Indian | Pakistan

Meta has tapped Indian fintech founder Kunal Shah as the new head of WhatsApp, as the US tech giant seeks ways to monetise the messaging app’s massive user base. The announcement, made Monday night, was accompanied by news that Meta would also lead a $900 million funding round in Shah’s consumer finance firm CRED. “Kunal built CRED into one of India’s most important technology companies,” Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg said in a statement. “He brings the kind of builder mentality and global perspective that will serve him well in running the world’s biggest messaging app.” Shah, a serial entrepreneur and influential figure in India’s fintech world, started CRED in 2018 after selling an earlier payments startup to Indian e-commerce giant Snapdeal for roughly $400 million. He is also one of India’s most prolific angel investors, according to data tracker Tracxn, with the local financial press often reporting how Shah agrees to seed funding pitches within minutes of hearing them. But over the last few years, Shah ha...

Pakistani and Indian nationals were among 13 killed after an explosion at Qatar’s massive Ras Laffan liquefied natural gas (LNG) complex, attributed to a “technical malfunction”, Qatar’s Minister of State for Energy Saad al-Kaabi said on Monday. Authorities are investigating the cause of the explosion, which Saad al-Kaabi said was “an accident and not sabotage or hostile in nature”. He announced “the tragic loss of 13 lives of our people who hold Indian and Pakistani nationalities”. The state minister said that 66 people were reported injured and were receiving medical treatment, none of whom were in life-threatening condition. They hold Qatari, Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Kenyan, Ghanian, Tanzanian, Nigerian and Nepalese nationalities, he added. India’s embassy in Qatar said local authorities had confirmed “that 12 Indian nationals have unfortunately passed away in the Ras Laffan incident”. The embassy said it was working in close contact with the Qatari authorities to extend “all possible help to the In...

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has extended its airspace ban on Indian civilian and military aircraft for another month, until July 24, 2026, according to a Notice to Airmen (Notam) issued by the Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA) on Wednesday. The previous extension of the airspace ban was set to expire on June 24. “Pakistan has extended the air ban on Indian-registered aircraft till the morning of July 24,” the PAA Notam said. “The ban on Indian aircraft (both civil and military) will remain in effect from 5:50pm on June 16 to 4:59am on July 24,” the Notam added. The country’s airspace is divided into two flight information regions (FIRs) — Karachi and Lahore, according to a Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) document from 2022. The Notam applies to both the Karachi (OPKR) and Lahore (OPLR) FIRs. India and Pakistan closed their airspaces to each other’s airlines since late April 2025, when tensions between them escalated in the wake of a deadly attack in Indian-occupied Kashmir’s Pahalgam. On April 24, Pakistan’s...

Pakistan has extended its ban on Indian civilian and military aircraft from using its airspace for another month, until July 24, according to a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) issued by the Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA) on Wednesday.

Fifteen-year-old cricket sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi blew his fuse in an India A game in Sri Lanka and pushed an opposition player after a heated on-field exchange. The spotlight has been on Sooryavanshi since his batting heroics in the recent Indian Premier League (IPL) won him a place in India’s senior men’s team for their T20 tour of Ireland and England. But he made headlines for all the wrong reasons after he and a Sri Lanka A player confronted each other, following India’s narrow defeat in a Super Over in Dambulla on Monday. Sri Lanka’s Vishen Halambage exchanged words with departing Indian batters before Sooryavanshi responded and shoved him, according to Indian media and broadcast footage. Sri Lanka A wicketkeeper Niroshan Dickwella stepped in to calm tempers and separated the two players. The teams exchanged handshakes, but TV images showed Sooryavanshi visibly upset. The left-handed opener capped off a stunning IPL 2026 season for Rajasthan Royals, where he amassed 776 runs to finish as the tourna...

The Foreign Office on Thursday warned that any deliberate attempt to block water essential to Pakistan’s survival and development would have “far-reaching consequences”. “Any such act would be treated with utmost seriousness and could possibly amount to an act of war under Article 51 of the UN Charter,” said FO spokesperson Tahir Andrabi during a weekly media briefing while responding to a question about recent remarks by Indian water minister. A day ago, Indian Minister of Water CR Patil told India’s ANI news agency that “not a single drop of water will go [to Pakistan] in the coming years”. Patil said that India was “actively working on it” after “directives” from Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Taking note of the remarks, Andrabi said that “any attempt to block or substantially curtail water that is vital to the livelihood, agriculture and well being of over 25o million Pakistanis would be a deeply irresponsible act”. He added it would violate established international obligations “concerning transboundary r...

India and the United States are “about 99 per cent” done with the first tranche of a trade deal, the commerce minister said, as a US delegation began talks in New Delhi on Tuesday. The delegation, led by Assistant US Trade Representative for South and Central Asia Brendan Lynch, is holding three days of talks with Indian trade officials, as the two sides seek to close negotiations. “About 99 per cent of the issues have been settled,” Indian commerce minister Piyush Goyal told reporters in Delhi late on Monday. The two countries reached an initial understanding for the trade deal in February, but negotiations slowed after President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff measures were struck down by the US Supreme Court. After the court order, the Trump administration launched investigations into unfair trade practices against several countries, including India, while imposing a blanket 10pc tariff. Goyal said negotiators were examining how recent legal changes in the United States should be reflected in the final text...

