Hopes for an end to hostilities between India and Pakistan were dashed only a few hours after both sides agreed to a ceasefire through a rare direct military channel on May 10 2025.

The bilateral understanding, finalised during a call between the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of both countries, was meant to stop all military action from 5:00 p.m. IST. But by nightfall, reports of gunfire and drone activity emerged from India’s Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan,Punjab and Gujrat regions prompting a response from Indian forces.

Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said in a late night briefing, that Indian troops had been instructed to remain on high alert and retaliate decisively against any further aggression. He described the violation as deeply serious and reiterated that New Delhi would not tolerate provocation.

The breach comes amid already elevated tensions following four days of strikes and counter strikes between India and Pakistan - which on the morning of May 10 reached critical levels as missile and other precision weapons rained down on both sides’ key air bases. Compounding the confusion, the diplomatic back-and-forth over the ceasefire’s origins has taken centre stage.

While India maintains the agreement was strictly bilateral, Pakistan has praised the US for facilitating it. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif thanked US President Donald Trump and his senior officials, portraying the deal as a product of American mediation. The US State Department also highlighted intense behind-the-scenes efforts by Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Although unconfirmed reports also attributed some of the mediation to Turkey, Saudi Arabia, UK and China, there is no evidence to suggest their involvement shaped the agreement in any real way. India, however, downplayed any foreign role, with the country’s Ministry of External Affairs stating clearly that no wider talks had been agreed which contradicts the US State Department’s assertion that New Delhi and Pakistan had also agreed to discuss wider issues which led to the crisis, separately at a “neutral” location.

Amid the ongoing tension, Indian officials have repeatedly raised concern over the flood of misinformation online - which New Delhi attributed to originating from Pakistan. The most worrying wave of likely disinformation includes claims that Pakistan convened its National Command Authority — responsible for overseeing its nuclear arsenal — and dubious X accounts alleging that Indian strikes hit a nuclear weapons storage site. Such narratives have the potential to dangerously inflame an already volatile situation.

While some form of further engagement between India and Pakistan may be possible in the coming days, it is also likely that the familiar low-intensity border skirmishes between India and Pakistan would now evolve into frequent drone incursions and air defence duels between the two sides.