, which comes on the heels of India’s successful Operation Sindoor targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK), reignited concerns over Pakistan’s commitment to peace.

According to Indian military sources, the artillery firing targeted civilian areas in Poonch and Tangdhar, exacerbating an already tense situation. 

The timing of the violation is particularly significant. Just hours before the artillery firing, at 3:30 PM IST, the Pakistani Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) had assured his Indian counterpart of a halt to strikes, formally requesting a ceasefire, as per government sources. 

The truce, announced by former President Donald Trump on Truth Social, was seen as a step toward de-escalation after three days of intense military conflict. 

However, Pakistan’s actions have cast doubt on the sincerity of its commitments, with many in India viewing the violation as a deliberate attempt to undermine the peace process.

The backdrop to this latest violation is India’s Operation Sindoor, a precision strike conducted earlier this month targeting terrorist camps in Pakistan and PoK, which Indian intelligence confirmed were being used to plan attacks on Indian soil. The operation, hailed as a success by the Indian government, was a direct response to the April 22 terrorist attack in Pahalgam that claimed 26 civilian lives.