**Pakistan Optimistic About Truce Maintenance as Dialogue with India Continues**

Following four days of military exchanges, Pakistan's military shows confidence in a continued ceasefire with India amidst ongoing dialogues.

Pakistan's military leadership expressed optimism on Sunday about the potential for lasting calm along the contentious border with India, following a recent period marked by intense hostilities. This comes after four days of missile attacks and airstrikes that set both countries on edge.

Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, the spokesman for Pakistan's armed forces, confirmed during an interview at the military's General Headquarters in Rawalpindi that senior military officers from both nations remain in direct communication. “A mechanism is in place,” he stated, signaling a constructive dialogue as both sides navigate the aftereffects of the conflict.

The conflict ignited when India initiated military strikes on Pakistan on May 7, citing a terrorist attack it attributed to Pakistan just weeks prior—an assertion Pakistan strongly rejected. The situation escalated quickly, leading to reciprocal attacks on military installations on both sides, ultimately prompting a U.S.-mediated cease-fire on May 10.

Casualty reports reflect the toll of the confrontation, with India confirming five military fatalities and Pakistan reporting the deaths of 11, in addition to civilian casualties from the cross-border shelling that plagued the divided Kashmir region.

In his comments, General Chaudhry acknowledged that Indian forces had inflicted damage on the Nur Khan air base and other strategic sites within Pakistan using cruise missiles. However, he maintained that these strikes resulted in only minimal damage, asserting that operational capabilities remained largely intact.

In response, Pakistani military officials claimed to have targeted 26 Indian military sites on the same day the Indian strikes occurred, though they have yet to provide verifiable satellite imagery to back this claim.

Highlighting the ongoing tension, General Chaudhry stated that Pakistan's air force reportedly downed six Indian aircraft, including high-tech Rafale jets, a claim India has not officially confirmed despite evidence suggesting some loss of its military assets. He critiqued New Delhi for what he described as a lack of transparency regarding its own losses, contrasting it with Pakistan’s proactive acknowledgment of its own casualties and damage incurred.