India | Pakistan

• Analysts warn warming US-China ties may undermine India’s multipolar world vision, weaken Quad-like groups • Pakistan assessing impact of deal, says Foreign Office NEW DELHI: India and the United States on Friday inked a 10-year defence framework agreement, a deal India’s defence minister described as a “signal” of growing strategic alignment, even as warming US-China ties raised questions about the region’s geopolitical landscape. Indian reports confirmed the defence pact was sealed at a meeting here between Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his American counterpart Peter Hegseth. The “convergence” however seemed undermined by a potentially opposite view on the Obama era encircling of China that Chinese and US presidents presented at a globally watched meeting in South Korea. Indian newspaper The Hindu noted that the meeting of US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Busan “sent ripple effects to India”. Following the talks, US tariffs on China were cut to 47 per cent, leaving India ...

The United States has signed a 10-year defence framework agreement with India, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Friday. The framework is considered a cornerstone for regional stability and deterrence, enhancing coordination, information sharing and technological cooperation between the two nations, Hegseth posted on X after a meeting with his Indian counterpart, Rajnath Singh. “Our defence ties have never been stronger,” Hesgeth added. According to Hindustan Times, the meeting took place on the sidelines of the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus in Kuala Lumpur, which is scheduled to begin from tomorrow. After signing the framework, Hegseth expressed gratitude to Singh for the partnership between Washington and New Delhi, the publication said. “It’s one of those consequential US-India relationships in the world. Our strategic alignment is built on shared interests, on mutual trust and commitment to a secure and prosperous Indo-Pacific Region,” the report quoted him as saying. According to the repo...

Jemimah Rodrigues hit an unbeaten 127 to make India pull off a record ODI chase of 339 against Australia in a thrilling second semi-final of the Women’s World Cup on Thursday. Rodrigues and skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, who hit 89, put on 167 runs for the third wicket as India won with nine balls and five wickets to spare in the outskirts of Mumbai at DY Patil Stadium. Amanjot Kaur hit the winning boundary to trigger wild celebrations in the Indian camp with smiles and tears of joy in the dug out. India will face South Africa in the final at the same venue on Sunday with the 50-over marquee tournament to get a new champion. The hosts made history to get past the previous best chase of 331 by Australia against India in the league stage of this edition. Seven-time champions Australia faltered in their title defence and suffered their first defeat in the ODI World Cup after 15 victories since 2017 when India beat them in the semi-final. India looked in trouble at 59-2 in the 10th over, but Rodrigues and Kaur rode th...

Indian Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal on Thursday said that India remains committed to the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of Afghanistan, amid Kabul’s heightened tensions with Pakistan. Pakistan-Afghanistan ties have deteriorated sharply in recent weeks amid border clashes and mutual accusations. Islamabad has long been warning Kabul against allowing the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) to operate from Afghan soil — a claim the Taliban deny. Following a ceasefire, talks in Turkiye began to establish a mechanism to monitor Taliban efforts to curb cross-border attacks, but have so far resulted in an impasse. At a press briefing, the spokesperson received questions asking why Pakistan was blaming Indian proxy Fitna al Khawarij for terrorist attacks on its soil and Defence Minister Khawaja Asif’s remarks about Kabul fighting a proxy war on behalf of Delhi. “In my last briefing, I had elaborated our point of view; our thoughts on this particular matter. Pakist...

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has stated that India is waging a “low-intensity” war against Pakistan from Afghanistan, adding that New Delhi is trying to “settle the score” after facing defeat in the four-day conflict with Islamabad in May. Asif expressed these views during an interview with Al Arabiya English that was released late on Wednesday. His remarks are a continuation of the censure he has been directing toward Kabul in connection with terror incidents in Pakistan, recent border hostilities and the subsequent failure of talks with its Taliban rulers. He was asked during his interview with Al Arabiya about the evidence he had to back his assertions that New Delhi was “pulling the strings” during talks with Taliban representatives in Doha and Turkiye. “When it comes to showing the evidence, or tabling the evidence, we will do that. We have the evidence,” Asif replied, highlighting that the Afghan foreign minister was visiting the Indian capital when border clashes began between Pakistan and Afghanistan...

Polluted winds drifting from India continue to smother Punjab’s major cities, propelling Lahore, Faisalabad, and Gujranwala to the top of global air pollution charts.

India has issued a NOTAM for large-scale joint military exercises near the Pakistani border, signalling another escalation in its ongoing aggressive posturing despite suffering a major setback in May.

