New Delhi, India – Mukeet Shah had not slept for days, doomscrolling on his mobile phone as he remained hooked to news updates on the spiralling India-Pakistan conflict.A phone call from his mother, Tanveera Bano, on Saturday made it worse. “Please, come back [home]. Why be apart when we can at least die together?” she urged her younger son, who studies at a university in New Delhi, the national capital.
Shah, 23, said her appeal shattered him. An hour or so later, another news flash popped up on his phone: “US President Donald Trump says India and Pakistan have agreed to a ‘full and immediate’ ceasefire.” Moments later, the South Asian rivals confirmed the ceasefire, mediated by dozens of countries besides the United States.
“It was such a relief,” Shah recalled. Happily, he called home. “Both countries have agreed to peace. We will spend more time soon, don’t be afraid, mother,” he told 48-year-old Bano, who asked him to focus on his studies and return home only after his annual exams. Advertisement
However, barely three hours after that phone call, the sense of relief was blown away. A barrage of drones had hit Srinagar, the main city in Indian-administered Kashmir, forcing another electricity blackout. Similar reports of firings and drone sightings came from other cities in the region, including Jammu, Anantnag, as well as the border districts of Rajasthan and Gujarat states.
On the Pakistan side as well, several villages along the Line of Control …