Indo-Pak ceasefire tenuous. India says: 'Operation Sindoor is still on. Any act of terrorism will be treated as an act of war'

India and Pakistan on Saturday called off the bloodiest armed confrontation in half a century between the two nuclear-armed neighbours after four days of fighting in which latest drones and missiles were used to attack each other.

- BY S VENKAT NARAYAN

United States President Donald Trump was the first to break the news about the surprising development on Saturday evening on his Truth Social platform, and claimed credit for it.

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif promptly went on national television to thank the US and several other countries for the cessation of hostilities. He even claimed to be a victory for Pakistan.

But India made no mention of the US, and asserted that the cessation of hostilities followed telephonic discussions between the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of the two countries on Saturday. They will hold discussions on Monday (May 12) on the way forward.

India also made it clear that its Operation Sindoor, launched on May 7 to blow up terrorist hubs in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), will continue.

In a drastic revision of its security doctrine, India on May 10 declared that it will from now on consider every instance of terrorism directed against it as an "act of war" and will respond accordingly. The decision considerably lowers the threshold for India to give full-scale military response to attacks orchestrated from across the border.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday held a meeting with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, and TriServices Chiefs at his 7, Lok Kalyan Marg residence in New Delhi. National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan were also present.

Shortly after 9am on Saturday, India's Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai got a call on the hotline from his Pakistani counterpart Maj Gen Kashif Abdullah. Abdullah sounded Ghai out on a ceasefire and, referred to the conversation US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had with Pakistan Army chief Gen Asim Munir, in a clear indication that the feelers were coming from his boss.