A ban on Indian civilian and military aircraft using Pakistani airspace has been extended for another month, until June 24, according to a Notice to Airmen (Notam) issued by the Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA) on Tuesday. The previous extension was set to expire on May 24. The ban extension took effect on May 19 at 10:40am and the restriction was extended until 4:59am on June 24, according to the Notam. “Pakistan airspace not available for Indian registered aircraft and aircraft operated/owned or leased by Indian airlines/operators, including military flights,” the Notam, available with Dawn, read. Pakistan’s airspace is divided into two flight information regions (FIRs) — Karachi and Lahore, according to a Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) document from 2022. The Notam applies to both the Karachi (OPKR) and Lahore (OPLR) FIRs. India and Pakistan closed their airspaces to each other’s airlines since late April 2025, when tensions between them escalated in the wake of a deadly attack in Indian-occupie...

The Pakistan Airports Authority has extended restrictions on Indian aircraft using Pakistani airspace until June 23, 2026, through a newly issued Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) released on Tuesday.

The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) on Sunday took exception to the Indian army chief’s recent provocative remarks and cautioned New Delhi against pushing South Asia towards another conflict with “devastating” consequences for the region. “Indian COAS gave a provocative statement during a recent interview that ‘Pakistan should decide if it desired to be part of geography and history’,” ISPR noted in a statement issued in response to Indian Army Chief Gen Upendra Dwivedi’s comments made a day earlier. “Contrary to the delusional and hallucinational belief system and despite the omnipresent ill wishes that prevail in Hindutva-led India, Pakistan is already a country of consequence at global level, a declared nuclear power and an indelible part of South Asia’s geography and history,” the ISPR said. It observed that the statement reflected that the “Indian leadership has neither been able to reconcile with the very idea of Pakistan nor it has learnt the right lessons, even after [the] passage of eight deca...

Indian veteran Virat Kohli said he has nothing left to prove and would consider playing the 2027 One-Day International (ODI) World Cup only if he can still contribute meaningfully. The 37-year-old, who retired from Twenty20 Internationals after India’s 2024 World Cup triumph and ended his 123-test career last year, is now active only in the ODI format. Kohli played 13 ODIs last year, scoring 651 runs, and returned to the Indian Premier League after last representing India in January. He has already struck one century in the current IPL season. Asked about his prospects for the 2027 World Cup, Kohli said he remains ready to represent India but would not pursue selection unless convinced he could add value. “If I can add value to the environment that I’m a part of and the environment feels like I can add value I’ll be seen,” Kohli said on a podcast of his IPL team Royal Challengers Bangalore. “When I arrive to play, I put my head down, I work as hard, if not harder, than anyone else. And I play the game in the ...

Indian billionaire industrialist Gautam Adani has agreed to pay a multi-million-dollar settlement in a US civil court case linked to corruption without admitting guilt, his company said on Friday. The November 2024 indictment in New York accused the industrialist and multiple subordinates of deliberately misleading international investors as part of a vast bribery scheme. Adani was accused of having participated in an estimated $250 million scheme to bribe Indian officials for lucrative solar energy supply contracts. Adani, along with his nephew Sagar Adani, agreed to the “payment of a civil penalty” totalling $18 million, while noting that it came “without admitting or denying the allegations made in the civil complaint,” a letter from Adani Green Energy to the Mumbai stock exchange read. The penalty payment comes as US prosecutors are reported to be set to drop charges against Adani, The New York Times reported on Thursday. The Adani letter, which noted that the final judgement of the US court is still awai...

They come in blister packs of 10 like any normal painkiller and you can buy them easily in roadside kiosks and street pharmacies across west Africa. Millions of tapentadol tablets from India are helping drive a deadly opioid epidemic ravaging the region, with officials and researchers telling AFP that they are also being added to the “zombie drug” kush. The cheap pills are so strong that no regulatory authority in the world has approved them. Yet an AFP investigation found Indian pharmaceutical firms were flooding west Africa with the pills despite New Delhi vowing to crack down on the trade. Some shipments were even labelled “Harmless Medicines for Human Consumption”. Customs records show millions of dollars’ worth of the high-strength synthetic opioid being shipped from India every month to Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Ghana, where even low doses of the drug are not permitted. With opioids now heavily regulated in wealthier nations after being linked to one million deaths in the United States alone, some manuf...

Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said on Wednesday that the Indian aircraft shot down during the brief military conflict in May last year “brought down Indian arrogance with them”. He made these remarks while addressing a ceremony held in relevance to Marka-i-Haq at Islamabad’s Institute of Strategic Studies. The conflict with India — starting from the April 22 Pahalgam attack to the end of Operation Bunyanum Marsoos with a ceasefire between the two countries on May 10 — has been called “Marka-i-Haq” (Battle of Truth) by the state. During the conflict, New Delhi launched deadly air strikes in Punjab and Azad Kashmir on May 7. Pakistan retaliated by downing several Indian planes in air-to-air combat. The initial tally of the downed jets was announced as five and later raised to eight. In his fresh remarks on the matter, Tarar said: “When those eight planes went down — and a lot of them were Rafale planes, which are a source of pride for India — those planes brought down with them the Indian arrogance; and ...

