Steps planned to boost confidence at Indo-Pak border
Indian Army to enhance confidence-building measures along Pakistan border post-ceasefire extension, as both sides aim to reduce military tensions.
The Indian Army on Thursday said it will push “confidence building measures” along the border with Pakistan “to reduce the alertness level” there, hours after Pakistan’s foreign minister Ishaq Dar said that the May 10 ceasefire between the Indian and Pakistani armies was extended till May 18.
“Further to the understanding between the two DGMOs (directors general of military operations) on May 10, 2025, it has been decided to continue the confidence building measures (CBMs) to reduce the alertness level,” the Indian Army said in a brief statement.
It did not comment on Dar’s statement made in the Pakistani parliament or confirm if the two DGMOs spoke again on Thursday as he suggested.
The understanding between India and Pakistan to cease military hostilities was announced on May 10 in the evening, after Indian DGMO Lieutenant General Rajiv Ghai and his Pakistani counterpart Major General Kashif Abdullah talked over the hotline.
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The decision, announced by US President Donald Trump, ended four days of fierce fighting that began with the launch of Operation Sindoor in the early hours of May 7. India has consistently said that the understanding was reached bilaterally.
The two DGMOs spoke again on May 12 to uphold the uneasy truce. The CBMS discussed then included continuing the May 10 commitment that both sides “must not fire a single shot” or initiate any aggressive action against each other, and consider troop reduction in forward areas.
The pause in hostilities addressed fears of a full-blown shooting war.
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Earlier in the day, agencies reported that Dar told Pakistan’s parliament that the truce stood extended till May 18 after both sides had “military-to-military” communications on Wednesday and Thursday.
In his address, Dar said the two DGMOs would again get in contact on May 18.No details of the talks were shared, except that they agreed to respect the ceasefire.
India has not responded to the statement. To be sure, neither India nor Pakistan have earlier referred to the ceasefire as one that has to be extended periodically. Contours of the understanding remain unclear though New Delhi has said that it received a call from Pakistan on May 10, hours after India struck a number of military and air bases in the neighbouring country. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that India chose to consider Pakistan’s ”plea” after Islamabad said that it will not indulge in any sort of terror activities or military audacity any further.
Modi has also said that the eventual cessation of hostilities, announced on Saturday evening, came about after Pakistan was decimated militarily and came pleading for a ceasefire. But he categorically stated that Operation Sindoor was not yet over.
“We have only paused our retaliatory action against terror and military bases in Pakistan. In the coming days, every step taken by Pakistan will be monitored... any terror attack will get a befitting response, on our terms, in our way,” Modi said in an address to the nation earlier this week.
Neither side has fired a single shot since May 10, a key condition for the ceasefire, though Pakistan has attempted to violate the truce with some drones sighted over Indian cities on Saturday night and Monday night.
Operation Sindoor was India’s direct military response to the April 22 terror strike at Pahalgam in Kashmir that killed 26 civilians --- all men, and 24 Hindus --- in what was the worst attack on civilians since the 26/11 Mumbai strikes.
Indian forces launched the operation in the early hours of May 7, bombing nine terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
The nine terror camps hit with precision weapons by the army and the Indian Air Force (IAF) included Markaz Subhanallah in Bahawalpur, Markaz Taiba near Muridke, Mehmoona Joya in Sialkot, Sawai Nala and Syed Na Bilal in Muzaffarabad, Gulpur and Abbas in Kotli, Barnala in Bhimber, and Sarjal near the international border (IB).
The pre-dawn strikes --- in which at least 100 terrorists were killed --- sparked a series of attacks and counterattacks across the western border, involving fighter jets, missiles, armed drones, and fierce artillery and rocket duels.
In one such counterattack on the night of May 9-10, the IAF struck targets at 13 Pakistani airbases and military installations in Rafiqui, Murid, Chaklala, Rahim Yar Khan, Sukkur, Chunian, Pasrur, Sialkot, Skardu, Sargodha, Jacobabad, Bholari and Malir Cantt in Karachi, marking the worst hit that Pakistan has taken after the 1971 war.
