Indian | Pakistan

The Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA) on Wednesday extended the airspace restrictions on Indian aircraft till January 23. The extension was notified a week before the previous one was set to expire on December 24. “Pakistan airspace will remain closed to Indian-registered aircraft, including all aircraft owned, operated, or leased by Indian airlines, as well as Indian military flights,” the authority said, “According to the NOTAM, the restriction, which has already been in force, will continue until January 23, 2026, as per the specified timings,” it said. Notam issued by the Pakistan Airports Authority. 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 have closed their airspaces to each other’s airlines since tensions between them escalated in late April in the wake of an attack in occupied Kashmir’s ...

Sajid left Indian city of Hyderabad in 1998; Intelligence agency interrogated Naveed in 2019

Indian media spreads misleading reports and false data following Sydney atrocity

The Foreign Office (FO) rejected and condemned on Sunday the “highly inflammatory, baseless and irresponsible” remarks by Indian External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar about Pakistan’s armed forces, terming them “misleading”. The FO’s condemnation came a day after Jaishankar alleged that India’s core challenges with its neighbouring country stemmed directly from Pakistan’s military establishment. In its reaction to his remarks, the FO underscored that Pakistan was a responsible state, and all its institutions, including armed forces, were a pillar of national security, dedicated to safeguarding the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country. The FO’s statement also referred to a brief four-day conflict between India and Pakistan in May, saying that it “vividly demonstrated Pakistan armed forces’ professionalism as well as their resolve to defend the motherland and the people of Pakistan against any Indian aggression in a befitting, effective yet responsible manner”. “No amount of propaganda can b...

Information Minister Attaullah Tarar on Sunday slammed the sisters of PTI founder Imran Khan for giving interviews to the Indian media while one of ex-premier’s sisters, Noreen Niazi, criticised the PML-N for having “double standards”. Last week, Imran’s sisters had camped outside Adiala Jail, where the PTI founder is currently incarcerated, along with other PTI members after being denied a meeting. According to the PTI, Aleema Khan, Dr Uzma Khan and Noreen were “sitting peacefully” outside the jail when they were manhandled and “violently detained” by police. After repeatedly being barred from meeting their brother, Noreen and another sister of Imran, Aleema Khan, gave separate interviews to the Indian media on the matter. “These three sisters of Imran Ahmed Niazi sahib, on May 9 they were also present at the Core Commander’s House,” he said, but added that until now they had not been told not to “cry victimisation”. “If you ask my legal opinion, their presence is proof … They were there on May 9, they broug...

A high-profile debate at the Oxford Union that was scheduled to feature senior figures from Pakistan and India was cancelled after the Indian delegation withdrew at the last minute, prompting strong reactions from Pakistan’s High Commission in London and triggering speculations about why India pulled out last minute. According to statements issued by the High Commission, the debate centred on the motion “This House Believes India’s Policy Towards Pakistan is a Populist Strategy Sold as Security Policy” had been confirmed weeks in advance. It is scheduled for 12:30am PKT. Pakistan’s delegation, comprising former Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee chairman Lt Gen (R) Zubair Mahmood Hayat, former foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar and former diplomat Dr Mohammad Faisal, was already in London for the event. The High Commission claimed that India’s originally announced speakers, General M.M. Naravane, Dr Subramanian Swamy and politician Sachin Pilot, “withdrew at the eleventh hour”, leaving the event without its oppo...

Alphabet’s Google and venture capital firm Accel will partner to fund at least 10 early-stage Indian AI startups, marking the US technology giant’s first such funding partnership, top executives at the companies said on Thursday. The move comes as several US tech firms like Microsoft, Amazon and OpenAI make a beeline for the world’s most populous nation, seen as a critical growth market where nearly a billion users access the internet. Under the partnership, Google’s AI Futures Fund and Accel will co-invest up to $2 million in each startup, Prayank Swaroop, partner at Accel, told Reuters in an interview, with the investments focused on the wide areas of entertainment, creativity, work and coding. The announcement comes after Google in October said it would invest $15 billion over five years to set up an AI data centre in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, its biggest-ever investment in the country. Its AI Futures Fund, launched six months ago, has funded over 30 companies, including Indian webtoon s...

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan has sharply condemned what it called the Indian defence minister’s “delusional and dangerously revisionist” comments suggesting that Sindh could one day “return” to India.

The Foreign Office (FO) issued a strong condemnation on Sunday, denouncing Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s “delusional and dangerously revisionist remarks” about Sindh. The FO’s rebuke came after the Indian media quoted Singh as saying: “Today, the land of Sindh may not be a part of India, but civilisationally, Sindh will always be a part of India. And as far as land is concerned, borders can change. Who knows, tomorrow Sindh may return to India again.” According to Indian media outlets, Singh maintained while speaking at an event in Delhi that Sindhi Hindus from his generation never fully accepted the accession of the province to Pakistan. Sindh has occasionally featured in Indian rhetoric on Pakistan, most often during heightened tensions or significant developments inside India. Singh’s remarks at Sindhi Samaj Sammelan, an event of the Sindhi community, could have possibly been made to bolster political support by invoking historical and cultural claims. The FO said in its response to the remarks t...

