President Donald Trump took credit for a cease-fire between India and Pakistan that immediately fell apart Saturday. Fighting took place across the border between the two countries soon after leaders agreed to the cease-fire, The New York Times reports. Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio were reportedly involved in the talks, although India said that the cease-fire was negotiated “directly between the two countries.”
Trump announced the deal on social media following several days of the most intense fighting in decades between the two nuclear-armed countries.
“After a long night of talks mediated by the United States, I am pleased to announce that India and Pakistan have agreed to a FULL AND IMMEDIATE CEASE-FIRE,” Trump posted on Truth Social on Saturday morning. “Congratulations to both Countries on using Common Sense and Great Intelligence. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
Ishaq Dar, deputy prime minister and foreign minister of Pakistan, confirmed the cease-fire in a post on social platform X.
But on Saturday evening in India and Pakistan, a local lawmaker told The New York Times that fighting had been going on for two hours. He said no casualties had been reported. A senior Indian official confirmed the fighting. He also said Pakistani drones had appeared over Indian-administered Kashmir and the Indian state of Punjab.
“What the hell just happened to the cease-fire? Explosions heard across Srinagar!!!” Omar Abdullah, chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, posted on X. Srinagar is a city in the region.
India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri accused Pakistan of violating the agreement.
“For the last few hours there have been repeated violations of the understanding arrived at earlier this evening between the directors general of military operations of India and Pakistan,” Misri said Saturday night, according to CNN.
“This is a breach of the understanding arrived at earlier today. The armed forces are giving an adequate and appropriate response and take very serious notice of these violations,” he said.
India and Pakistan each control parts of Kashmir, but they both claim the entire territory. The fighting was sparked by a terror attack in Indian-administered Kashmir last month.
The exact extent of Trump’s involvement in the cease-fire deal is unclear. India announced on X that the cease-fire was “worked out directly between the two countries.”
A senior Pakistani intelligence official told the Times that Rubio had played a key role in the negotiations and gave Trump the credit for finalizing the agreement.
“I am pleased to announce the Governments of India and Pakistan have agreed to an immediate cease-fire and to start talks on a broad set of issues at a neutral site,” Rubio posted on X.
“We commend Prime Ministers [Narendra] Modi and [Shehbaz] Sharif on their wisdom, prudence, and statesmanship in choosing the path of peace,” he added.
On Thursday, Vance called the war “fundamentally none of our business” on Fox News. But Vance ended up calling Modi, CNN reported, something the outlet called a “critical moment.” CNN also reported that the Trump administration did not draft the agreement but they helped make it so the two countries’ leaders talked to one another.
“It was a beautiful partnership,” U.S. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said, according to CNN. “This was the result of the Vice President J.D. Vance, of course, this entire government moving through the vision and implementing the insight and vision of President Trump along with of course, my guy, Secretary of State Marco Rubio.”
“We thank President Trump for his leadership and proactive role for peace in the region,” Pakistan’s Sharif posted on X. “Pakistan appreciates the United States for facilitating this outcome, which we have accepted in the interest of regional peace and stability. We also thank Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio for their valuable contributions for peace in South Asia.”
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