The United States has said it was imposing visa restrictions on 13 people linked to Indian online pharmacy KS International Traders for selling counterfeit prescription pills laced with fentanyl. The 13 people are close associates of KS International Traders, which operates out of India, and its owner, the US State Department said on Tuesday. The Mumbai-based company’s web site, as listed in US government records, could not be accessed. No names or contacts of its senior executives were available. India’s foreign and health ministries did not immediately respond to requests for comment. KS International Traders generated revenue through trafficking in fentanyl, which President Donald Trump has designated as a “weapon of mass destruction”, the State Department said. Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid used for pain relief, but it is tightly restricted in the United States because of its high potency and its role in a surge in overdose deaths linked to illicit use. “Illicit fentanyl is killing too many Amer...

An Indian pilot group has submitted a letter to the aviation ministry suggesting that electrical failure, and not pilot action, could have caused the deadly Air India crash last year. The submission by the Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP), which has more than 5,000 members, comes ahead of the expected final report into the crash of the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner that killed 260 people shortly after takeoff on June 12, 2025. As required by international law, India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) published a preliminary report on July 12, one month after the disaster, when the plane exploded into flames shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad in western India. That 15-page document said the fuel supply to the jet’s engines was cut off moments before impact, raising questions about possible pilot error. It did not mention whether the turning off of the fuel switches could have been caused by pilot manoeuvre, or by any kind of malfunction. The FIP letter, dated May 1 and seen by AFP, offers what it cal...

The Pakistan Navy and Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA) provided humanitarian assistance to over half a dozen sailors stuck aboard an Indian offshore tug and supply vessel in the Arabian Sea, security sources said on Monday. The rescue and support operation for the crew, which included six Indians and one Indonesian national, was initiated after the Maritime Rescue and Coordination Centre in Mumbai contacted Pakistani authorities and requested assistance. They reported a technical fault on the MV Gautam, which was en route from Oman to India, security sources said. The Pakistan Navy deployed the PMSS Kashmir to carry out rescue operations. Emergency assistance, including food, medical aid, and technical support, was provided to the crew of MV Gautam, the sources said, adding that support operations for the vessel remain ongoing. Last month, the Pakistan Navy carried out an operation in the Arabian Sea and rescued 18 crew members, including foreign nationals, of a merchant vessel following a distress ca...

An Indian man dug up his sister’s body and carried it to a bank branch to prove she was dead after being refused access to her account without a death certificate, the lender has said. Jitu Munda, from a constitutionally recognised tribal community in the eastern state of Odisha, went to an Indian Overseas Bank branch on Monday to withdraw money from his deceased sister’s account. But bank staff told him that “withdrawals by a third party are not permitted without proper authorisation”, the lender said Tuesday. Angered by being turned away because he did not have her death certificate, Munda returned to the branch carrying the “human remains” of his sister, who had been buried days earlier, the bank said. Television networks broadcast footage of Munda carrying what appeared to be a corpse partially wrapped in plastic, with skeletal legs visible and slung over his shoulder. “This created a highly distressing situation at the premises,” the bank said. It added that the incident stemmed from a “lack of awareness...

An Indian billionaire’s son offered on Tuesday to take hippos descended from those introduced to Colombia by drug kingpin Pablo Escobar, rather than have the animals killed. Anant Ambani, the son of tycoon Mukesh Ambani, said he had formally requested the Colombian government to stay a decision to kill the animals, which have wreaked havoc on rivers in the South American nation. Instead, he has asked to allow the “safe, scientifically-led translocation that would bring the 80 animals to a permanent home” at his Vantara animal centre. The vast zoo in India’s western state of Gujarat bills itself as the “one of the world’s largest wildlife rescue, care and conservation centres”. Vantara is already home to hundreds of elephants, as well as 50 bears, 160 tigers, 200 lions, 250 leopards and 900 crocodiles, among other animals, according to India’s Central Zoo Authority. Experts have repeatedly sounded the alarm on Vantara’s massive animal intake, including the import of critically endangered and rare species. Esco...

Pakistan rejected Indian propaganda linking it to the 2025 Pahalgam attack on Thursday, deploring that the neighbouring country was focusing on “weaponising its false narrative” in the midst on an ongoing regional crisis. The April 22, 2025 attack in Pahalgam saw 26 people, mostly tourists, killed in what is being described as the deadliest armed attack in the disputed Himalayan region since the year 2000. New Delhi blamed the attack on Pakistan without any evidence. For its part, Pakistan strongly denied the allegations and called for a neutral investigation. On the attack’s one year anniversary, some in India appeared to link Pakistan again with terrorism. Meanwhile, the Indian army also said that a “response is assured” against acts of terrorism. Subsequently, without referring to any particular instance, the Foreign Office (FO) in Islamabad said in a statement: “At a time when Pakistan, along with its international partners, is undertaking concerted diplomatic efforts for regional and international peace ...