India | Pakistan

RT India has deleted a post on social media platform X about Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif “waiting to meet” Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying that it “may have been a misrepresentation of events”, it emerged on Saturday. The development came as PM Shehbaz was in Ashgabat to attend an international forum. On Friday, the premier met a host of leaders on the sidelines of the gathering, including Turkish Pre­sident Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmon, Kyrgyzstan Pres­ident Sadyr Japarov and Putin. “Great interactions with world leaders. Pakistan shining at the global stage,” said Information Minister Ataullah Tarar on X on Friday night, sharing a video of PM Shehbaz shaking hands with Putin as the two stood in what appeared to be a hallway. He also termed the meetings with Putin, Erdogan and Pezeshkian “warm and cordial exchanges”. Prime Minister’s Spokesperson for Foreign Media Mosharraf Zaidi also shared the same video, saying PM Shehbaz had “pr...

Angry spectators broke down barricades and stormed the pitch at a stadium in India after football star Lionel Messi, who is on a three-day tour of the country, abruptly left the arena. As a part of a so-called GOAT Tour, the 38-year-old Argentina and Inter Miami superstar touched down in the eastern state of West Bengal early Saturday, greeted by a chorus of exuberant fans chanting his name. Hours later, thousands of fans wearing Messi jerseys and waving the Argentine flag packed into Salt Lake stadium in the state capital Kolkata, but heavy security around the footballer left fans struggling to catch a glimpse of him. Messi walked around the pitch waving to fans and left the stadium earlier than expected. Inter Miami’s Argentine forward #10 Lionel Messi arrives at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata on December 13. —AFP Frustrated fans, many having paid more than $100 for tickets, ripped out stadium seats and hurled water bottles onto the track. Many others stormed the pitch and vandalised banners and tents. “F...

India has cut red tape to speed business visas for Chinese professionals, two officials said, a major step to boost ties between the Asian giants and end chronic delays that cost output worth billions of dollars because of scarce technicians. As Prime Minister Narendra Modi cautiously rekindles ties with Beijing in the face of punishing US tariffs, the officials said New Delhi dropped a layer of bureaucratic scrutiny and shortened visa approval times to less than a month. Both officials who confirmed the development to Reuters spoke on condition of anonymity. India had blocked virtually all Chinese visits after the nuclear-armed neighbours clashed on their Himalayan frontier in mid-2020, widening its vetting of business visas beyond the home and foreign ministries. The issues around securing visas have now been completely resolved, said one of the officials with knowledge of the matter. “We have removed the layer of administrative vetting and are processing the business visas within four weeks,” the official ...

A US congressional hearing this week noted that President Donald Trump has repeatedly described Pakistan as a “key regional partner” even as his administration seeks to further strengthen ties with India. The hearing — held by the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on South and Central Asia — also exposed sharp disagreements among lawmakers and analysts over the direction of Washington’s India policy. Witnesses warned during the hearing that tariff battles, visa restrictions and political mistrust had pushed the relationship into what several described as a “political standstill”. Jeff Smith of conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation, long considered sympathetic to New Delhi, acknowledged that the partnership had entered “choppy waters”, attributing the downturn to Trump’s sweeping 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods and India’s discomfort over US engagement with Pakistan after the May conflict between India and Pakistan. The conflict, the worst between the old foes in decades, was sparked by an attac...

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he spoke with US President Donald Trump by phone on Thursday, as New Delhi seeks relief from 50 per cent US tariffs on some of the country’s key exports to punish India for its Russian oil purchases. “We reviewed the progress in our bilateral relations and discussed regional and international developments,” Modi said in a post on X. A White House official confirmed the call took place, but gave no details about what was discussed. Modi and Trump have spoken three times since Trump doubled tariffs on imports from India to as much as 50pc, hitting exports of textiles, chemicals and food items such as shrimp. Modi described his conversation with Trump as “warm and engaging” and said their countries would continue to work together for global peace, stability and prosperity. Trade negotiations between the two sides collapsed in late July, after India resisted opening its market for US farm products and declined to acknowledge Trump’s role in mediating during a conflict betw...

IT IS strategically possible for Dhaka to join a regional bloc with Paki­stan at some point — one that does not include India — unlike other South Asian states, a top Ban­gladeshi official said on Wednesday. The state-owned Bang­ladesh Sangbad Sangstha news agency quoted Dha­ka’s Foreign Adviser Md Touhid Hossain as saying: “It is possible for us (Bang­ladesh) strategically … (but) it is not possible for Nepal or Bhutan to form a grouping with Pakistan excluding India”. His remarks are being interpreted as a response to a statement by Pakis­tan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar at the recent ‘Islamabad Conclave’, where he had said a trilateral initiative involving Bangladesh, China and Pakistan had begun and may expand to include countries within and beyond the region. According to the Bang­ladeshi outlet, Mr Hossain said Mr Dar “has said something, and perhaps at some point this could see some progress”. In August, Foreign Minister Dar visited Bangladesh for the first time in 13 years. PM Shehbaz Sharif and Bangl...

