For Kashmiris on the front line, the week-long missile and drone strikes were a nightmare come true. Villagers in Poonch and Uri cowered under what locals described as the most intense shelling in decades. One survivor’s anguished cry captured the devastation: “This is a calamity… everything I built is in ruins.”
By May 10, after days of tit-for-tat attacks that left civilians dead on both sides, an extraordinary step intervened. U.S. President Donald Trump announced on social media that India and Pakistan had agreed to a “Full and immediate ceasefire” following “a long night of talks mediated by the United States.”
For Kashmiris, who have long pleaded “we don’t want war,” the guns finally fell silent — at least for now.
The truce brings temporary relief, not a lasting resolution. For India, it was a hard-won pause after what New Delhi described as strikes on terrorist camps — allegations Pakistan flatly rejects. As one report noted: "India charges Pakistan with supporting the armed group that attacked Indian tourists. Pakistan, however, has denied the accusation. India claims its missiles hit ‘terror base camps’, but Pakistan says the strikes killed 31 people, all of whom were ‘innocent civilians’.”
New Delhi is likely to continue pressuring Islamabad to curb militancy even as it steps back from broader confrontation. Pakistan, too, has sounded a note of caution: its top generals met and reminded citizens that it will retaliate “at a time and place of its choosing.”
In the short term, the ceasefire offers both countries a moment to breathe. But without addressing core grievances, analysts warn, the next flare-up is inevitable.
Significantly, the ceasefire coincided with a financial rescue package for Pakistan. Just 36 hours before the truce was announced, the IMF approved new aid and disbursements. It unlocked around $1 billion from the existing $7 billion bailout and agreed to a fresh $1.4 billion climate resilience loan.
The Fund praised Islamabad’s “significant progress in stabilising the economy and rebuilding confidence” under its reform programme. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif even boasted that IMF-backed policies had set Pakistan on a path to “long-term recovery.”
In practical terms, the funds were aimed at shoring up Pakistan’s depleted foreign exchange reserves, which had dwindled to cover barely a month’s imports. Used wisely, the IMF support offers breathing space for structural economic reforms.
Reforms Are Now Crucial
To achieve real, durable peace, Pakistan’s leaders must seize this window of opportunity to fix long-standing vulnerabilities at home. Simply halting cross-border shelling will not break the cycle of conflict unless Islamabad tackles its deep-rooted dysfunctions.
A top priority is institutional reform. As former ambassador Maleeha Lodhi has observed, Pakistan’s foreign service and civilian bureaucracy have been “weakened” over the years, with policy-making increasingly ceded to the military.
The World Bank and IMF have long stressed the need for structural governance reforms — expanding fiscal space for public investment, strengthening anti-corruption efforts, and overhauling state-owned enterprises. In short, Pakistan must “clean its own house”: empower civilian institutions, improve public finance, and raise tax revenues to fund development instead of resorting to repeated bailouts.
Equally urgent is the need to sever ties with militant proxies. Cross-border terror networks have consistently undermined Pakistan’s global credibility and provoked fury across the border. India will not trust any ceasefire unless it sees meaningful steps by Islamabad to act against groups operating in and around Kashmir.
Even the IMF bailout came with a veiled warning: loan funds must not be diverted in ways that might “fuel terrorism.”
Pakistani leaders must recognise that abandoning militant groups — even if they were once viewed as strategic assets — is essential to rebuilding trust. Doing so would not only ease international pressure but also deprive extremist factions of diplomatic cover and prevent the needless loss of lives on all sides.
In the weeks ahead, this ceasefire must become more than just a headline. For India, it is a test: Will Pakistan match rhetoric with action? For Pakistan, it is a moment of reckoning — can its leadership break with old habits and address the systemic issues driving decades of conflict?
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