Indian | Pakistan

Pakistani security forces have downed an Indian drone in Lahore’s Manawan area, raising fresh concerns over cross-border surveillance activities.

Police on Friday seized an Indian surveillance drone in the Jandiala Road area of Manawan, Lahore.

United States President Donald Trump on Wednesday issued an executive order imposing an additional 25 per cent tariff on Indian goods, citing New Delhi’s continued imports of Russian oil, sharply escalating tensions between the two countries after trade talks collapsed. The new measure raises tariffs on some Indian goods to as high as 50pc, among the steepest faced by any US trading partner. The move is expected to hit key Indian export sectors, including textiles, footwear, and gems and jewellery and marks the most serious downturn in US-India relations since Trump returned to office in January. In an executive order issued from the White House, Trump said: “I find that the Government of India is currently directly or indirectly importing Russian Federation oil. “Accordingly, and as consistent with applicable law, articles of India imported into the customs territory of the United States shall be subject to an additional ad valorem rate of duty of 25pc.” Trump said he determined it “necessary and appropriate...

The Indian army brought in sniffer dogs, drones and heavy earth-moving equipment on Wednesday to search for scores missing a day after a deadly Himalayan flash flood. At least four people were killed and around 100 are unaccounted for — including 11 soldiers — after a wall of muddy water and debris tore down a narrow mountain valley, smashing into the town of Dharali in Uttarakhand state. “Additional army columns, along with army tracker dogs, drones, logistic drones, earthmoving equipment etc, have been moved… to hasten the efforts”, the army said today. Military helicopters were working to bring in “essential supplies, medicines and (for the) evacuation of the marooned”, it added. Uttarakhand State Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said the flood was caused by an intense “cloudburst” of rain, and that rescue teams had been deployed “on a war footing”. Videos broadcast on Indian media showed a terrifying surge of muddy water sweeping away multi-storey apartment blocks in the tourist region on Tuesday aftern...

PARIS, FRANCE - To express solidarity with the people of Indian Il­legally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), the Embassy of Pakistan in France organized a special event marking Youm-e-Istehsal, on Tuesday.

An Indian army officer brutally tortured airline staffers in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) over a dispute of excess baggage. According to SpiceJet, its two employees were seriously injured in the attack by the Indian army officer. “SpiceJet strongly condemns the violence against its employees and will pursue this matter to its fullest […]

An Indian army officer on Sunday was booked for allegedly assaulting four airport employees at Srinagar Airport on July 26 after they asked him to pay an excess baggage fee, Indian outlet The Times of India (TOI) reported. The passenger, flying from Srinagar to Delhi, left the staff with severe injuries after allegedly attacking them with punches, kicks and even a queue stand. “The airline says its staff members ‘suffered a spinal fracture and serious jaw injuries’,” TOI reported. View this post on Instagram The outlet added that the passenger was carrying two pieces of cabin luggage weighing 16 kilogrammes — more than double the allowed 7kg limit. When asked to pay a baggage fee by airline staff, he “refused and forcefully boarded the aerobridge without completing the boarding process”. “He was escorted back to the gate by a CISF (Central Industrial Security Force) official,” TOI reported, quoting a spokesperson for Indian airline SpiceJet. “At the gate, the passenger grew increasingly aggressive and physica...

• Report says faulty intelligence about range of PL-15 missile gave Rafale pilots ‘false sense of security’ • Pakistani officials say electronic assault on Indian communications systems reduced situational awareness ISLAMABAD: India’s intelligence failure was central to the hour-long air battle between Pakistan and India in May, which led to the downing of Rafale aircraft by the Pakistan Air Force’s J-10 fighters using PL-15s missiles, according to a report. Reuters interviews with two Indian officials and three of their Pakistani counterparts found that the performance of the Rafale wasn’t the key problem: central to its downing was an Indian intelligence failure concerning the range of the China-made PL-15 missile fired by the J-10 fighter. China and Pakistan are the only countries to operate both J-10s, known as Vigorous Dragons, and PL-15s. The faulty intelligence gave the Rafale pilots a false sense of confidence that they were out of Pakistani firing distance, which they believed was only around 150km, ...

