New Delhi [India]: The Director Generals of Military Operations (DGMOs) of India and Pakistan held a scheduled round of talks on Monday, according to government sources. The dialogue comes amid heightened tensions and recent violations of a ceasefire understanding agreed upon just days earlier.
The talks, initially slated for noon, were later rescheduled to the evening and have now concluded for the day, sources confirmed. The discussions were aimed at ensuring compliance with the May 10 ceasefire understanding, which was reached following a phone call from the Pakistan DGMO to his Indian counterpart, Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai.
Speaking at a joint press conference on Sunday, Lt Gen Ghai revealed that his Pakistani counterpart had proposed a cessation of hostilities during a phone conversation on Saturday at 15:35 hrs, which led to a halt in cross-border firing and aerial intrusions from 17:00 hrs on May 10.
However, Lt Gen Ghai expressed concern over early violations of the ceasefire arrangement.
“Disappointingly, and expectedly, it took only a couple of hours for the Pakistan Army to violate these arrangements by cross-border and across the Line of Control (LoC) firing, followed by drone intrusions,” he said, adding that India responded “robustly.”
The violations were communicated via the military hotline, with India reiterating its intent to respond fiercely to any future provocations. Lt Gen Ghai also noted that the Chief of Army Staff has granted full operational autonomy to field commanders in this regard.
The fragile ceasefire understanding follows the launch of Operation Sindoor on May 7, in which Indian forces carried out precision strikes on nine terrorist infrastructure sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK). The operation was a direct retaliation for the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, which killed 26 civilians.
The DGMOs are expected to continue their dialogue to discuss mechanisms for ensuring compliance and preventing escalation.