India-Pakistan tensions: Committed to faithful implementation of ceasefire, says Pak

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Pic/AFP

Pakistan on Sunday said it was "committed" to faithful implementation of the ceasefire with India, asserting that its forces are handling the situation with "responsibility and restraint". India and Pakistan on Saturday reached an understanding to stop all firings and military actions.

Hours later, the arrangement came under severe pressure with New Delhi blaming Islamabad for breaching it. In a media briefing on Saturday, India's Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri called upon Pakistan to take "appropriate steps" to address these violations and deal with the situation with "seriousness and responsibility".

"Pakistan remains committed to faithful implementation of the ceasefire between Pakistan and India," Pakistan's Foreign Office spokesperson said in a statement while responding to the media queries regarding the statement made by Misri. Pakistan's "forces are handling the situation with responsibility and restraint," the spokesperson claimed.

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif thanked the country's political leadership, including his coalition partners and opposition, for demonstrating "exemplary" unity and integrity during the four-day confrontation between Pakistani and Indian militaries.

In an address late Saturday night, Sharif said the "path of peaceful negotiations should be adopted to solve the longstanding issues between India and Pakistan", including the sharing of water resources and the Kashmir issue.

Sharif said Pakistan has given a positive response to the understanding reached with India in the interest of regional peace. The Pakistani prime minister described the understanding with India as a success of the entire nation and the armed forces of Pakistan.

Trump welcomes ceasefire

US President Donald Trump on Sunday praised the "strong and unwaveringly powerful" leadership of India and Pakistan for reaching a "ceasefire" and offered to work with them for a "solution" on the Kashmir issue.

"I will work with you both to see if, after a thousand years, a solution can be arrived at concerning Kashmir. God Bless the leadership of India and Pakistan on a job well done!!!" Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

"I am very proud of the strong and unwaveringly powerful leadership of India and Pakistan 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 (led) to the death and destruction of so many, and so much," Trump said.

Chinese FM speaks to Doval

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi spoke to India's National Security Advisory (NSA) Ajit Doval and expressed hope that New Delhi and Islamabad would address their differences through dialogue and achieve a lasting ceasefire.

During their conversation, Doval told Wang that war was not India's choice but India needed to take counter-terrorism action after the Pahalgam attack, state-run Xinhua news agency reported in separate dispatches.

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