Ceasefire: Political Reactions in India Strike Note of Caution, Mood More Jubilant in Pakistan

New Delhi: Moments after both India and Pakistan declared that they agreed to stop all hostilities against each other, a number of politicians on both sides responded to the sudden ceasefire announcement.

Most of the Indian political class who chose to comment on the development responded with caution, seeking more information on the “understanding” between both sides or remarking on the “American” intervention, especially after US Vice President J.D. Vance came on record to say that although he would like the two countries to de-escalate, it was none of the US’s business to intervene actively to diffuse their tensions.

Most across the political spectrum, however, agreed that India was only responding to Pakistani aggression.

Their Pakistani counterparts, on the other hand, were more vocal and celebratory after the ceasefire was announced, and held the announcement as a symbol of victory after last night’s developments.

Here too, they all seemed to agree that their armed forces were only responding to Indian aggression and the sudden attacks on their military bases, despite the fact that the Pakistani government has denied any involvement in the Pahalgam terror attack.

Congress leader and the party’s chief spokesperson Jairam Ramesh called for a special session of parliament and an all party-meeting.

“In view of the unprecedented announcements from Washington DC, there is now a need, more than ever before, for - 1. The PM to chair an all-party meeting and take political parties into confidence. 2. A special session of Parliament to discuss the events of the last eighteen days, beginning with the brutal Pahalgam terror attacks and the way forward, and to demonstrate a collective resolve,” he said.

A large section of opposition leaders who attended the two all-party meetings had registered their complaint about the absence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on both occasions.

Congress MP and former diplomat Shashi Tharoor welcomed the development. “I think peace is essential, we need to have more details, but I am very glad. India never wanted a long-term war, but India wanted to teach terrorists a lesson, I believe that lesson has been taught,” he told ANI.

Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah said, “I welcome from the depths of my heart the announcement made by Government of India spokesperson about restoration of understanding between India and Pakistan,” Abdullah told reporters at his residence.

“Better late than never but had this understanding come two or three days earlier, perhaps the bloodshed we saw and the precious lives we lost, would have been safe,” he said.

He further said that now it was time for his Union territory administration to “provide relief and compensation to those who have suffered during this period.”

“We have announced compensation for the loss of precious lives. Now we will have to compensate those who have been injured as well. Now we also hope that we can resume the Hajj flights as we were not able to send the pilgrims to Hajj due to the closure of the airport,” he said, urging the Union government to reopen airports.

Congress MP and general secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal appeared to take a dig at Modi for allegedly caving in to US intervention. He said on X:

““Being a developing country, we have our backbone straight, enough will and resources to fight all atrocities.

Times have passed when any nation sitting 3-4 thousand miles away could give orders to Indians”

India terribly misses Indira Gandhi ji today! 🇮🇳”

The Communist Party of India (Marxist), which was one of the first parties to comment on the development officially, said that it “positively notes the announcement of ceasefire”.

“The people of both the countries deserve peace for their progress and prosperity. We earnestly hope that the two countries build on this and ensure that the people do not have to suffer from the evil of terrorism,” its statement read.

However, it added that “Pakistan has to ensure an end to terrorist activity from within its borders”, and that “steps should be taken to ensure that there is no further confrontation”.

The Communist Party of India’s general secretary D. Raja welcomed the development, and said, “Our party is one of the parties that has been consistently demanding that both countries must respect LoC [Line of Control] … our party has been consistently saying the current situation should not lead to a full-scale war. War is not the solution … one issue is that it was said that America mediated, and we don't know what was mediated.”

The Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation’s general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, who was among the very few who had called for deescalation and advocated diplomacy, took a dig at both the Indian and Pakistani governments for ignoring voices from their countries who were hoping for them to get into a process of diplomatic dialogue. 

“So India under Modi now needs ‘a long night of American mediation’ to agree to a ceasefire after three days of growing concern in the country about the consequences of a full-scale India-Pakistan military conflict. The news of a ceasefire was broken by Trump and his officials before being corroborated by India and Pakistan,” he said.

“Wish the two regimes listened to their own people and did not leave room for American intervention. Shame on the dominant media in India and Pakistan which were busy whipping up war hysteria, spreading fake news to claim victory and celebrate and sell war as entertainment,” Bhattacharya said.

He added that “the ceasefire should be used as the first step towards complete de-escalation”.

“Both India and Pakistan should withdraw the announcements made in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack and restore full diplomatic relations between the two neighbours. The perpetrators of the Pahalgam terror attack must be brought to justice and measures taken to ensure lasting peace and promote friendship and cooperation in the region,” he said.

At the same time, he urged, “The Modi regime must withdraw the various arbitrary measures taken over the last few days in the name of national security and guarantee the constitutional rights of citizens and media platforms who raised questions about the multiple lapses that enabled the Pahalgam terror attack, rejected hate and jingoism and insisted on peace and justice.”

Keeping with his comments made earlier, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul leader Asaduddin Owaisi demanded strongly that irrespective of the ceasefire, “we must pursue the terrorists responsible for Pahalgam attack”.

Claiming that he has always stood by the government and the armed forces in situations where India has faced external aggression, he paid homage to the soldiers who were martyred during the conflict.