The crash of India’s Tejas fighter in front of global arms buyers at the Dubai Airshow is the latest blow to a key national trophy, leaving the jet reliant on Indian military orders to sustain its role as a showcase of home-built defence technology. The cause of Friday’s crash was not immediately known but it capped a week of jockeying for influence at the event, attended by India’s arch-rival Pakistan six months after the neighbouring foes faced off in the world’s largest air battle in decades. Such a public loss will inevitably overshadow India’s efforts to establish the jet abroad after a painstaking development over four decades, experts said, as India paid tribute to Wing Commander Namansh Syal who died in the crash. Crash at showcase event in Dubai “The imagery is brutal,” said Douglas A. Birkey, executive director of the US-based Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, referring to the history of crashes at air shows where nations and industries seek to tout major national achievements. “A crash send...

The Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA) has issued a notice to airmen (Notam) extending the airspace ban for Indian aircraft till December 24, it emerged on Thursday. The new ban for Indian aircraft has been notified just four days before a previous one is set to expire. India and Pakistan have closed their airspaces to each other’s airlines since tensions between them escalated in late April in the wake of an attack in occupied Kashmir’s Pahalgam that killed 26 people. Islamabad most recently extended the airspace ban in mid-October till November 24. The latest restriction went into effect from 2:50pm Pakistan time on November 19 (yesterday) to 4:59am on December 24, according to a Notam issued on Wednesday. The bar will apply to all Indian-registered aircraft as well as any aircraft operated, owned, or leased by Indian airlines or operators, including military flights. The airspace closure applies from ground level up to unlimited altitude. Pakistan’s airspace is divided into two flight information regions (F...

The State Investigation Agency (SIA) of the India-0ccupied Kashmir on Thursday raided the office of the region’s oldest English news agency, Kashmir Times, as part of the SIA’s action against media networks that are allegedly “aiding separatist narratives”, Indian media reported. A statement issued by Kashmir Times editors Prabodh Jamwal and Anuradha Basin said that “coordinated crackdown on the Kashmir Times [is] yet another attempt to silence us”. According to The Indian Express, the raid was carried out following the registration of a first information report (FIR) alleging the “organisation’s involvement in anti-national activities and attempts to spread disaffection against the country”. As per “official sources, the FIR mentions alleged activities and communications that are under scrutiny for ‘potential threats to the sovereignty and integrity of India’”, the news agency said. During the raid, SIA officials went through “documents, digital equipment and other material as part of the investigation,” add...

The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Tuesday barred the police from harassing an Indian woman who had filed a petition against them. The woman, formerly Sikh, had come to Pakistan for religious purposes but had converted to Islam to marry the second petitioner, her now-husband. She complained that the police had conducted an “illegal raid on their house in Farooqabad, Sheikhupura district, and pressured her to end the marriage.” The petition was heard by Justice Farooq Haider, who ordered the police to stop harassing the petitioners. The petition, a copy of which is available with Dawn, was filed on November 12 under Article 199 (jurisdiction of High Court) of the Constitution. It named both the woman and her husband as the petitioners and Punjab’s inspector general of police (IGP), the regional police officer of Sheikhupura, the district police officers (DPOs) of Sheikhupura and Nankana Sahib, the station house officers (SHOs) of the same, and another resident of Farooq Abad as respondents. The petition alleged th...

A fatal accident involving a bus filled with Indian pilgrims killed at least 45 people near Saudi Arabia’s holy city of Madina, Indian police said on Monday, one of the deadliest crashes in the Gulf kingdom in years. “The tragic bus accident involving Indian pilgrims in Saudi Arabia is deeply distressing,” VC Sajjanar, police commissioner for the city of Hyderabad, where many of the Indian citizens were reported to have come from, told reporters. “According to preliminary information, 46 people were travelling in the bus at the time of the incident, and heartbreakingly, only one person survived,” he said. Saudi officials have not provided a toll for the crash. Earlier on Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered his condolences in a post on social media, saying the Indian embassy was working with Saudi officials on the ground. “Deeply saddened by the accident in Medina involving Indian nationals. My thoughts are with the families who have lost their loved ones,” the prime minister wrote on X. “I pray for t...

