ISLAMABAD — India’s military strikes into Pakistan-controlled Kashmir and Pakistan earlier this week killed more than 100 militants including their prominent leadership, India’s director general of military operations said on Sunday.
Lt. Gen. Rajiv Ghai said India’s armed forces stuck nine militant infrastructure and training facilities, including sites of the Lashkar-e-Taiba group that India blames for carrying out major militant strikes in India and the disputed region of Kashmir.
There was no way to independently verify these claims.
“We achieved total surprise,” Ghai said at a news conference in New Delhi, adding Pakistan’s response was “erratic and rattled.”
The two countries agreed to a truce a day earlier after talks to defuse the most serious military confrontation between them in decades. But the ceasefire was shaken just hours later by overnight fighting in disputed Kashmir, and both sides accused each other of repeatedly violating the deal. Drones were also spotted Saturday night over Indian-controlled Kashmir and the western state of Gujarat, according to Indian officials.
The escalation in violence began last week after a gun massacre of tourists in Indian-controlled Kashmir. India blamed the attack on Pakistan, which denied any involvement.
As part of the ceasefire, the nuclear-armed neighbors agreed to immediately stop all military action on land, in the air and at sea.
People on both sides of the Line of Control, which divides the territory, reported heavy exchanges of fire between Indian and Pakistani troops. The fighting subsided by Sunday morning.
In the Poonch area of Indian-controlled Kashmir, people said the intense shelling from the past few days had traumatized them.
“Most people ran as shells were being fired,” said college student Sosan Zehra, who returned home Sunday. “It was completely chaotic.”
In Pakistan-controlled Kashmir’s Neelum Valley, which is 3 kilometers (2 miles) from the Line of Control, residents said there were exchanges of fire and heavy shelling after the ceasefire began.
“We were happy about the announcement but, once again, the situation feels uncertain,” said Mohammad Zahid.
U.S. President Donald Trump was the first to post about the ceasefire deal, announcing it on his Truth Social platform. Indian and Pakistani officials confirmed the news shortly after.
Pakistan has thanked the U.S., and especially Trump, several times for facilitating the ceasefire.
India has not said anything about Trump or the U.S. since the deal was announced. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a meeting on Sunday with top government and military officials.
A U.N. spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric, said on Sunday that Secretary General Antonio Guterres welcomed the deal as a positive step toward easing tensions. “He hopes the agreement will contribute to lasting peace and foster an environment conducive to addressing broader, longstanding issues between the two countries,” Dujarric said.
India and Pakistan’s top military officials are scheduled to speak on Monday.
India and Pakistan have fought daily since Wednesday along the rugged and mountainous Line of Control, which is marked by razor wire coils, watchtowers and bunkers that snake across foothills populated by villages, tangled bushes and forests.
They have routinely blamed the other for starting the skirmishes, while insisting they themselves were only retaliating.
Kashmir is split between the two countries and claimed by both in its entirety.
They have fought two of their three wars over the region and their ties have been shaped by conflict, aggressive diplomacy and mutual suspicion, mostly due to their competing claims.
Hussain reported from Srinagar, India.