“I thank the armed forces for their bravery & their commendable skill. I pay homage to Army jawan, M. Murali Naik, ADDC Raj Kumar Thapa & pray for all the civilians who were killed or injured during the conflict. I hope this ceasefire gives respite to the people living in border areas,” he said.

“I also hope that Indians and Indian political parties learn from the past two weeks: India is strong when it is united; our enemies benefit when Indians fight Indians,” he said.

However, he also went to pose the following questions to the Modi government.

“1. I wish our PM @narendramodi had announced the ceasefire rather than the President of a foreign country. We have always been opposed to third party intervention since Simla (1972). Why have we now accepted it? I hope the Kashmir issue will not be internationalised, as it is our internal matter.

2. Why are we agreeing to talk on a neutral territory? What will be the agenda of these talks? Does the United States guarantee that Pakistan will not use its territory for terrorism?

3. Have we achieved our aim of deterring Pakistan from carrying out future terror attacks? Was our goal to get a Trump-brokered ceasefire or was it to bring Pakistan to such a position that it would not even dream of another terror attack?

4. We must continue the international campaign to put Pakistan in the FATF grey list.”

Rashtriya Janata Dal MP Manoj Jha said that he felt “unsettled” with the US president announcing the ceasefire before India, and called for a “special session of parliament.

“We never wanted this [the conflict]; we had lost our innocent civilians. This [Pahalgam] attack aimed to spread terror [among people]. I salute our armed forces for conducting ‘Operation Sindoor’. US President Donald Trump announcing a ceasefire ‘unsettles’ me. That's why I feel the Prime Minister should call a special session of the Parliament over this,” he said.

BJP ally Janata Dal (United) leader Rajiv Ranjan Prasad welcomed the ceasefire and congratulated the prime minister. He was also among the few leaders to openly claim victory over Pakistan.

“The Indian Army destroyed nine terrorist bases of Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, Hizbul Mujahideen and Jaish, the terrorist organisations responsible for the Pahalgam massacre and other terrorist incidents and killed more than 100 of their commanders and dangerous terrorists. When Pakistan tried to target residential and military establishments, the Indian Army gave a befitting reply and targeted their airbases and military bases. Destroyed it. After bringing Pakistan to its knees in seventy-two hours, Pakistan had no other option except to propose a ceasefire,” he wrote on X.

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh mouthpiece Organiser took to X to conduct a poll. “Are you satisfied with the ceasefire agreement between India and Pakistan? Yes or No,” it asked.

Responses from Pakistan’s political class

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif thanked Trump’s “proactive role for peace in the region” and appreciated him for “facilitating the outcome”, which he had accepted “in the interest of regional peace and stability.

“We also thank Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio for their valuable contributions for peace in South Asia. Pakistan believes this marks a new beginning in the resolution of issues that have plagued the region and prevented its journey toward peace, prosperity and stability,” he said.

Pakistan’s former representative at the UN, Maleeha Lodhi, welcomed the development and said, “We should remember Pakistan’s military response was able to re-establish deterrence while blunting the aims of limited war and thwarting India’s effort to seek space for conventional war under the nuclear overhang.”

Senior minister of the Pakistani Punjab Marriyum Aurangzeb said, “The people of Pakistan salute our brave armed forces for their bold and professional response to India’s cowardice and war hysteria. We stand united behind our Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif who led the nation with a united national political and Parliamentary front with courage, clarity, and unwavering resolve to stand firmly behind our armed forces at every step.”

She lauded “the technology, equipment, strategy and above all the unmatched spirit of our armed forces” in “exercising Pakistan’s right to self-defence”, while hitting out at “fake news rut that the Indian media drowned in”.

Former military spokesperson Asif Ghafoor said on X, “War is a serious undertaking. Pakistan has always worked for peace in the region and beyond. Our strat cap is also for peace to avert war, unless imposed. That’s the sanity which must prevail. India must learn how to be a responsible state. Never too late!”

Senate member Sherry Rehman on X congratulated the leadership for “emerging out of the war with dignity, professionalism and national resolve unequivocally intact”. She said that the country’s leadership has “given a clear message of Pakistan’s obvious capacity for conventional [deterrence]”, while advocating “a constructive approach to the table for broader talks, including on water and Kashmir.”

“Pakistan’s doors are always open for dialogue and sanity on just, equal terms,” she said, urging the Indian media “to not shrink the political space for a sober endgame”.

Sindh’s chief minister Murad Ali Shah said, “This ceasefire represents a significant step towards de-escalation and creates an opportunity for both nations to prioritise dialogue.” He also called it a “victory of peace and a triumph for all who desire stability in the region”.

Shah claimed that the ceasefire was received with widespread approval in Pakistan.

The centre-right, conservative Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), however, was more aggressive. On X, it claimed victory and said, “Our armed forces brought rogue India to its knees. Pakistan Zindabad.”

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman Gohar Khan welcomed the ceasefire as “a positive development”.

“India was relentless in its aggression and aimed to inflict damage on Pakistan. The nation rose above personal and political interests and gave a powerful reply that crushed India's arrogance,” he said.

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