Will pursue confidence building measures: Indian Army on defusing India-Pakistan tensions

Amid ongoing IndiaPakistan tensions the Indian Army on Thursday said it will pursue confidencebuilding measures to reduce the alertness level in line with the May 10 understanding on cessation of hostilities with the Pakistani side reported news agency PTIThe remarks by the Indian Army came hours after Islamabad said the IndiaPakistan arrangement on stopping the military actions has been extended till May 18The Directors General of Military Operations DGMOs of India and Pakistan firmed up the arrangement to stop military actions on May 10 after four days of fierce offensives between the two sides that triggered fears of a wider conflictFurther to the understanding between the two DGMOs on 10th of May 2025 it has been decided to continue the confidencebuilding measures so as to reduce the alertness level the Indian Army said reported PTIAs the situation develops further we shall intimate you it said in a statementIn Islamabad Pakistan Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar told the Senate that the DGMOs of Pakistan and India talked over the hotline on Wednesday to discuss the ceasefireHowever the Indian military chose not to comment on Dars claimDar said the two DGMOs in their conversation on May 10 had firmed up the ceasefire till May 12When the DGMOs spoke again on May 12 the ceasefire was extended until May 14 Further talks on May 14 led to the ceasefire being extended until May 18 the Pakistan foreign minister was quoted as saying by Geo News reported PTIThe two DGMOs on Monday deliberated on ways to avoid inimical military actions and agreed on considering immediate steps to reduce troops of the two militaries from the borders and forward areasIn the conversation over the hotline the two officers focused on continuing the commitment that both sides must not fire a single shot or initiate any aggressive and inimical action against each other according to an Indian readoutIn the May 12 conversation the two DGMOs expressed commitment that both sides must not fire a single shot or initiate any aggressive action the Indian Army said that dayIt was also agreed that both sides consider immediate measures to ensure troop reduction from the borders and forward areas it said in a statement reported PTIHowever there was no word from the Indian side on Pakistans claim of another round of conversation between the two DGMOs on May 14Under Operation Sindoor India carried out precision strikes on terror infrastructure early on May 7 in response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attackFollowing the Indian action Pakistan attempted to attack Indian military bases on May 8 9 and 10The Pakistani attempts were strongly responded to by the Indian side by inflicting heavy damages to a number of key Pakistani military installations including air bases air defence systems command and control centres and radar sites reported PTIForeign Secretary Vikram Misri on Saturday evening announced that India and Pakistan reached an understanding to stop all firings and military actions on land air and sea with immediate effect reported PTIIn a related development Defence Minister Rajnath Singh visited Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday and reviewed the overall security situation amid IndiaPakistan tensionsPrime Minister Narendra Modi has redefined Indias policy against terrorism which now says that any attack on Indian soil will be considered as an act of war he said while addressing Army soldiers at Badami Bagh Cantonment in Srinagar reported PTIThe defence minister emphasised that India has always prioritised peace and never supported warHowever when its sovereignty is attacked it is necessary to respond he saidSingh described Operation Sindoor as the biggest action taken by India against terrorism in history and a testament to the nations commitment to go to any extent to eliminate the menaceOperation Sindoor was a commitment demonstrated by India of not just carrying out defence but taking bold decisions whenever needed he said reported PTIIt was a dream of every soldier that we would reach every terrorist hideout and destroy them Terrorists killed Indians based on their religion we killed them for their deeds Singh said reported PTIIt was our dharma to eliminate them Our forces gave the right direction to their anger and took revenge for Pahalgam with great courage and discretion he saidWith inputs from PTIatOptionskeyd0ddb8ef8f1a62a8cdd22fac27fc5ea7formatiframeheight90width728params