India-Pakistan News Highlights: Pakistan hands over detained BSF Jawan back to India

Michael Kugelman, a prominent American foreign policy expert, praised India’s leadership in handling of the situation with Pakistan under Operation Sindoor, describing it as a demonstration of strong decision-making and leadership. Reflecting on the Pahalgam terror attack, Kugelman while speaking to ANI, pointed out that this particular crisis stood apart from earlier ones due to its brutal nature.

“The fact that civilians, tourists were targeted, and singled out for their religion for being Hindus. This, I think, had a particular type of traumatic impact on India in ways that we have not seen with previous ones, which I think necessitated the Indian government and certainly much of the Indian public too, a particularly robust retaliation,” he said.

He further stressed the scale of India’s military action, stating, “The intensity of the initial Indian airstrikes in Pakistan were of a magnitude that we have not seen for many decades since the 1971 war. So that’s a big difference right there.”

Constable Deepak Chingakham of the Border Security Force lost his life after being injured in cross-border firing by Pakistan Rangers in the RS Pura area of Jammu during the night of May 9–10.

The Director General of BSF and all personnel expressed their grief and honored his sacrifice. In a post on X, the BSF stated, “DG BSF and All Ranks salute the supreme sacrifice made by Constable Deepak Chingakham in the line of duty. He was injured in cross border fire by Pakistan on 10th May 2025 along the International Boundary in the R S Pura area, Jammu. He succumbed to his injuries today, on 11th May 2025.”

Ahead of the scheduled DGMO-level talks between India and Pakistan, Defence Expert Sanjeev Srivastava on Monday described the meeting as “important” and added that discussions would center around solidifying the recent agreement between the two nations and working toward making it “permanent.” Speaking to ANI in Varanasi, he stated that the talks would aim to ensure that Pakistan does not violate the agreement or engage in any further provocative actions. He added, “This meeting is very important, the focus will be on the understanding reached between India and Pakistan, how to continue this and make it permanent…to ensure that Pakistan won’t violate this understanding again and won’t take any provocative steps again…let’s see what will be the outcome of the meeting.”

Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, who came under heavy criticism on social media after India and Pakistan agreed on May 10 to halt all military actions, received strong backing from senior figures, including former diplomat Nirupama Menon Rao and politicians Asaduddin Owaisi and Akhilesh Yadav. Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav defended Misri in a detailed Hindi post on X, highlighting that such attacks can demoralize honest officers who are committed to serving the country. Yadav emphasized that policy decisions are made by the government, not individual officials. He also raised concern over the lack of response from the ruling BJP, pointing out that certain individuals are openly using abusive language against the officer and his family, yet no minister has stepped in to defend Misri’s dignity or take action against those responsible for such posts.

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#watch | Rajasthan: A local from Jaisalmer says, " Everything is normal. Market is open, there are no issues during the daytime. Shops are closed around 7:30 pm...our livelihood is not affected" https://t.co/gYLZeEPMC8 pic.twitter.com/QtfmGanDwz

— ANI (@ANI) May 12, 2025

News agency ANI shared some visuals on Monday morning from Jammu and Kashmir’s Akhnoor area. The Indian Army has said that Sunday night was largely peaceful in Jammu and Kashmir, and at other areas along the international border. “No incident has been reported, marking the first calm night in recent days,” the Army said, reported ANI.

It has been reported that Prime Minister Narendra Modi conveyed to Vance that any misadventure by Pakistan would be met with a response that is “harder, deeper and bigger.” The Indian armed forces launched their strikes after Pakistan attempted attacks on 26 locations along India’s northern and western borders. These developments came to light on Sunday, a day after the ceasefire was announced, and aligned with the government’s earlier directive to the military following the strikes on nine terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on May 7. The Prime Minister reportedly stated, “Wahan se goli chalegi, toh yahan se gola chalega (if bullets come from the other side, it will be responded with shells),” The Indian Express reported.

When asked about his views on India’s response to the Pahalgam terrorist attack, Philipp Ackmann, during the Idea Exchange, described the incident as deeply disturbing due to its targeted nature. He said that it was clearly a terrorist act that left a strong emotional impact, especially when considering the pain of the victims’ families—many of whom were young and recently married. “It’s heartbreaking to see the young and newly-married lose their husbands. Pahalgam is a game changer in many ways and there’s an enormous amount of solidarity that has gone out to India,” he said.

Recalling his visit to Kashmir the previous year, he pointed out the positive changes in the region, with a visible rise in tourism compared to 15 years ago. According to Ackmann, the Pahalgam attack struck at the very heart of India, both emotionally and symbolically.

Michael Kugelman, a US-based foreign policy analyst and South Asia expert, shared his views on the recent India-Pakistan tensions, calling the rapid escalation and sudden ceasefire noteworthy.

In an interview with ANI, Kugelman observed that relations between the two countries had reached a historic low, but the ceasefire had helped ease the situation. “I think that the India, Pakistan relations were at one of their lowest points in a number of decades, and they were closer to going to war than at any time since the cargo crisis,” he said.

Kugelman also expressed concern that the truce might not hold for long. “And in that sense, the ceasefire has really de-escalated things in a big way, but I think that it will be a fragile ceasefire because we know that tensions remain quite high between both countries,” he added.

News agency ANI released fresh visuals of the Reasi’s Salal Dam on Monday morning. The dam is built on the Chenab River and shows one of the gates open. Watch here:

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CORRECTION | The above byte is of Acharya Pawan Tripathi, Treasurer of Siddhivinayak Temple and not Mandir Trust President Sada Sarvankar, as mentioned earlier

— ANI (@ANI) May 12, 2025

Delhi Airport operations are currently running as normal. However, due to changing airspace conditions and heightened security measures from the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security, there may be some impact on flight schedules and longer wait times at security checks, the airport’s latest advisory said. The Passengers need to keep in mind the following, as stated by the advisory:

– Stay updated by checking directly with their airlines.
– Follow baggage rules for both cabin and checked luggage.
– Reach the airport well in advance to avoid delays at security.
– Cooperate with airline and security staff to ensure smooth travel.
– Check their flight status on the airline’s website or the official Delhi Airport site.

Passengers are strongly advised to rely only on official sources for information and not to forward or act on unverified news.