Indian | Pakistan

The Foreign Office (FO) has condemned Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s “highly provocative and irresponsible comments” regarding the Kashmir dispute, saying that the neighbouring country must not underestimate Pakistan’s resolve to “thwart any Indian adventurism”. On Sunday, Singh had stated that there would be “no talks with Pakistan”. According to the Times of India, he went on to say that if any took place, they would only be on Azad Jammu and Kashmir, claiming that it was “illegally occupied by Pakistan”. He also said that any “misadventure” would invite a response “beyond their imagination”, the publication said. The FO responded to the claims in a statement issued early on Monday, saying Pakistan condemned in the “strongest possible terms the highly provocative and irresponsible comments” by the Indian minister. “His statement not only distorts facts regarding the UN and internationally recognised Jammu and Kashmir dispute that remains on the agenda of the UN Security Council but also shows India...

Delhi Police on Tuesday detained Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi and his sister and fellow lawmaker, Priyanka Gandhi, as well as the Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav from a protest site outside Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence, The Press Trust of India reported. The opposition leader, also chief of the Indian National Congress party, demanded that Modi step down over the police crackdown against student protests demanding reforms in the education system. Modi must resign “for destroying the future of India’s youth”, the Congress Party leader said in a post on social media as he led a march with other MPs towards the prime minister’s residence in New Delhi. The Press Trust of India reported that as police swooped down on the site, the opposition leader could be seen lying on the ground and resisting as security personnel attempted to pick him up. He was hurt in the process. “The government doesn’t want to take any accountability, nor does it want to have a debate on it in parliament,” said Ga...

A Singapore court sentenced an Indian tourist to more than two years in jail over a failed bid to steal a diamond by hiding it in his accomplice’s mouth. Mangroliya Manojkumar Kurjibhai, 41, and his accomplice visited a jewellery store in Singapore’s Chinatown on June 19 with their eyes on a 4.95-carat diamond worth $154,000, according to court documents seen by AFP on Tuesday. Mangroliya distracted the shop manager while his partner, 30-year-old Serasiya Milan Ramnikbhai, allegedly swapped the diamond with a fake hidden in his mouth, local media reported. The two men then left the store without buying anything, with Serasiya now carrying the real stone in his mouth. The theft was caught on surveillance camera, and the pair were arrested at the airport later that day – with the stolen gem recovered from one of their bags. Mangroliya was sentenced to two years, two months and two weeks in jail after pleading guilty last week, court papers said. Serasiya is in remand and scheduled for a hearing on Friday. The p...

Indian police fired tear gas and baton-charged protesters in New Delhi on Monday as they tried to march on parliament to demand the resignation of the education minister over irregularities in major examinations. The protesters, mostly young students, ran for cover as police charged at them and fired tear gas shells near Jantar Mantar in the Indian capital. They are seeking the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over exam irregularities, including question paper leaks and technical glitches. Thousands of protesters started gathering from early Monday, defying a steady monsoon drizzle and police barricades, marking one of the biggest demonstrations in the capital in five years. “Our country deserves a government that is bothered about what the young people have to say and is willing to correct its mistakes,” said Sumit Kumar, 18. “The future belongs to us and not these politicians.” The protest comes after prominent activist Sonam Wangchuk was forcibly taken to hospital on Saturday, bringing ...

Indian police fired tear gas and baton-charged protesters in New Delhi on Monday as they tried to march on parliament to demand the resignation of the education minister over irregularities in major examinations. The protesters, mostly young students, ran for cover as police charged at them and fired tear gas shells near Jantar Mantar in the Indian capital. They are seeking the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over exam irregularities, including question paper leaks and technical glitches. Thousands of protesters started gathering from early Monday, defying a steady monsoon drizzle and police barricades, marking one of the biggest demonstrations in the capital in five years. “Our country deserves a government that is bothered about what the young people have to say and is willing to correct its mistakes,” said Sumit Kumar, 18. “The future belongs to us and not these politicians.” The protest comes after prominent activist Sonam Wangchuk was forcibly taken to hospital on Saturday, bringing ...

The wife of an Indian hunger strike activist taken to hospital against his will accused the government on Sunday of “illegal detention” disguised as medical care. Police cited a court order and “deteriorating health condition” on Saturday when they picked up Sonam Wangchuk, who had refused to eat since June 28 in protest of alleged university exam fraud. The activist, 59, has demanded the education minister’s resignation after the leak of test materials that resulted in over two million students being forced to retake exams. Gitanjali J. Angmo, Wangchuk’s wife, said that she “lost faith” in the government hospital, which she said refused her desire to move her husband to a private facility. “With around 30 police personnel stationed on our floor and well over 100 across the hospital, our movement is severely restricted,” Angmo said. “It is not medical care. It is illegal detention,” she said, adding she asked the high court to allow her to move Wangchuk. The hospital, late on Saturday, said that Wangchuk hadn...