Indian authorities claimed on Sunday that a deadly car blast in New Delhi earlier this week was an attack carried out by a “suicide bomber”, announcing the arrest of an accomplice. The National Investigation Agency (NIA), the country’s counter-terrorism body, said the attacker and the second suspect were both from India-occupied Kashmir, where police have carried out sweeping raids in recent days. Announcing “a breakthrough” in the investigation, the NIA said it had arrested Amir Rashid Ali, describing him as an accomplice of the “suicide bomber” under whose name “the car involved in the attack was registered”. He had come to Delhi to “facilitate the purchase of the car which was eventually used as a vehicle-borne Improvised Explosive Device (IED) to trigger the blast”, the counter-terrorism agency said in a statement. It identified the car’s driver as Umarun Nabi, a resident of occupied Kashmir who was an assistant professor in general medicine at a university in the northern state of Haryana. The explosion ...

Turkiye on Thursday refuted claims made by Indian media outlets claiming that Ankara had a link to the car blast in Delhi earlier this week. A day prior, the Indian government confirmed that it was treating a car blast that killed 12 people and wounded at least 20 others in Delhi as a “terror incident” and vowed to bring the perpetrators to justice as swiftly as possible. In a statement, Turkiye’s Directorate of Communications rejected the allegations and displayed screenshots of social media posts by two Indian outlets, which claimed Ankara had a “role in radicalising sleeper cells against India, [the] Turkish government is providing logistical, diplomatic and financial help to all terrorist groups across the world”. “The deliberate reports in certain Indian media outlets … are part of a malicious disinformation campaign aimed at damaging bilateral relations between the two countries,” Ankara’s statement read. Turkiye rejected acts of terror “regardless of where or by whom they are committed” and noted its c...

When 23 children died in India’s Madhya Pradesh after consuming contaminated cough syrup in early September, the news barely registered across the border. In Pakistan — where self-medication is rampant and syrup bottles are household staples — the tragedy strikes dangerously close to home. Many in Pakistan remain unaware that those sweet, over-the-counter syrups can be fatal. In the recent Indian case, the children — all under six — died of kidney failure after consuming syrup laced with diethylene glycol (DEG), a toxic solvent found at 500 times the permissible limit. Investigations revealed the manufacturer, Sresan, had sourced industrial-grade propylene glycol from local chemical and paint dealers instead of certified pharmaceutical suppliers. With no qualified chemist overseeing production, the syrup went untested — and deadly. This isn’t the first such incident. In 2022, Indian-made syrups caused the deaths of at least 70 children in The Gambia and 18 in Uzbekistan. Between December 2019 and January 2020...

Pakistan on Friday said it had not conducted any nuclear tests after May 1998, rejecting Indian allegations of clandestine nuclear activities as “baseless and malicious”. Foreign Office (FO) Spokesman Tahir Andrabi, responding to a question from Dawn, said, “For the record, Pakistan’s last nuclear tests were conducted in May 1998. Our position on nuclear testing is well established and consistent.” Pakistan has maintained a self-imposed moratorium on nuclear testing since its last series of tests conducted in response to India’s nuclear tests. However, Pakistan has not signed the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, retaining the flexibility to resume testing if its security environment, particularly vis-à-vis India, deteriorates. “Pakistan has been supporting United Nations General Assembly resolutions calling for a comprehensive ban on nuclear testing. In contrast, India’s abstentions on these resolutions reflect its ambiguous and questionable intentions on future nuclear testing,” Andrabi said. The state...

The Foreign Office (FO) on Thursday rejected “unfounded and misleading” allegations that members of the Hindu community were denied entry into the country on religious grounds, clarifying the action was “purely administrative” and consistent with Islamabad’s sovereign right to regulate entry into its territory. Earlier this week, Pakistan welcomed Sikh pilgrims from India, with over 2,000 pilgrims granted visas to attend a 10-day festival marking the 556th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak, founder of the Sikh faith. However, Indian media claimed yesterday that an Indian national and six family members were reportedly denied entry into Pakistan, with officials allegedly citing their Hindu faith as the reason for refusal. In a statement today, FO said that these claims are “entirely baseless and represent yet another attempt to distort facts and politicise a matter that was purely administrative in nature”. “High Commission for Pakistan, New Delhi, had issued over 2,400 visas to Sikh pilgrims from India to parti...

Multiple people on social media platform X shared two separate videos on Friday and Monday, claiming to show Indian army officials criticising recent tri-military exercises as a political move to boost the image for the upcoming Bihar elections. However, the videos are dubbed over. India kicked off large-scale combined military exercises named ‘Trishul 2025’ near its western border on October 30 amid heightened regional tensions. The war games, involving armoured divisions, fighter aircraft and advanced drone systems, are being held across Rajasthan and Punjab to test rapid deployment capabilities. Indian defence officials have described the drills as routine preparedness measures. Meanwhile, upcoming elections are scheduled in Bihar, India, for the state’s legislative assembly from November 6-11, 2025. On Friday, an X account, that appears to be anti-Indian based upon its previous posts and is known for repeatedly sharing AI-altered videos, posted a clip with the following caption: “Breaking news: Bikaner, R...