India | Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has thanked the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed Bin Salman, for his role in ending the conflict between Pakistan and India last month. The prime minister, acco­mpanied by his delegation, including the army chief, deputy PM and federal ministers, also performed Umrah on Friday when pilgrims performed the last major ritual of Haj — the “stoning of the devil”. The PM, who is on a two-day official visit to Saudi Arabia, met the Saudi crown prince in Makkah, according to an official press release issued by the Prime Minister’s Office. “The prime minister expressed appreciation for the kingdom’s proactive role during recent tensions between Pakistan and India, and its steadfast commitment to promoting peace and stability in the region and beyond.” Performs Umrah alongside army chief; Haj winds down with pilgrims ‘stoning the devil’ in Mina PM Shehbaz also underscored Pakistan’s policy of responsible restraint in the face of Indian aggression, emphasising that “sustain...

Chairman Senate Syed Yousuf Raza Gillani has said that Pakistan is a responsible nuclear state and our political and military leadership demonstrated exemplary restraint during the recent tensions with India.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Indian-held Kashmir on Friday, his first visit to the contested Himalayan region since a conflict with arch-rival Pakistan last month, and opened a strategic railway line. Modi is launching a string of projects worth billions of dollars for the occupied Muslim-majority territory. India and Pakistan fought an intense four-day conflict last month over an attack in Occupied Kashmir’s Pehalgam, with New Delhi blaming Islamabad without evidence. This was the two countries’ worst standoff since 1999, before a ceasefire was agreed on May 10. His office broadcast images of Modi at a viewing point for the Chenab Bridge, a 1,315-metre-long (4,314-foot-long) steel and concrete span that connects two mountains with an arch 359 metres above the river below. “In addition to being an extraordinary feat of architecture, the Chenab Rail Bridge will improve connectivity,” the Hindu nationalist leader said in a social media post ahead of his visit. Modi strode across the bridge wav...

• Chairs high-level meeting on water resources • Provinces, AJK and GB stand with Centre on water security • PM heads to Saudi Arabia for two-day visit on MBS’ invitation ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday condemned India’s unilateral suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), describing it as a “blatant violation and act of water aggression”, and warned that Pakistan would give a befitting response in line with decisions made at the National Security Committee (NSC) meeting held on April 24. Chairing a high-level meeting on water resources at the Prime Minister’s House prior to departing for a two-day official visit to Saudi Arabia, the premier vowed that Pakistan would prevail on the water front just as it had recently “achieved victory in war”. The high-level meeting brought together Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, federal ministers, chief ministers of all four provinces, the prime minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmi...

ISLAMABAD - Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday termed India’s unilateral suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) as “a blatant violation and act of water aggression “ and warned that Pakistan will give a befitting response under the decisions taken in the April 24 National Security Committee (NSC).

ISLAMABAD - Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said on Thursday that the 1972 Simla Agreement between Pakistan and India has lost its sanctity due to New Delhi’s unilateral actions, including the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT).

• Bilawal urges world to stand against Indian aggression, says water an existential issue for Pakistan • Ex-US diplomat endorses call for neutral Pahalgam probe, regrets Pak-US ties ‘still stuck in the past’ • VP Vance meets Indian delegation as US officials assure Pakistan of ‘equal representation’ WASHINGTON: As fomer foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari blamed India for pushing South Asia towards the first nuclear war over water, a former US ambassador to Pakistan endorsed Islamabad’s demand for an independent inquiry into the Pahalgam incident, which led to a full-blown conflict between Islamabad and New Delhi. At a policy forum hosted by the Middle East Institute (MEI) in Washington, former US ambassador to Islamabad Anne Patterson stressed that the United States-Pakistan relationship was hindered by mistrust, despite ongoing security cooperation. “The US-Pakistan relationship is so stuck in the past that India was not required to present any forensic or investigative evidence after the Pahal­gam atta...

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Thursday said that India was laying the ground for the first nuclear war over water with its actions regarding the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) with Pakistan. India held the IWT in abeyance after the further deterioration in relations between the two countries following the April 22 Pahalgam attack in occupied Kashmir. In retaliation, Pakistan decided that it would exercise the right to hold all bilateral agreements with India, including but not limited to the Simla Agreement, in abeyance. It also announced the closure of the Wagah border and suspension of all trade with New Delhi, among other measures. Pakis­tan has launched a broad-based engagement campaign in the United States to present its perspective on the recent spike in tensions with India, and counter New Delhi’s growing lobbying presence there. As part of its global outreach, the team will also visit London and Brussels. The delegation comprises former foreign ministers Bilawal, Hina Rabbani Khar and Khurram Dast...

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday termed India’s unilateral suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) as “a blatant violation and act of water aggression” and warned that Pakistan will give a befitting response under the decisions taken in the April 24 National Security Committee (NSC) meeting.

ISLAMABAD - Director General Inter-Services Public Relations Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry has said that India’s strategic delusions have been reduced to dust.

