NEW DELHI — India formally suspended the 2021 ceasefire agreement with Pakistan on Thursday after a coordinated militant attack killed three Indian soldiers on the Line of Control — the deadliest single incident since the pact took effect. India’s army said it had directed its forces to “respond with full force” to any further aggression.
The attack on Wednesday night involved an estimated 15 militants who crossed into Indian-administered Kashmir and opened fire on an army patrol. Pakistan’s military said it had “no involvement whatsoever” and condemned the attack as a “barbaric act.” Pakistan’s foreign office called India’s suspension “unprovoked and dangerous.”
Cross-border artillery exchanges resumed in the Poonch and Rajouri sectors on Thursday morning, according to Indian army sources. Prime Minister Narendra Modi held an emergency security meeting in New Delhi. Civilians on both sides of the Line of Control have begun fleeing border villages.
The United Nations, United States, United Kingdom, and China have all urged both sides to step back from further escalation. A State Department spokesperson said the US was “deeply concerned” and called on both nations to use existing diplomatic channels. China’s foreign ministry said it was “seriously concerned” about the situation.
The 2021 ceasefire, brokered by the United States, had largely held for five years despite persistent tensions over Kashmir. India and Pakistan have fought three wars since independence in 1947, two of them over the disputed region.
Sources: Reuters, AP, BBC, The Hindu, Dawn (Pakistan), Al Jazeera