India will not accept limits on its trading choices or rush to sign agreements, Trade Minister Piyush Goyal said on Friday, even as a senior government official said a bilateral trade deal with Washington was “very near”. “India will not sign any trade deal in a hurry,” Goyal said during a speech at the Berlin Global Dialogue, referring to European Union and the US concerns over India’s continued purchases of Russian oil. Alongside ongoing EU free trade pact negotiations, India is in trade talks with the United States, which has imposed 50 per cent tariffs on Indian exports. US President Donald Trump said this week he spoke with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi mainly about trade, and that Modi had assured him India would limit its oil purchases from Russia. Goyal said New Delhi would take a measured approach. An official aware of the ongoing trade talks with the US told reporters in New Delhi that the two countries are sorting out the language of their agreement. “We are very near as far as deal is concer...

Pakistan has once again drawn global attention to India’s systematic persecution of minorities, exposing what it described as New Delhi’s “heinous face” at the United Nations.

India trialled cloud seeding over its smog-filled capital for the first time, spraying a chemical from an aeroplane to encourage rain and wash deadly particles out of the air. Cloud seeding is the practice of using aeroplanes to fire salt or other chemicals into clouds to induce rain. New Delhi city authorities, working with the government’s Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, launched a test run on Thursday afternoon using a Cessna light aeroplane over the city’s northern Burari area. “A trial seeding flight was done … in which cloud seeding flares were fired”, Delhi Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said in a statement late on Thursday. “This flight was the proving flight for checking the capabilities for cloud seeding, the readiness and endurance of the aircraft, the capability assessment of the cloud seeding fitments and flares, and coordination among all involved agencies.” It comes ahead of a planned rollout of the scheme. Delhi’s Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said that “if conditions remain favourable, De...

The Indian government has reduced the number of officials who can order content to be taken down from the internet, a move that follows a bitter legal battle with Elon Musk’s X that centered around a contentious policy. X, Musk’s social media platform, had been in opposition to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 2023 decision to police the internet by allowing thousands of officials to file takedown orders. In August, Reuters reported that police inspectors were issuing takedown orders on cartoons and satirical posts, sparking one of X’s most high-profile legal challenges against a government’s content-removal policy. X lost the lawsuit in Karnataka High Court in September, with a judge ruling that its challenge was without merit and X had to abide by local laws. But late on Wednesday, India’s IT ministry changed its policy by limiting the number of people who can issue such orders to top bureaucrats and police officials. Now only bureaucrats with the rank of joint secretary or higher and police officials who are...

The Pakistan Hockey Federation on Wednesday finalised its decision to not send its team to India for next month’s Junior World Cup, slated to held from Nov 28 to Dec 10. The decision came after a high-profile meeting in Islamabad where the security issues and India’s hostile approach towards Pakistan in the sports sector, particularly the conduct of its cricket team during the recent Asia Cup, came under discussion. “The PHF will convey its decision to Hockey India soon,” a PHF official told Dawn.com. “The PHF and the government don’t want to compromise on security of players, therefore we decided not to send our team.” International Cricket Council, the sports global body, has arranged for neutral venues for both Pakistan and India during tournaments held in either country. Hockey’s governing body, the FIH, however, hasn’t made any such hybrid arrangement. Pakistan skipped the Asia Cup in India last month despite the tournament being a qualifier for next year’s World Cup. Meanwhile, the issue of PHF election...

The deadlock over the Asia Cup trophy — which India refused to collect at the closing ceremony last month amid Pakistan-India hostilities — continued on Tuesday as the Board of Control for Cricket India (BCCI) contacted Asian Cricket Council (ACC) head Mohsin Naqvi to hand over the trophy, Indian media reported citing sources. Naqvi, who is also the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board, told reporters in Karachi on Tuesday that the ACC has informed the BCCI that a formal ceremony will be held in Dubai on December 10 to present India with the trophy. Dawn.com understands that Naqvi, as ACC chief, is keen on handing over the trophy himself following the farcical scenes that followed after last month’s final between Pakistan and India. Defending champions India edged Pakistan by five-wickets in a last-over thriller to win the Asia Cup title at the Dubai International Stadium last month. However, the closing ceremony descended into farce as the Indian cricket team refused to collect the winners’ trophy from Naq...