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Tuesday urged the United Nations and the International community to push India towards a comprehensive dialogue with Pakistan, where the two countries could address their outstanding issues and achieve peace in the wake of their recent military conflict in the aftermath of the Pahalgam attack. Bilawal was addressing a press conference at the UN Headquarters in New York on recent regional developments after the military conflict. The address came amid the visit of a high-level team — consisting of three former foreign ministers, two former foreign sec­­retaries, two former ambassadors to the US, and a serving federal minister — for consultations at the United Nations. The team arrived in New York on Sunday. Ex-FMs Bilawal, Hina Rabbani Khar and Khurram Dastgir; Senators Sherry Rehman, Musadik Malik, Faisal Sabzwari and Bushra Anjum Butt; and Jalil Abbas Jilani and Teh­mina Janjua are members of the delegation. Bilawal said Pakistan’s position was to hold a “comprehensive ...

India’s unilateral suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty is a blatant violation of international laws and poses a serious threat to regional stability, said speakers at a roundtable conference organized by the National Institute of Public Policy (NIPP) on Monday.

Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, General Sahir Shamshad Mirza, revealed that during the recent standoff with India, Pakistan operated independently for 96 hours without seeking external assistance.

Shehbaz Sharif says serious dialogue need of the hour for lasting peace in region Talks can be held in UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar or any third country if India participates We will make Pakistan economically stable after victory in Marka-e-Haq.

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan on Monday denounced a recent wave of antagonistic rhetoric emanating from Indian political leaders and the Spokesperson of India’s Ministry of External Affairs, calling it a “deeply troubling mindset” that undermines regional peace and stability.

India’s Adani Group on Monday denied “any deliberate engagement” in sanctions evasion or trade involving Iranian-origin liquefied petroleum gas, after The Wall Street Journal reported that US prosecutors were probing whether Adani entities had imported Iranian LPG into India through their Mundra port. An Adani spokesperson called the report “baseless and mischievous” in a statement, adding: “We are not aware of any investigation by US authorities on this subject.” The WSJ said it had found tankers travelling between the Gulf and billionaire Gautam Adani’s Mundra port in western India exhibiting traits that experts say are common for ships evading sanctions. It said the US Justice Department was reviewing the activities of several LPG tankers used to ship cargoes to Adani Enterprises, the group’s flagship entity, citing people familiar with the matter. Reuters could not immediately confirm the report and the US Department of Justice and the US Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn did not immediately respond to reques...

Former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, along with a nine-member high-level parliamentary delegation, will visit New York tomorrow on a two-day visit to present Pakistan’s perspective on the recent military clash with India and counter New Delhi’s disinformation campaign on the conflict. Earlier this month, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif decided to send a diplomatic delegation to important world capitals in the aftermath of the recent military escalation with the neighbouring country. He entrusted PPP Chairman Bilawal to lead the delegation. The delegation comprises Senator Rehman, former foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar, Dr Musadik Malik, Engineer Khurram Dastgir, Faisal Subzwari, Tehmina Janjua, Senator Bushra Anjum Butt and Jalil Abbas Jilani. According to Associated Press of Pakistan (APP), the delegation members would conduct several meetings, including with the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, UN General Assembly President Philemon Yang, and the ambassadors of permanent and non-permanent ...

Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir has accused India of orchestrating terrorist networks in Balochistan, claiming that its proxy war has now escalated into open aggression.

Flash floods and landslides after torrential monsoon rain over the last two days killed at least 30 people in India’s northeast, officials said on Sunday. State disaster management officials said eight people died in Assam, and nine in Arunachal Pradesh, many of them in landslides as earth loosened by the water slumped into the valley below. Another five people died in a landslide in the neighbouring state of Mizoram, state authorities said. The officials said that six people lost their lives in Meghalaya, while at least two others were killed in the states of Nagaland and Tripura. A red alert warning was issued for several districts in the region after the non-stop downpour over the last three days. Rivers swollen by the lashing rain — including the mighty Brahmaputra, which rises in the Himalayas and flows through India’s northeast towards its delta in Bangladesh — broke their banks across the region. The Indian army said that it had saved hundreds “in a massive rescue operation” across Manipur state. “Peop...

• Chauhan curious why their jets were downed • Claims conflict never came close to a nuclear war • Says ‘channels of communication’ with Islamabad were open • BJP leader says PAF shot down five Indian aircraft NEW DELHI: A day after a BJP politician and staunch critic of Prime Minister Nare­ndra Modi, Subrahmanyam Swamy, claimed Pakistan had downed five Indian planes in the recent military escalation, India’s top military general admitted losses. In an interview with Bloomberg on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue on Saturday, Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan admitted losses but dismissed Pakistan’s claims that it shot down six Indian jets, including four Rafales, as “absolutely incorrect”. “What is important is that, not the jet being down, but why they were being down… Why they were down, what mistakes were made — that are important. Numbers are not important,” he said. In a separate interview to Reuters, Gen Chauhan said the losses India suffered were in the initial stages, on May 7, when ...