A passenger slapping a Muslim fellow traveller on an Indian flight sparked outrage on social media when a video of the incident went viral, Indian news outlet Hindustan Times reported on Friday. Discrimination against Muslims in India has spiked in recent months, amid heightened tensions between India and Pakistan in the wake of their recent military confrontation, sparked by New Delhi’s allegations levelled without evidence against Islamabad over a deadly attack in occupied Kashmir’s Pahalgam. According to the Hindustan Times, the passengers were on board IndiGo flight 6E138 from Mumbai to Kolkata. “The victim appeared to be unwell and was receiving assistance from the cabin crew when another passenger suddenly slapped him without any provocation,” it reported. The Times of India said that the victim, a Muslim man, had a panic attack, “began sobbing and walking the aisle requesting to de-board as the aircraft taxied, when another flyer struck him”. A video clip circulating online showed the victim in visible...

• US president criticises India for doing business with Russia, describing both economies as ‘dead’ • Medvedev brushes aside Trump’s attack NEW DELHI: By declaring the Indian economy as dead in the water on Thursday, President Donald Trump has put Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his party in a bind. Until recently, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party was canvassing support for the US president’s election. Its supporters were holding special prayers and muttering mystical chants for Trump’s victory. There was at least one temple created where a sculptured image of Trump was worshipped. But Trump has ignored the lavish praise and called out India’s energy imports from Russia and its tariff regime as non-negotiable. The Indian government said it was trying to figure out a response by consulting all the “stakeholders”, a euphemism for angry businesses whose hopes were riding on Mr Modi’s daring ability to play both sides of the street. That appears to have hit a dead-end. Encouraging words have come from former Ru...

Indian state refiners have stopped buying Russian oil in the past week as discounts narrowed this month and United States President Donald Trump warned countries not to purchase oil from Moscow, industry sources said. India, the world’s third-largest oil importer, is the biggest buyer of seaborne Russian crude, a vital revenue earner for Russia as it wages war in Ukraine for a fourth year. The country’s state refiners — Indian Oil Corp (IOC), Hindustan Petroleum Corp (HPCL), Bharat Petroleum Corp (BPCL) and Mangalore Refinery Petrochemical Ltd (MRPL) — have not sought Russian crude in the past week or so, four sources familiar with the refiners’ purchase plans told Reuters. IOC, BPCL, HPCL, MRPL and the federal oil ministry did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment. The four refiners regularly buy Russian oil on a delivered basis and have turned to spot markets for replacement supply — mostly Middle Eastern grades such as Abu Dhabi’s Murban crude and West African oil, sources said. Private ...

The Pakistani veterans team advanced into the World Championship of Legends (WCL) final on Wednesday after Indian players forfeited the semi-final scheduled for Thursday. The WCL is an international cricket league where retired, non-contracted international players return to competitive T20 cricket, according to the league’s website. The tournament commenced on July 18 and is being held in Birmingham, England. Earlier in the month, a group match between the two teams was also cancelled after Indian players, including Shikhar Dhawan, refused to play against Pakistan. In a statement posted on X today, WCL organisers announced: “Taking all factors into consideration, the match between the India Champions and the Pakistan Champions has been called off. As a result, Pakistan Champions will advance to the final.” The WCL said it respected the India Champions’ decision to withdraw from the semi-finals and “we equally respect the Pakistan Champions’ readiness to compete”. The league organisers added they believed in ...

The Foreign Office (FO) on Wednesday assailed and rejected the Indian parliament’s debate on “Operation Sindoor”, claiming that the remarks made in the Lok Sabha “distort facts, justify aggression, and glorify conflict for domestic consumption”. The two countries entered a brief but intense military escalation after India, without evidence, blamed Pakistan for the April 22 Pahalgam attack. On May 6–7, New Delhi launched air strikes that killed civilians, followed by a week-long missile exchange. A US-brokered ceasefire ended the war. During Tuesday’s debate, Indian Home Minister Amit Shah claimed that security forces killed three “Pakistanis” involved in the Pahalgam attack in Operation Mahadev, Reuters reported. “I want to tell … the entire nation that these were the three terrorists who killed our citizens … and now all three have been killed,” Shah told parliament during the discussion. In a statement issued today on the Indian parliament debate, FO spokesperson Ambassador Shafqat Ali Khan said: “Pakistan ...

