A fragile ceasefire was in place between India and Pakistan on Sunday, after hours of night-time fighting between the nuclear-armed neighbours, and US President Donald Trump said he would work to find a solution to Kashmir.
The two traditional rivals have traded intense fire for four days, the worst in nearly three decades, firing missiles and drones at each other’s military installations and killing dozens of people.
The ceasefire agreement was reached after diplomacy and pressure from the United States, but within hours artillery fire began in Indian-administered Kashmir, the focus of much of the fighting.
Blasts from air defence systems echoed in towns along the border that were without power, similar to the previous two nights, according to authorities, residents and Reuters witnesses.
Late on Saturday, Indian authorities said Pakistan had violated the ceasefire agreement and that Indian forces had been instructed to “respond strongly” to any recurrence.
In response, Pakistan said it was committed to the ceasefire and blamed India for the violations.
By dawn, fighting and explosions reported overnight had subsided on both sides of the border, according to Reuters witnesses.
Power had been restored to most areas along India’s border towns after being out overnight.
Trump praised the leaders of both countries for agreeing to stop the aggression.
“While it is not mentioned, I will be significantly increasing trade with both of these great nations. In addition, I will be working with you both to see if we can… work out a solution on Kashmir,” Trump said in a tweet.
The fighting began on Wednesday, two weeks after 26 men were killed in an attack on Hindus in the tourist town of Pahalgam in Indian Kashmir.
Those two countries, created after the British colonial rule in 1947, went to war three times, twice of which over the Kashmir region.
Both Hindu-majority India and Muslim Pakistan rule parts of Kashmir, but each side owns it in its entirety.
