(Mint)
Lieutenant General Rajeev Ghai, Director General Military Operations (DGMO, said on Sunday that a DGMO-level talk with Pakistan will be held around 12 noon on Monday. This will be the second time that DGMOs of the two countries will be discussing the ingoing India-Pakistan tension and “combat situation”.
Earlier on Saturday (May 10), Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri confirmed that Pakistan’s DGMO contacted his Indian counterpart. The two sides had then agreed to halt all military actions, on land, at sea, and in the air, effective from 5 pm on May 10.
Misri had also noted that instructions have been issued to enforce the ceasefire, with another round of DGMO-level talks scheduled for May 12 at noon.
What to expect from today’s DGMO-level talks
The two countries’ DGMOS will discuss the ongoing tensions between India and Pakistan. They are expected to discuss the border situation and the “violation” of the “bilateral understanding” by Pakistan.
On Sunday, DGMO Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai recalled his conversation with his Pakistani counterpart on May 10 — when the latter had “proposed that hostilities cease”.
Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai said that besides reaching a bilateral understanding, “we also decided to further speak on the 12th of May, tomorrow, at 1200 hours to discuss the modalities that will enable the longevity of this understanding.”
He, however, noted that “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….”
Sources told ANI that all discussions on military action cessation will be conducted exclusively through Director General of Military Operations (DGMO)- level talks, with no third-party involvement.
Besides, sources said India is not ready to engage on matters of Kashmir, and the only thing left on Kashmir is the Pakistan-occupied Jammu & Kashmir (PoJK) issue.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Federal Minister for Water Resources, Mian Muhammad Moeen Wattoo, was quoted by IANS news agency as saying that the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) suspension will be a part of the agenda of the talks with India, scheduled for Monday
India has decided to keep the Indus Water Treaty in abeyance amid ongoing tensions with Pakistan.
Pahalgam attack and Operation Sindoor
Indian Armed Forces launched Operation Sindoor in the early hours of May 7, targeting nine terrorist infrastructure sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK).
This operation was a retaliatory response to the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, which resulted in the deaths of 26 civilians, including one Nepali national.
Following India’s operation, the tensions between India and Pakistan deepened, which resulted in increased cross-border shelling from Pakistan and retaliatory action from the Indian Armed Forces. Areas across the border were set up on high alert, and there were blackouts whenever attacks from Pakistan took place.
On Sunday, DGMO Lieutenant General Rajiv Ghai asserted that the tensions between India and Pakistan over the last three to four days are no less than a war.
India-Pakistan ‘understanding’ and violation
After the intense cross-border shelling, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on May 10, “India and Pakistan have today worked out an understanding on stoppage of firing and military action.” The two sides agreed to halt all military actions, on land, at sea, and in the air, effective from 5 pm on May 10.
The decision on the ‘bilateral understanding’ took place after Pakistan’s DGMO called his Indian counterpart around 3:35 p.m. on May 10.
However, hours after both countries agreed to stop all firing and military action on land, in the air, and sea, reports came of Pakistan violating the cessation of hostilities with India’s air defence intercepting Pakistani drones amid a blackout in Srinagar.
During a press conference on Sunday, DGMO Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai recalled his talk with his counterpart a day ago.
“… my communication with the Pakistan DGMO was conducted at 1535 hrs yesterday and resulted in cessation of cross-border firing and air intrusions by either side, with effect from 1700 hrs May 10, after he proposed that we ceased hostilities,” Lt Gen Ghai said.
He then mentioned about the violation of the understanding within hours of it coming into effect.
“We also decided to further speak on the 12th of May, tomorrow, at 1200 hours to discuss the modalities that will enable the longevity of this understanding. However, disappointingly, and must I add, expectedly, it took only a couple of hours for the Pakistan Army to violate these arrangements cross-border and across the Line of Control firing, followed by drone intrusions across the expanse of the western front,” he said.
DGMO Lieutenant General Rajiv Ghai also said that the Chief of Army Staff has granted full authority to the Army to counteract any further misadventure from Pakistan.