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has extended its airspace ban on Indian civilian and military aircraft for another month, until Aug 23, according to a Notice to Airmen (Notam) issued by the Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA) on Saturday. The previous restriction was due to expire on July 24. “Pakistan airspace not available for Indian-registered aircraft and aircraft operated or leased by Indian airlines/operators, including military flights,” the Notam said. According to the Notam, the restriction will remain in force until 11:59pm on Aug 23, 2026. 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 top brass had an...

An Indian court directed authorities on Thursday to monitor the health of an activist who is on the 19th day of a hunger strike on a stage in central Delhi to demand the education minister quits, and to intervene if his condition deteriorates. It is the first time that a court has intervened in the protest, as concern over Sonam Wangchuk’s condition grows among his supporters. The instruction means he could be moved to a hospital if his health worsens. Wangchuk has been fasting in solidarity with India’s youth Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), which is staging a sit-in demanding minister Dharmendra Pradhan step down over exam paper leaks that affected millions of students. The 59-year-old, who has said he will continue his strike until their demands are met, has lost more than 9 kilograms since he began his fast but remains mentally alert, a doctor attending to him told news agency ANI. Acting on a petition for authorities to force-feed Wangchuk before his condition worsens, a two-judge bench of the Delhi High Cou...

A speedboat carrying Indian tourists capsized off southern Vietnam’s Phu Quoc island on Saturday, killing at least 15 people, state media reported. The boat was carrying 36 people when it overturned around 400 metres off May Rut Ngoai islet, according to the VNExpress website. Multiple tourist and coast guard boats participated in a rescue effort during which some people were plucked safely from the water. The Tuoi Tre newspaper quoted local police as saying 21 people had been transported to a hospital for emergency treatment, two of whom were in critical condition. India’s embassy in Vietnam confirmed the capsized boat had been carrying “several Indian tourists” but said that “exact details of the incident are being ascertained”. Nguyen Tien Hai, a provincial official of the ruling Communist Party, said authorities were still confirming the exact number of survivors, according to the state media report. Hai said initial assessments suggested that the speedboat may have overturned due to heavy winds and high ...

Says he ​directed the operation from an Indian jail cell using smuggled cellphones

India will supply BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles and Astra air-to-air missiles to Indonesia, an Indian government official said on Tuesday, as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi started a two-day visit to Jakarta. Indian sources earlier told Reuters that the deal, worth around $630 million, would likely be signed during Modi’s visit. Indonesia would be the third country to sign an agreement to buy the missiles, which are manufactured by BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited. The deal would mark a major expansion of India’s defence exports and deepen strategic ties with Southeast Asia’s largest economy at a time of growing competition with China for influence in the Indo-Pacific. BrahMos missiles, jointly developed by India and Russia, are among the world’s fastest cruise missiles and can be launched from land, sea and air platforms. The Astra beyond-visual-range air-to-air missiles can be integrated on Russian-made Sukhoi fighter jets in the Indonesian Air Force. The Indian government did not respond to earl...

Azad Jammu and Kashmir Information Department Secretary Muhammad Rashid Hanif claimed on Monday that state institutions had evidence of Indian funding behind the banned Joint Awami Action Committee’s (JAAC) “agenda” in Azad Jammu and Kashmir. Addressing a press conference in Muzaffarabad, the information secretary said that state institutions had credible information about foreign funding behind ongoing activities in AJK. “The institutions have evidence of the use of Indian funding to mobilise overseas Kashmiris, such as UK-based Amjad Ayub Mirza, to advance an anti-Pakistan agenda,” Hanif said. He urged the people of AJK to dismiss the “baseless disinformation campaign on social media” and participate in the “due political process to restore peace and order in the region”. The information secretary elaborated that for the past month, members of the proscribed organisation had carried out multiple “illegal and violent” activities under the guise of human rights advocacy. “This apparent human rights movement h...

India’s Adani Group and Abu Dhabi’s International Holding Company (IHC) are looking to invest $11.5 billion in a massive aluminum project in the eastern state of Odisha, the Indian conglomerate said on Thursday. The two parties signed a memorandum of understanding with the Odisha state government, Adani said in a statement, with the proposed investment set to be India’s “largest foreign direct investment in the metallurgy sector”. The statement said the Odisha project will see Adani Enterprises Limited and an IHC subsidiary form a 50/50 joint venture. The project itself will consist of a refinery that can produce four million metric tonnes of aluminium per year, a smaller-capacity aluminum smelter and a 4,000-megawatt captive power plant. The project is expected to create 53,500 jobs, with 35,000 during ​construction and another 18,500 once operations begin, an official said ​at ⁠the MoU signing ceremony. Odisha, home to some of India’s ​largest bauxite reserves ​used to produce ⁠aluminum, accounts for 54 per...