Indian opposition parties on Tuesday assailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for failures in the Pakistan-India four-day conflict earlier this year. As New Delhi launched deadly air strikes on Pakistan in early May over allegations about the Pahalgam attack, which Islamabad denied, PAF downed six Indian jets in its response. After tit-for-tat strikes on each other’s airbases, it took American intervention on May 10 for both sides to finally reach a ceasefire. Speaking in the monsoon session of the Indian lower house of parliament, Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi said Modi’s government “lacked the political will to fight Pakistan and, because of that, asked the armed forces to attack with their hands tied behind their backs,” according to NDTV. “If Modi ji has even 50 per cent of the courage that Indira Gandhi had, then clearly say in parliament — Donald Trump is lying,” Gandhi, who is a member of the opposition Congress party, said. He added that the Indian prime minister should state that neither did Tru...

A cricket match between Indian and Pakistani veteran players — part of the World Championship of Legends (WCL) — was called off after Indian players, including Shikhar Dhawan, refused to play against Pakistan, citing recent “geopolitical tensions” between the two nations, according to a statement issued by WCL on Sunday. The WCL is an international cricket league where retired, non-contracted international players return to competitive T20 cricket, according to the league’s website. The tournament commenced on July 18 and is being held in Birmingham, England. In a statement posted on X, WCL organisers announced that, “We have decided to call off the India vs Pakistan match,” saying that the match between the two countries was planned in light of recent positive development between India and Pakistan, indicating improved bilateral sporting ties. The statement cited a recent volleyball match between the rival nations and speculations around Pakistan’s hockey team touring India later this year. On Friday, Pakist...

The Pakistan Airports Authority has extended its airspace ban on Indian aircraft for another month, now effective until August 23, 2025.

RAWALPINDI: The Pakistan Airports Auth­ority (PAA) has extended the closure of its airspace to Indian-registered aircraft, according to a NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) issued on Friday. Pakistani airspace has remained closed to Indian aircraft since April 24 in a tit-for-tat move after India in a controversial move unilaterally suspended the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT). The ban will now remain in place until 4:59am on Aug 24, according to the authority. The NOTAM issued by the PAA reads: “Pakistan airspace not available for Indian-registered aircraft and aircraft operated, owned, or leased by Indian airlines/operators, including military flights.” Published in Dawn, July 19th, 2025

ISLAMABAD:  The Pakistan Airports Authority has issued a recent notice to Airmen (NOTAM), prolonging the Pakistan airspace ban on Indian aircraft for one more month, which will now be effective until August 23, 2025, ARY News reported. This will be the fourth continuous extension since the first suspension on April 23, after the escalated tensions […]

A group of right-wingers in India forcibly closed an outlet of the fast food chain KFC to close, demanding a ban on the sale of non-vegetarian food during the Hindu month of Sawan, according to reports by Indian media outlets on Friday. Sawan, also known as Shravana, is considered a holy month in the Hindu calendar where many observe fasts and refrain from consuming meat, alcohol and even onions and garlic, according to Indian daily The Hindu. The Hindu reported that a group of demonstrators stormed the outlet in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh and confronted the staff, demanding that the restaurant’s operations be stopped. “Visuals of the incident circulated widely on social media showed members of the outfit carrying saffron flags and chanting slogans such as ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and ‘Har Har Mahadev’, while forcibly pulling down the shutter of the KFC outlet,” the newspaper added. According to The Times of India, Pinky Chaudhary, the chief of the group, said, “Our message is clear: we are asking that all non-vegetarian...

India’s opposition parties have called for the governor of occupied Kashmir to resign with an apology to the people of the territory after he admitted to a “security failure” in the Pahalgam attack that killed 26 people. On April 22, 26 tourists were killed at a hill station in India-occupied Kashmir’s (IoK) Pahalgam. India has blamed Pakistan for the horrific attack, an accusation the latter denies. Islamabad has called for an international independent probe into the massacre. In an interview with the Times of India on Monday, IoK Lieutenant Governor and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Manoj Sinha said, “I take full responsibility for the incident, which was undoubtedly a security failure.” In response to the admission, numerous Indian politicians slammed him for negligence and for his delay in taking accountability and called for his resignation. The Indian National Congress |(INC) suggested that Sinha intended to shield “unspecified officials” in the union government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, The ...