India, ACC clash over Asia Cup trophy

India restored its embassy in the Afghan capital of Kabul on Tuesday following warming ties between the two nations. India had closed its embassy in Kabul after the Taliban seized power following the withdrawal of US-led Nato forces in 2021, but opened a small mission a year later to facilitate trade, medical support, and humanitarian aid. About a dozen countries, including China, Russia, Iran, Pakistan and Turkiye have embassies operating in Kabul, although Russia is the only country to have formally recognised the Taliban administration. “In keeping with the decision announced during the recent visit of the Afghan FM to India, the government is restoring the status of the technical mission of India in Kabul to that of embassy of India in Afghanistan with immediate effect,” said a press release issued today by India’s Ministry of External Affairs. It added the decision underscored India’s resolve to deepen its bilateral engagement with the Afghan side in all spheres of mutual interest. The MEA elaborated tha...

US President Donald Trump reiterated on Sunday that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi told him India will stop buying Russian oil, while warning that New Delhi would continue paying “massive” tariffs if it did not do so. “I spoke with Prime Minister Modi of India, and he said he’s not going to be doing the Russian oil thing,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. Asked about India’s assertion that it was not aware of any conversation between Modi and Trump, Trump replied: “But if they want to say that, then they’ll just continue to pay massive tariffs, and they don’t want to do that.” Russian oil has been one of the main irritants for Trump in prolonged trade talks with India — half of his 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods are in retaliation for those purchases. The US government has said that petroleum revenue funds Russia’s war in Ukraine. India has become the biggest buyer of seaborne Russian oil sold at a discount after Western nations shunned purchases and imposed sanctions on Moscow for its 202...

Four-time champions England booked their ticket to the semi-finals of the ICC Women’s World Cup after pulling off a nail-biting four-run win over hosts India in Indore on Sunday. England had posted a competitive 288-8 thanks to Heather Knight’s century and held their nerve in the field to defend it, despite their bowling, usually their strong suit, being a touch off colour. India looked to be cruising towards victory, needing just 62 runs off the last 10 overs with seven wickets in hand. But the dismissal of Smriti Mandhana turned the tide, as scoreboard pressure crept in and dot balls piled up. Soon after, Richa Ghosh and Deepti Sharma departed in quick succession, leaving the tail high and dry. Reckless batting cost India dear. Mandhana’s downfall opened the floodgates when she danced down the track to left-arm spinner Linsey Smith but failed to clear long-off. Then, after reaching her half-century, Deepti Sharma perished trying to take on Sophie Ecclestone, a slog sweep that found deep mid-wicket to perfec...

Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Asim Munir on Saturday cautioned India that there was “no space for war in a nuclearised environment” as he hailed Pakistan’s “clear victory” during the May conflict with the neighbouring country. Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated sharply in early May 2025 after an attack in Indian-occupied Kashmir’s Pahalgam prompted New Delhi to launch “Operation Sindoor” on 7 May, targeting sites inside Pakistan and causing civilian casualties. India blamed Pakistan without presenting evidence, further inflaming hostilities between the two nuclear-armed neighbours. Pakistan later launched a retaliatory “Operation Bunyanum Marsoos”, leading to heavy artillery and drone exchanges before a US-led push helped broker a ceasefire. Addressing a passing out parade at the Pakistan Military Academy (PMA) in Kakul, COAS Munir said, “I advise and firmly caution India’s military leadership that there is no space for war in a nuclearised environment.” Calling on New Delhi to settle co...

At least twenty-four people from the transgender community were hospitalised in the city of Indore in India’s Madhya Pradesh state after consuming disinfectant in a “mass suicide” bid related to a dispute with a rival group, multiple Indian media outlets reported. NDTV reported that the incident occurred on Wednesday night and they were hospitalised soon after. “They have claimed to have consumed phenyl together, but this cannot be immediately confirmed,” the report quoted Maharaja Yashwantrao Hospital Superintendent-in-Charge Dr Basant Kumar Ningwal as saying, adding that none of them were in a critical condition. “What triggered the mass act by the transgender persons was not immediately clear,” the report said. Meanwhile, The Hindu reported that the incident occurred “following an altercation with … a rival group leader and her associates”. Indore Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Rajesh Dandotiya told the outlet that the rival group leader was arrested on Thursday and a case was registered ...

Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir has issued a stern warning to India’s military leadership, stating that “there is no space for war in a nuclearised environment,” while reaffirming Pakistan’s resolve to safeguard its sovereignty and regional stability.