India urged Pakistan on Wednesday to release and repatriate 97 Pakistani prisoners who have completed their sentences, according to a statement issued by the Foreign Office (FO). These prisoners include 64 civilians and 33 fishermen, the FO said, as it detailed the exchange of prisoner lists between India and Pakistan — a biannual practice that takes place in pursuance of the Agreement on Consular Access, 2008. The agreement requires both sides to share the lists of prisoners in each other’s custody on January 1 and July 1 every year. The FO said the “government of Pakistan handed over a list of 250 Indian prisoners in Pakistan (52 civilians and 198 fishermen) to the Indian High Commission in Islamabad”. It added that the Indian government shared a list of 439 prisoners who were “Pakistani or believed to be Pakistani”, including 386 civilian prisoners and 53 fishermen. It added that India was also urged to ensure the safety, security and well-being of all prisoners who were Pakistani or believed to be Pakista...

India’s opposition party Congress has demanded the resignation of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and stepped up criticism against him for “lying” in parliament about the deaths of Indian soldiers during the May 2025 conflict with Pakistan, according to Indian media. The criticism comes days after the Indian government on June 26 disclosed the names of six armed forces personnel who died during the military conflict, dubbed “Operation Sindoor” by New Delhi. The names were included in the Roll of Honour on the National War Memorial website, marking the first official disclosure of military casualties from the period, The Hindu noted. Subsequently, on Monday, chairperson of the Congress’s Ex-servicemen Department Col. (retd) Rohit Chaudhry and Wing Commander (retd) Anuma Acharya slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government for concealing the deaths of the six personnel, The Hindu reported. In a press conference, Chaudhry demanded that Singh be removed from his position and that Modi and his party lawmakers ...

Pakistan Commissioner for Indus Waters Syed Muhammad Mehar Ali Shah said on Tuesday that he had written to his Indian counterpart regarding fluctuations in the flow of the Chenab River four times since last April — when New Delhi unilaterally decided to hold the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance — but there had been no response thus far. Speaking at a seminar held in Islamabad to highlight the legal and constitutional framework of the IWT, he said he last wrote to his Indian counterpart last night over “significant fluctuations” in the flow of the River Chenab. The IWT allocates the eastern rivers — Ravi, Beas and Sutlej — to India, while the western rivers — Indus, Jhelum and Chenab — are largely allocated to Pakistan. The 1960 water-sharing agreement has also established mechanisms for data-sharing and dispute resolution. The Indus Waters commissioner said the fluctuation in the Chenab was not a “technical inconvenience, but rather a strategic hazard”. “There is no brainer in understanding that data-sharing i...

Sensitive lists of components and suppliers, and photos of Apple’s upcoming iPhone 18 Pro models are part of files posted on the dark web by the ransomware group that stole data from the US firm’s Indian supplier Tata Electronics, according to documents and a source. The exposure threatens the carefully negotiated business of building the iPhone, which Apple assembles from a thicket of suppliers worldwide. It could also upset Apple and its relationship with Tata given most of the supplier arrangements are fiercely protected by Apple, and could also hand rivals, counterfeiters and its own vendors a view of who makes what. Tata, which both supplies parts and assembles iPhones as a contract manufacturer, is emerging as one of Apple’s most important manufacturing partners outside China, an expansion that is a cornerstone of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s push to make India an electronics manufacturing powerhouse. Apple is reportedly on track to release its iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max in September. The leak comes at...

Indian police have arrested eight people over allegations of theft and misappropriation of offerings at a temple that has been at the centre of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu-first politics, authorities said. The Ram Mandir temple in northern Uttar Pradesh state, built on grounds where a mosque stood for centuries before being torn down by Hindu zealots, was inaugurated in 2024 with great fanfare by Modi himself. Allegations regarding irregularities in the handling of donations led to a criminal case being registered on Thursday, with police arresting eight people, including temple employees, according to a government statement issued late on Thursday. Most of them were involved in counting or handling cash and valuables donated by devotees, including gold and silver, media reports said. The government has not disclosed the scale of the alleged embezzlement. Opposition parties and media reports say it could amount to more than $20 million. “It is so shameful that a shrine of such supreme importance is b...

A key road named after US President Donald Trump in India’s opposition-ruled tech hub of Hyderabad has drawn criticism from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling party, which dismissed the move as “hypocrisy”. US-India ties have deteriorated during Trump’s second term, with Washington imposing high tariffs on Indian goods, punishing New Delhi for purchasing Russian oil, and engaging closely with India’s arch-rival Pakistan. The road in the capital of the southern state of Telangana, ruled by the main opposition Congress party, adjoins the US consulate and is near the offices of major American tech companies such as Microsoft, Google, and Amazon. The road received its new name, Donald Trump Avenue, on Tuesday, at a time when Congress has been accusing Modi of being “compromised” by not taking on Trump on issues from the tariffs to US attacks on Indian-crewed tankers during the Iran war. “Rahul Gandhi says President Trump [is] hurting Indian interests,” Shehzad Poonawalla, a spokesperson of Modi’s Bharatiya Jan...

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...