According to a top Pakistani security official on Tuesday, the two countries have decided to return the troops that were re-deployed during their recent fight to their peacetime posts by the end of May.
The four-day fighting claimed over 70 lives and was triggered by a gunman’s attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir last month, which New Delhi claims Islamabad supported but disputes.
Following their most significant clash in decades, Indian authorities have arrested about a dozen citizens for allegedly spying for Pakistan, according to local media, which cited police.
Authorities in the northern states of Haryana, Punjab, and Uttar Pradesh have detained nine accused “spies,” according to a report by broadcaster NDTV on Monday.
Gaurav Yadav, the director general of police for Punjab, announced on Monday that his team had taken into custody two individuals “engaged in leaking critical military material.”
The two men were involved “in communicating secret facts” about New Delhi’s attacks deep into Pakistani territory on the evening of May 6-7, according to “reliable intelligence inputs” that the police had obtained.
According to a preliminary assessment, they “had provided important information concerning the Indian Armed Forces” and were in “direct contact” with handlers from Pakistan’s spy agency Inter-Services spy, Yadav continued.
Similar charges led to the arrest of a travel blogger in Haryana last week.
According to police, the accused woman visited Pakistan at least twice and communicated with a representative of the nation’s embassy, according to local media. A businessman, a security officer, and a student are among the other people detained.
Eleven such arrests were reported by the news outlet India Today. Using social media, financial incentives, fraudulent promises, messaging applications, and in-person trips to Pakistan, the accused were allegedly “lured into the spy network.”
A sudden ceasefire called by US President Donald Trump brought a quick halt to the military conflict that saw fierce tit-for-tat drone, missile, aerial warfare, and artillery engagements. The truce is still in effect.
Since he was not authorized to address the media, the senior security officer stated, “By the end of May, troops will be evacuated to pre-conflict locations.”
According to the official, both nations decided to gradually remove the extra troops and weapons stationed, primarily along Kashmir’s existing heavily fortified de facto border, known as the Line of Control.
This comes after the Indian army said last week that both sides agreed to take ‘immediate measures to ensure troop reduction from the borders and forward areas’.
‘All of these steps were planned to be completed within 10 days, but minor issues caused delays,’ the Pakistani official added.
Kashmir is claimed in full by both India and Pakistan, which have fought several wars over the Muslim majority region since their 1947 independence from British rule.
The latest conflict began on May 7 when India launched strikes against what it said were ‘terrorist camps’ in Pakistan, triggering an immediate response from Islamabad.
