India, Pakistan agree to ceasefire immediately

Pakistan and India announced on Saturday that they agreed on an immediate ceasefire.

The announcement came following four days of military strikes on each other.

Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said that Pakistan and India have agreed to a ceasefire with immediate effect.

"Pakistan has always striven for peace and security in the region, without compromising on its sovereignty and territorial integrity," he said.

India's Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri announced that New Delhi and Islamabad have agreed to observe a ceasefire and stop military actions.

According to Misri, the Pakistani side contacted India at 15:35 local time (09:35 GMT) on Saturday. The two sides agreed to cease all land, sea, and air exchanges of fire and military actions starting from 17:00 Indian Standard Time (11:00 GMT).

A military standoff between India and Pakistan erupted following India's deadly airstrikes on targets in Pakistan and the Pakistan-controlled Kashmir on Wednesday.

India said the strikes were in response to last month's killing of 26 people by gunmen in the Indian-controlled Kashmir.

India blames Pakistan for supporting the gunmen behind the attack, a charge denied by Pakistan.

Pakistan on Saturday launched an offensive operation codenamed Bunyanun Marsoos against India amid continuous provocation, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of the Pakistani army, said in a statement.

Earlier this week, the director general of the ISPR said that at least 31 people were killed and 57 others injured in an Indian attack on Pakistani territory and subsequent exchanges of fire between Pakistani and Indian troops along the Line of Control, the de facto border between the two neighbors.

India, Pakistan agree to ceasefire immediately

India, Pakistan agree to ceasefire immediately

China and Canada are complementary in their resources and the two countries can tap the full potential of their win-win cooperation for their good, former Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien said in Beijing.

He made the remarks during an exclusive interview with China Media Group (CMG) ahead of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's visit to China.

Carney will pay an official visit to China from January 14 to 17, the Chinese Foreign Ministry announced on Monday.

"I hope that the visit of the prime minister of Canada, it will be a new departure in the relation between Canada and China. And because of the turmoil created by the president of the United States, we are looking for diversifying our economy with other nations. And my judgment always said that China and Canada are complementary. You have the people, we have the land, we have the resources, and we have some people, too. So, we can help each other to grow in peace and prosperity," he said.

Regarding how to resolve differences, Chretien said dialog is always the best way out.

"I believe in dialog. If we have disagreement, we have to talk about it. But at the end, every nation is a sovereign nation. So, we have to respect that, too. It's internal decision by the people of China to decide the future of China like it is for the Canadians to decide the future of Canada," he said.

China, Canada should leverage complementarity for mutual benefit: former Canadian PM