Grand Imam of Al Azhar welcomes India-Pakistan ceasefire

CAIRO – 11 May 2025: Egypt’s Frand Imam of Al Azhar Sheikh Ahmed El Tayeb welcomed the ceasefire agreement announced between India and Pakistan.

“We welcome the ceasefire agreement between India and Pakistan as a significant step toward boosting peace, security, and stability in South Asia and across the world,” said the Grand Imam on his Facebook page on Sunday.

“Peace remains the optimal choice that should govern relations between nations and peoples. Therefore, international efforts must be intensified to bring an end to all conflicts, wars, and hostilities, so that humanity may enjoy a better world filled with safety, goodness, and prosperity,” Sheikh Al-Tayeb added.

On Saturday, Egypt welcomed the announced ceasefire between India and Pakistan, achieved through US mediation, while stressing its reliance on the US role for a similar outcome for Gaza.

The nuclear-armed South Asian neighbors agreed to a ceasefire on Saturday after four days of fighting—the worst in decades—that threatened to escalate into full-scale war.

The Indian foreign secretary announced that both countries agreed to immediately stop the fighting, effective at 5 PM (1130 GMT) today, following talks between their military chiefs.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar confirmed on X: “Pakistan and India have agreed to a ceasefire with immediate effect.”

Several civilians were reportedly killed and many more were injured in the exchanges of attacks initiated by India in response to a last month massacre of 26 people, most of them Indian tourists, in Kashmir – a territory divided between the two nations but claimed in full by both.

Additional reporting by Amr Mohamed Kandil