Global technology giant Microsoft announced on Tuesday plans to invest $17.5 billion to help build India’s artificial intelligence infrastructure, with CEO Satya Nadella calling it “our largest investment ever in Asia”. Several global corporations have announced large investments this year in the South Asian nation, which is projected to have more than 900 million internet users by year’s end. “To support the country’s ambitions, Microsoft is committing US$17.5B (billion) – our largest investment ever in Asia – to help build the infrastructure, skills, and sovereign capabilities needed for India’s AI first future,” Nadella said in a post on X. Nadella made the announcement on social media after he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi, thanking the leader for “an inspiring conversation on India’s AI opportunity”. In a statement, Microsoft said the investment would be spread over four years. “Together, Microsoft and India are poised to set new benchmarks and drive the country’s leap from digital public...

ISLAMABAD - Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of the Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir on Monday cautioned India against any “delusion or miscalculation” and warned, “Next time, Pakistan’s response will be even swifter and more intense”.

Pakistan has expressed concern after India released a substantial volume of water into the Chenab River without prior notification, prompting fears of mismanagement and potential harm to the agricultural sector.

A fire that ripped through an Indian nightclub in the popular tourist resort region of Goa killed 25 people, the state’s chief minister said on Sunday. Tourists were among the dead in the blaze, which broke out at about midnight at a club in Arpora in the north of the coastal state. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a statement that the deaths were “deeply saddening”. Goa, a former Portuguese colony on the shores of the Arabian Sea, lures millions of tourists every year with its nightlife, sandy beaches and laid-back coastal atmosphere. “Today is a very painful day for all of us,” Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said in a statement, adding that “25 people have lost their lives and six have been injured.” Sawant told journalists that “three to four” tourists had died, without giving their nationalities. “I have ordered a magisterial inquiry into the entire incident to identify the cause and fix responsibility,” Sawant added. ‘Fire show’ Video images from the Press Trust of India news agency showed rescuers...

India capped airfares on Saturday as hundreds of passengers gathered outside Bengaluru and Mumbai airports after IndiGo cancelled 385 flights on the fifth day of a crisis at the country’s biggest airline that has crippled air travel. IndiGo has cancelled thousands of flights this week due to a shortage of pilots after it failed to plan adequately for new rules limiting pilots’ work hours. The government responded on Friday, announcing special relief for the carrier and the operation of additional trains to help clear the backlog. The Delhi airport posted on X on Saturday that flight operations were steadily resuming, but cancellations remained rife elsewhere. ‘Waiting for my luggage’ With IndiGo’s spate of cancellations, fares rose on flights operated by other airlines on popular routes. The government said it was capping fares to maintain pricing discipline, without disclosing details of the caps. The Civil Aviation Ministry said it would “continue to closely monitor fare levels through real-time data and ac...

India’s aviation ministry on Friday rolled back a new policy of weekly rest for pilots after chaos caused by hundreds of flight cancellations by the country’s biggest airline, IndiGo. In a bid to improve air travel safety, Indian authorities have introduced new stricter regulations limiting pilot flying times and placing tighter restrictions on their operation of night-time flights. Airports across India have been in disarray since Monday, with the private carrier blaming the disruption on “unforeseen operational challenges”. On Thursday, IndiGo admitted to aviation regulators that “misjudgement and planning gaps” in adapting to new rules led to the operational meltdown, even though it had two years to prepare for the switch. The new rules came into effect last month with the aim of giving pilots more rest periods to enhance passenger safety. India’s civil aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu said the ‘Flight Duty Time Limitations’ rules “have been placed in abeyance with immediate effect”. “Without compromising...

India’s government is reviewing a telecom industry proposal to force smartphone firms to enable satellite location tracking that is always activated for better surveillance, a move opposed by Apple, Google and Samsung due to privacy concerns, according to documents, emails and five sources. A fierce privacy debate erupted in India this week after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government was forced to rescind an order requiring smartphone makers to preload a state-run cyber safety app on all devices after activists and politicians raised concerns about potential snooping. For years, the Modi administration has been concerned that its agencies do not get precise locations when legal requests are made to telecom firms during investigations. Under the current system, the firms are limited to using cellular tower data that can only provide an estimated area location, which can be off by several meters. The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), which represents Reliance’s Jio and Bharti Airtel, has propo...

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in India on Thursday for a two-day visit aimed at deepening defence ties, as New Delhi faces heavy US pressure to stop buying oil from Moscow. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was at the airport to welcome the Russian leader in person, greeting him on the red carpet with a hug, before riding together in the same car. India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi (R) and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin sit in a car as they depart Palam Air Force Base after the latter’s arrival in New Delhi. —AFP Putin, on his first visit to India since the Ukraine war, is accompanied by his Defence Minister Andrei Belousov, with possible deals on fighter jets and air defence systems expected to be discussed. In an interview with India Today, Putin said he was “very happy” to be meeting “my friend” Modi. “The range of our cooperation with India is huge,” he said in remarks translated by the broadcaster, citing ship and aircraft manufacturing, nuclear energy and space exploration. The Indian premier...

India is willing to amend an order requiring smartphone makers to pre-install a state-run cybersecurity app, the telecoms minister said on Wednesday, signalling a softening government stance following a backlash over surveillance fears. Earlier in the day, the main opposition party took the government to task over the issue, while newspaper editorials joined privacy advocates in denouncing the move. The government is also likely to find itself at odds with phone manufacturers. Apple does not plan to comply with the directive, sources have said. “We are ready to make changes to the order based on the feedback we receive,” Communications Minister Jyotiraditya M. Scindia told lawmakers in parliament. The Indian government has confidentially ordered companies including Apple, Samsung and Xiaomi to preload new phones with an app called Sanchar Saathi, or Communication Partner, within 90 days. The government says the app only helps track and block stolen phones and prevents them from being misused. Senior Congress ...

PAF punched India above its weight: ACM Sidhu

Islamabad - Pakistan yesterday dispatched 200 tonnes of relief supplies to Sri Lanka via sea cargo after India refused to use its airspace.

The Foreign Office (FO) said on Tuesday that India was preventing humanitarian assistance from being sent to Sri Lanka by air, prompting Islamabad to send aid by sea to the south Asian island, where severe flooding and landslides triggered by Cyclone Ditwah have claimed more than 400 lives. In a post on X, the FO said: “India continues to block humanitarian assistance from Pakistan to Sri Lanka. The special aircraft carrying Pakistan’s humanitarian assistance to Sri Lanka continues to face a delay of over 60 hours now awaiting flight clearance from India. “The partial flight clearance issued by India last night, after 48 hours, was operationally impractical: time-bound for just a few hours and without validity for the return flight, severely hindering this urgent relief mission for the brotherly people of Sri Lanka.” A statement issued later by the Pakistan High Commission in Sri Lanka said aircraft were awaiting clearance to fly and accused India of blocking the humanitarian relief operation through “shenani...

India’s imports of Russian oil may decline for only “a brief period” as Moscow plans to boost supplies, using sophisticated technology to avert the impact of Western sanctions, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday. His remarks came ahead of President Vladimir Putin’s two-day visit to New Delhi from Thursday, looking to restore defence and energy ties as India is set to trim its Russian oil purchases this month to at least a three-year low. Russia’s top buyer of seaborne oil, India has cut crude imports from Moscow under pressure from Western sanctions, particularly by Washington, on Moscow’s top oil producers Rosneft and Lukoil. “There can be, for a very brief period of time, insignificant decreases in the volume of oil trade,” Peskov told Indian journalists, in response to a question about the impact of sanctions. Working to build the necessary environment for buyers Russia is the top oil supplier to India, the world’s third biggest oil importer and consumer. Moscow is working to build the “nec...

The Foreign Office (FO) received permission from India to use its airspace for humanitarian aid flights to Sri Lanka to provide flood relief, diplomatic sources confirmed to Dawn on Monday. The Sri Lankan government called for international aid and used military helicopters to reach people stranded by flooding and landslides triggered by Cyclone Ditwah. At least 355 people have been killed, Sri Lankan officials said on Monday, with another 366 still missing. An official in the foreign ministry told Dawn that earlier this evening, the Indian high commission sent written confirmation allowing humanitarian overflights through Indian airspace. The flights have been cleared to start tomorrow. The toll in deadly flooding and landslides across parts of Asia climbed past 1,100 on Monday as Sri Lanka and Indonesia deployed military personnel to help survivors. Separate weather systems brought torrential, extended rainfall to the entire island of Sri Lanka and large parts of Indonesia’s Sumatra, southern Thailand and n...